Old Timey Photos

Another thing that I got really into at one point was genealogy. I love putting together a bunch of puzzle pieces to discover some long lost information about my ancestors (they were all pretty well peasants and farmers. There's no blue blood running through my veins.).

A few years ago I had a response to an inquiry I had listed on a genealogy bulletin board searching for information on Heuchert's in Saskatchewan. A lady asked if I was related to a Daniel and Katherine Heuchert. Yes, I am - they are my great, great, great grandparents. Well, she had pictures with their names on the back, and she would like them to get back to the family - would I like them? Of course I wanted them!

My great, great great grandparents, around 1905.

It's kind of a neat story as to how I ended up with these pictures - the lady who contacted me -I think her name was Linda - originally lived in Vancouver, British Columbia. Her neighbour was an older lady whose surname was Schmidt. A Schmidt had married a Heuchert, which is where the family connection comes in. When Mrs. Schmidt passed away, Linda accumulated some of her possessions. At some point Linda, who is an artist, moved to New Zealand. She was doing some work for an exhibit she was giving and was going through some old photos and found these photos. A few had names on them, so she was able to search on the internet and came across my post. Thanks to her kindness, the photos were sent to me from New Zealand.

There were only a few photos that had names on them, so I know where they fit in the family tree. Unfortunately, the Schmidt/Heuchert line is not my direct line of descent (Schmidt married the son of the brother of my Great Great Grandfather) so I have no clue who most of the pictures are of.

Along with the pictures were a whole bunch of negatives. I think they were taken during the 1930's and 40's, maybe even a few in the 20's. And some are pretty cool because they show some farm life from that time. Unfortunately, their condition is not always fantastic, and my photo editing skills are pretty non-existent. But were some hidden gems in there. Especially the pictures that had horses in them.

Hanging off the side of a horse.

Some farm life pictures.

Pigs!

More pigs!

Winter on the prairies.

Note the window coverings of the car.

Proud of his tractor.

Harvest time. A lot of these were in the worst condition of the bunch.

That's a dog in the foreground on the right.

And just some random shots that amuse me.

Maybe I shouldn't complain about the cold and snow so much.

Not sure if the coyote is alive or dead.

Cowboys go to town.

The family did own a gas station at one point. 

We Cantered! On Purpose!

I finally had the first official canter on Cisco!

After lunging him in the scary end, which went well, I hopped on. He was walking nicely forward, and walked even more forward when another horse came into the arena. But only at a walk. Having a buddy in the ring with him chilled him out when we picked up a trot. Forward (or lack of it) was a bit of an issue at that gait.

Or at least until he spooked (at something behind him in the scary end of course) and he scooted forward at a canter, on his left lead. It was in control, his head was up, I wasn't too out of balance, so I rode it forward like it was no big deal. I'm pretty sure his left lead is going to be the tougher lead, so I figured I would go with it.

Who was a superstar? This guy!!

That scoot used up all his energy and he went back to chill, poky pony again. Bear in mind that this was only about the fourth ride since he had almost 3 months off, so I'm not really complaining about quiet. And for once it was actually almost warm out (by warm I mean above the freezing mark. Just above.) so maybe that contributed to less oomph than normal.

I wasn't really planning on asking for a canter today. But since he had cantered earlier in the spook with no stupidity, and there was another horse in the arena to babysit him, and he was pretty chill, I thought, what the hell. With the lack of forward I wasn't sure I would get it, but let's see what happens.

First attempt along the short side - kissed, nudged, rushed him forward - he kind of went WTF? and stuck his head up and trotted faster. Not crazy fast of course - that would take too much energy.

So we regrouped, came around to the same short side, and I kissed, nudged and rushed him forward - and I could feel that it was coming - don't give up - and we're cantering!!

The first canter was only a few strides before he fell out of it. Lots of scratches and good boy's.

And lots of carrots to go with the scritches.

Since that didn't go terribly, I needed to try again. Same thing - on the short side, kiss, nudge, rush -  he picked it up much earlier than the previous time. I encouraged him to canter a wee bit longer before coming back to trot. Lots of scratches.

That was it! And it was no big deal.

How did it feel? Pretty comfy. Pretty balanced. His head was up - not in a terrible, giraffe way, but in an I don't really understand way.

And then I did this to him. Hopefully he doesn't buck me off on our next ride!

No media unfortunately - Pony Grandma was pretty far away from my phone and I hadn't planned this so didn't think ahead. The good news is that I found our video camera, and Pony Grandma is great at recording video of my riding, so hopefully I remember to charge it for my next ride and I can see how it looks.

Tried Out the New Saddle

Remember how I said it was supposed to be warming up this week?

The bottom of the screen was supposed to be this past Sunday.

Yeah, that's not happening.

The top was what Sunday ended up being. Just a wee bit different.

I mean, it's slightly warmer during the day (before the wind chill is added). But those nights are still pretty chilly.

The one day in the two week forecast that is supposed to be super nice is Tuesday. So last minute I decided to use up a couple more lieu days and take Monday and Tuesday off (added to my normal Sunday and Wednesday) and enjoy the "nice" weather. 

It took a while on Monday afternoon to get as warm as it was going to get. Which still didn't feel all that warm. But I was determined to get in a ride on my new saddle. 

Phantom's hoping for cookies. There were none. 

Cisco got the trial run. I lunged him first since he hasn't been ridden in two weeks (I think). He wore his new/used Prolite girth, which he seemingly had no complaints about. He was pretty good for the short time I was on him - short because my short stirrup leathers were still too long. And they could only go one hole shorter.

I'm going to have to take them in and see if I can get them shortened. 

I tacked Phantom up for another short ride, the first since she tied up back in January. I was just planning on a mainly walk ride, with a little bit of trot thrown in to see how her body reacted. She also got to wear a new belt - a Total Saddle Fit Stretchtec girth. No comments from her on the first ride, I'll have to give her a few rides to let her decide if she likes it.

That's me - bundled up, but still cold.

I tried to swap out the treads on the new stirrup irons to the wedge ones I like before riding, but they don't fit easily. I'll have to take my Dremel tool to them and customize them somewhat. So when I rode, I just had the standard flat treads in the stirrups. And man, were my knees sore after riding! Not a usual problem for me. 

Other than the stirrup length, the saddle felt fine. It felt just like my old one did, which was what I wanted. Once I get the stirrups sorted out, it should be all good.

It's Here!

On Friday afternoon I had an unexpected notification that I had a parcel at the post office to be picked up - my new treeless saddle!

It's been about a 4 1/2 month wait for this saddle. I think it was actually ready at the beginning of January but the saddle pads were delayed in arriving. I hadn't received any notice that it had shipped so it was a bit of a surprise.

It is a shortened flap Sensation dressage saddle.

You will note that the stirrups attach mid-flap. One concern with treeless saddles is how to spread the rider's weight from the stirrups. The Sensation saddles recommended way is to have your stirrup leather attach to the bottom of the flap, which distributes the weight over the length of the flap versus a stirrup bar at the top that can create a pressure point. However, I'm too short to use this method. This mid-flap attachment is a discontinued method of distributing the weight, and they offered to do my saddle up with this feature. It got good reviews when I asked on a Facebook forum so I decided to try it.

A fixed stirrup leather means that I need to rethink my stirrup irons. I had a hard time deciding on safety stirrups, and settled on these Icelandic stirrups. They have a 180-degree eye at the top for the leather to feed through, and S-curves on both sides. I am hoping the angled stirrup treads that I like to use will fit in these stirrups, which is the main reason that I chose them. I still have to put the treads in, and if they work, I need to try to find a set in black. My white ones will really stand out in a negative way.

I had a custom cantle design added to it. It's actually navy on black, but the navy is not really noticeable. They had warned me of this, but it was what I decided. I know it's there. 

On Friday night I got out late to the barn so I just had time to get it all sorted out and pop it on each horse for a picture. I'm planning to ride in it on Monday (Sunday the weather got super cold again - when will this end?), and once I make sure it's all good I need to get my old one listed so that I can sell it. 

Short little flaps do not look like a dressage saddle! And they could probably be shorter!

I also have to figure out a way to "run up" my stirrups. With these short little leathers I definitely can't do it the traditional way. I will either do a strap with clips or Velcro so that I can attach them over the seat of the saddle, or I've seen a fleecy stirrup holder thing that I will make.

Fingers crossed it rides as well as my old one does!

Pony Approved: Hands On Grooming Gloves

I bought a pair of the Hands On Grooming Gloves during a Boxing Week sale about six weeks ago. The regular price is between $35 and $40 Canadian; I paid $32.

I have child sized hands, and my glove size is about 6.5. The size smalls fit my small hands quite well. They felt a bit snug in the beginning, but seem to have relaxed or stretched a bit.

I really like them. I wear one on each hand and use both hands to curry the pony. It's a bit of an a workout for my shoulders when both hands get going at the same time on their barrel. The knobbies on the palms and fingers are knobby enough to feel like they are doing a good job of getting through thick winter coats, and in summer they should have no problem reaching the skin.

Most importantly, the horses seem to love them. Phantom actually leaned her butt into me the first time I groomed her with them - totally uncharacteristic for her. Cisco loves a good scrub, so he had no complaints about the gloves. His favourite thing is getting his withers scratched with the gloves. I'm trying to teach them both to scratch their faces against my gloved hand when I put it up against their forehead. I could totally see them liking that.

The lip shows the love for the gloves.

I don't know that I will use them during shedding season. I bet they'll probably do a great job of hair removal, or should I say hair transfer - pretty sure that the hair would all be all over my arms, then all over me.

They can also be used when bathing a horse. They would probably work quite nicely, but since the back of the hand is knit your hand would get quite wet, and the gloves would feel quite soggy. Not something I plan to try anytime soon.

I am a bit worried about longevity since they seem to have already stretched a bit. Only time will tell.

Super happy I bought them. I can see them being part of my regular grooming kit for a long time to come.

Sound Desensitization

Cisco tends to be overly reactive to sounds. I think that sounds have been one of the reasons for our problems at the scary end of the arena. There are pigeons flapping and cooing, and pigeon toenails on metal, and flapping inside an open HVAC vent. Those are everyday sounds (not lately since the owl took care of the pigeons). Then there are windy days when the Coverall arena cover moves around,  or when horses that are turned out next to the arena but can't be seen from the inside start playing up. Noisy trucks outside, rattly trailers to walk past, bangs that sound like gunshots...... and on and on.

It's not that he reacts like the sound is going to murder him (most of the time). It's more of a stop, stare intensely at the location of the sound, not really want to go near that location, and remain worried for the next while. With more schooling I'm fairly confident that it's something I can work with and have him keep his focus where I want it. But we are a long way from that happening.

One day last week I decided to start on some desensitizing. I picked up a couple of noise makers from the party store - a clacker thing, and a cow bell.

The plan is to teach him to go towards the sound. I think that's my best goal.

Armed with my treat container and clicker, we went over to the arena. I started with the green clacker and Cisco on a lead. If he stood still while I waved and clacked all around him, he got a treat. 

Not surprisingly, he was very good about this. His head was up at the start, but he did very little movement. I was pretty sure this part wouldn't be the problem, since I was close enough to him to protect him from whatever menace the noise presented.

The intense stare at some unknown noise.

Next step was to have him walk towards me when I clacked. I kept him on the lead at the beginning. Standing at the end of his lead, I clacked, and when he took a step towards me he got the treat. Within a few minutes he had this figured out. When I took the lead off and was able to be a few more steps away from him his response was even more definite. He happily followed the noise down into the scary end. 

I'm a bit worried I'm going to create a Pavlov's dog situation. We won't be using the bell and clacker for long!

Sounds from behind result in a scoot.

The dollar store had a little kids drum set for $4. I think I might pick that up next. I will also have to borrow Pony Grandma to have her stand outside the riding area in the arena to make some noise and have Cisco go over to her for a treat. I have also downloaded an app that makes explosion sounds. My phone isn't loud enough by itself to make the sound scary enough, so I'll see if I can add a Bluetooth speaker that I can park somewhere in the arena to make a booming sound. 

Hopefully this will work. And hopefully I don't create a horse who runs towards danger!

New Armour

I know I sound like a whiny baby, but it's been so cold here! The original forecast had the temperature warming up by mid-week, but it has been pushed back until the weekend. I was in the arena for about 20 minutes chasing Cisco around, and I froze. So I'm definitely not riding until it warms up this weekend.

One of the main reasons that I went out on Tuesday was to swap Cisco's damaged suit of armor for a shiny, new, dent-free suit of armor. Pony Grandma is going to work her magic and patch up the old armor. Once it's patched it will go back on him. I'd like to keep the new armor shiny for as long as possible.

This new plaid is rather horrendous. Citrus Slate. I don't recommend it, unless you get a killer deal like I did.

Pretty sure Pony Grandpa had polyester pants in this plaid. Back in the '70's.

It might look not too bad on a gray horse if he didn't have the hood on. Don't get this colour if you have a chestnut.

Props to Kensington to one detail though - they used chrome black hardware on the blanket. Nice touch. I mean, your eye is drawn to the hideous plaid and you probably won't notice that little feature, but nice nonetheless. 

Cisco had a good play in the arena. He used about 3/4 of the arena for once. He's still not going all the way down to the end, but getting closer. The barn owner's large dog was running back and forth along the fence of the arena and Cisco was having fun racing him. 

I would love to let Phantom loose in the arena to get rid of some sillies but I'm worried that she would tie up again. I want to start her back slowly and make sure I don't see any signs of issues before letting her loose. So she just came in to get her food. And no cookies! 

She might have figured out that cookies live in the tack stall.

I can't wait for this cold to end.

Cold Day Crafts

Not much happening around here this weekend. Or for most of the upcoming week.

It started to snow on Thursday night and ended Saturday morning. Roads were terrible - the drive home from work took me 50 minutes instead of the normal 30, and that was before the worst of rush hour hit.

And it's cold.

There is light at the end of the cold, dark tunnel. The weather is supposed to take an upwards turn next weekend and be hovering around the freezing mark for the following week. Mind you, it was supposed to start warming up mid-week this week. But the cold seems to be staying longer and longer.

Since the roads were crap and it was so damn cold I didn't head out to the barn this weekend. So I did crafty things at home instead. 

I decorated the two polar fleece neck warmers that I had bought at the dollar store.

Rose gold glitter.

Blog wear. Not sure if the discolour will wash out or not - this quite often happens with black, but usually goes away after washing.

The wall behind my couch in the living room is a horse photo wall. It's still a work in progress. I've wanted to put the names of the horses that I've owned on the wall and finally decided on how to do it. Not sure if it will stay this way or not, but it was an inexpensive project. I picked up a few of the frames at Ikea on a one day sale for $0.97 and just used some decorative paper for the background. The names are on the backside of the glass, so if I want to change the background it would be super simple.

And then I decorated a couple of shirts for myself. I shamelessly stole the idea from somewhere on the internet, but had to make my own version of it.

Would also work for a chicken farmer.

Makes me snicker.

I also did an older shirt as a trial with my blog name down the length of the sleeve. Not sure how much I like it. Maybe it's the colour (blue glitter), or maybe it's the font. I'll see if I learn to like it. 

I will head out to the barn on either Monday or Tuesday, mainly to swap Cisco's suit of armor for the new one that arrived. I really hope that the forecast for next week doesn't change - unless it's to get warmer!

Cookie-aholics Anonymous

Hi. My name is Phantom. And I'm an addict.

Hi Phantom.

 It's been two days since my last cookie.

It all started when my mom found this new cookie recipe on the internet. She made a batch and brought them out for me to share with my little brother. I took my first bite and I was hooked.

Pony crack.

Within a couple of days, I couldn't stop at just 1 cookie. I needed more and more to stop the cravings. And I would do anything to get my lips on another hit.

My mom didn't realize how much she was enabling me. It finally got to the point where it was obvious to everyone how many cookies I was taking. I wasn't very good at hiding it.

Moar cookies!!!

Mom threatened to send me to rehab, but I think I can beat this cold turkey. I might have to eat more hay to keep away the cravings, but at least that's better for me. I'll probably gain some more weight though.

Thankfully my brother hasn't become an addict. He can still use cookies recreationally. Mom says that she'll make sure that he doesn't get any more chances to get cookies.

That's my story. Thanks for listening.

In Which We Discover That I am a Wuss

This week hasn't been overly conducive to riding. It snowed a bunch overnight going into Friday morning, so roads were pretty crappy. Then cold hit Saturday and Sunday. It warmed up Monday and Tuesday - but didn't really feel like it. And freezing cold again from Wednesday through the next weekend.

Monday I had great plans to ride both horses. Phantom was going to get an easy walk under saddle, and I'd figure out what to do with Cisco once I determined his mindset after 3 days of no work.

I redid Phantom's tail since Wednesday was farrier day and no one wants to touch a poopy tail stump.
Hello Kitty duct tape this time.

Cisco lunged super relaxed in the worst corner of the arena - probably the best I'd ever seen him. Lots of dropping and relaxing his neck, at trot and even at canter. When leading him back down to the mounting block end, he started up his idiot dance again. I really must work on his lack of patience when I'm trying to fiddle around with getting girth and stirrups organized.

I did a few minutes of leading work with him. This generally works quite nicely to get his brain to slow down a bit and pay attention.

Then I took him over to the mounting block. And he stood rock solid while I hopped on. Lots of pats and scritches.

Hands On grooming gloves give great wither scritches.

He was quite forward as we walked around, which is pretty normal. He is definitely a horse who gives the feeling that he's going to take me somewhere. He's not relaxed, and I wouldn't really say nervous. But he has a bit of an impatient "let's get this show on the road" kind of feeling.

Until we heard a loud sound that sounded like an explosion from the neighbour's property. Which is, of course, at the scary end of the arena. That definitely made him nervous.

Cisco kept his composure though. So we did some trot, which was a wee bit more forward than it needed to be. I slowed my posting, and he almost came back to walk. He listened!

We heard some other noises (again at the scary end). Ther were a few noises in a row, and I quickly realized that it was snow coming off the roof. I'm rather embarrassed to say that I overreacted, and the horse barely reacted.

Cisco hasn't heard the snow slide off the roof yet. I have. It's really loud when it slides off a Coverall arena. Cisco stopped when the noises started and stared at where they were coming from. I had that sudden realization of what the noise was, and options quickly went through my head on what the outcome could be. And I hate to admit that I jumped off before things got a chance to go really badly.

And then we didn't get the big noise. I wussed out for no reason. Other than stopping, Cisco didn't react.

The not worried about sounds face.

Oh well. He lunged great and stood for mounting great. And my face was frozen (I had forgotten my neck warmer) and I couldn't feel my big toe (wrong socks). I wasn't getting back on.

Now that I know he's not necessarily going to react in a big way I will try not to bail at the first sign of danger.

Phantom ended up getting the day off as I was too damn cold.