Frustrations

For some reason lately, I've been getting discouraged in my work with Desi. I'm not sure if it has anything to do with my horse really, or if I'm just a little depressed outside of the barn. I feel like our progress is at a snail's pace and some days, like we're backsliding. I still love my horse with all my heart and tear up when I consider spending time away from him, but I'm just not motivated right now. It's really frustrating. I want to do great things with him and I still want to feel like we're improving together. Our goals however, are not as clear as they used to be. The things that we used to struggle with are no longer a problem and I'm not sure how to proceed.
I guess what I'm really saying is that Desi and I have made great progress but now we're stuck in a rut. He's finally progressed out of greenhorse classes but we're not really competitive in open/regular ones. I feel like we're working on the same little things in lessons over and over without really improving. I'm not sure if this is because we were working on basics and now  I'm not really seeing the "transformations" I'm used to. Getting him to the point where he canters collected and doesn't spook at pool noodles was a big visible accomplishment. Eliminating the tiny bit of lean at the higher gaits and backing straighter are boring goals in comparison.
So my problem now is finding a way to get my motivation back. How do I make my boring new goals interesting? How do I motivate myself to look forward to lessons and pursue perfection passionately (hehe I used a lot of p-adjectives)?
I guess this is my next project. I need to get myself excited about riding again.

Baling Twine "Tail"

In a post a while ago, I talked about how my favorite way to put up Desi's super long tail was braided and wrapped with a cohesive bandage (vetrap). I can only do this during the winter as it leaves absolutely no tail for bug-swatting. The last couple years, I've had to leave Desi's tail natural during the summer and end up losing all the hair he grew during the winter. This year his tail has grown to a record length (I'll post more about how I managed to accomplish this later) and I can't stand to lose it. In the past I considered purchasing a ratty old fake tail and using it as a fly swatter, but $30 for a tail was a little more than I wanted to spend.

I'd heard of people using baling twine as a fly swatter but when I tried it, I didn't like how bulky the twine ended up being. I also couldn't find a good way to attach it and Desi didn't enjoy whipping himself with twine. I tried a bunch of other materials trying to find a good horsehair substitute. Yarn was too soft and didn't really swish onto his sides. Fabric strips were also too light and didn't break off easily when they caught on an object. All this time and the perfect material was right in front of my face. I was at a show a couple weeks ago and noticed a Saddlebred in the warm up pen who had it's tail in a sock with shredded baling twine sticking out the bottom. Duh! The thick twine is annoying but when separated into its individual strands/fibers, it is very similar to the texture of actual horsehair. A simple way to make a baling twine "tail" would be to cut a few lengths, tie a loop at the top, pull apart the strings, and braid it into the tail or tie it to the top of a tail bag. But being me, I wanted a slightly more purposeful looking version. The following is a tutorial of how I made Desi's current baling twine "tail".

What you need:

• Baling Twine
• Candle (optional)
• Super Glue (optional)

That's it! If you have this stuff laying around already, this project won't cost you a penny - and you're recycling some bailing twine that would otherwise end up in the garbage.

Step 1:

Cut three 10" segments of baling twine and about 5 longer ones (think 3-5 feet). Pull a small strand of cord out of one of the longer segments to use later.

Step 2:

Braid the 10" pieces together and melt the ends with a candle. Pinch the ends together into a tear drop shape and wrap the bottom inch with a piece of "cord" you separated earlier. Tie off the cord and melt the ends again.

Step 3:

Take your bigger sections of twine and fold them in half at the center. Pass them all through the braided tear drop and rest the centers near the wrapped portion. Bring down the strands so that they cover the "tail" of the tear drop and pinch them together. Use the rest of your cord to wrap tightly around this section. You can finish the wrap by super gluing the cord to the wrap or melting it on.

Step 4:

One by one, separate the baling twine strands into their individual fibers (or at least just smaller pieces). Trim to desired length now or wait until you put it on the horse and trim just above the fetlocks. 

To Attach:

Braid the horse's tail and pass it through the twine loop. Bring the end of the horse's tail up through the top of the braid and back down so that it is folded in thirds with the baling twine "tail" hanging from the bottom. Wrap the folded braid in a cohesive wrap (vetrap) and leave the twine hanging out the bottom. 

Alternatively, you can tie the loop through the top strings of a tail bag or loop it through a plain braid.

New Projects!

I don't have the time now to post the fun new projects that I've been working on, but I wanted to say that they are coming soon! I'll tease you a little here:

• DIY channel browband (using materials you might already have!)
• DIY painted stall signs (easy-peasy even if you aren't great at drawing or painting!)

Plus a couple more. Coming soon - keep an eye out!

DIY Pony Saddle Pad

Yes, I know it has been forever since I blogged last, but more on that later... My latest project was a pony-sized saddle pad for a little girl that rides at my new barn. She's super cute, and just graduated from riding a mini to riding a "real" horse. She also loves Frozen, so I figured an adorable little Olaf saddle pad would be a great present and new project!!

 The Pattern - Soo, even suitability does not sell a pattern for a saddle pad this small. I am an adult. I ride in regular sized saddle pads. I was not patient enough to borrow a pony sized pad to use as an example. So I improvised.

I found the dimensions for other pony sized saddle pads - about 19"x20". I cut open an old grocery bag to use for a pattern and drew a square with the rough dimensions of pony saddle pads. Then I traced parts of other saddle pads I had laying around to alter the shape of the pattern. I used the front of one pad, the spine of another (shortened of course), and the rear portion of another. When I was satisfied with the shape and size, I cut it out of the paper and had a custom saddle pad pattern.

The Materials - I have been wanting to try out some new materials in making saddle pads and this project was a great opportunity. Especially since the fabric store was running a 50% off sale! All totaled, I spent a little under $20 for the materials. I used:

3/4 yard each of top and bottom fabric (I used cotton for the top and flannel for the bottom)
1 yard of 1/2" foam
5 yards nylon webbing (I used for spine, keepers, and trim but alternatively quilt binding could be used for trim and only 1 yard or so of the web would be necessary in that case)
Thread

Spray basting is optional but highly recommended if you want your quilting to look good and to not pucker!

Construction - I cut out the pattern with the layers folded so that I had two pieces of each material- one a mirror image of the other.

For each side, I sewed the top to the bottom along the top seam then made a "quilt sandwich" with a layer of foam between the two layers. I used spray basting to really stick the fabric to the foam so it would stay nice and flat while sewing.

Quilt lines were 4 inches apart to form squares and marked with a chalk wheel in a contrasting color.
I took it slow until I was sure my machine could handle this many layers.

Underside of pad showing foam center

Two sides after quilting

From here, I joined the two sides with a strip of nylon web down the spine. Keepers were added and I used the remaining web folded in half for trim. My only issue with using the web as trim (other than being tricky to work with) was that I ended up with warbled edges. I like a nice, crisp product so this one is a little sub-standard. But, it still ended up pretty cute and I don't think it will impact the use of the pad.

The finished saddle pad

Where else can you get a pony sized Frozen saddle pad? Sometimes, DIY is the only way to go!

Happy (Horsey) New Year

Congratulations! If you are reading this then you've survived 2014!

I'll apologize for not posting much in December and celebrating the new year a week into January, but horses... they keep us so busy! I'm also getting a little lazy about photographing projects and then I don't end up posting them because blogging is no fun without pictures.

I've mostly stopped making new year's resolutions because I've realized that I am terrible at keeping them. However, I have mad a couple realistic horsey resolutions that I'll share.

1. I will ride more. If I cannot/do not want to ride, I will at least go see my horse, groom him, and do some groundwork.
2. I will be in the top 3 in a showmanship class with the paint.
3. I will continue to work with Desi on loading.
4. I will post more to this blog!!!

I almost put "I will stop getting bucked off the paint" but I don't want to jinx that :) The paint is taking a little time off of riding and having some bodywork done to address some minor back issues, having teeth floated, saddle re-fit, etc. He's a pretty cool horse, just misunderstood. I think once we get any health-related issues out of the way and establish that I'm in charge, we'll do pretty well together. 

Also, Desi is moving to a new barn in a little over a week so I have been and will continue to be super busy. Thankfully there are a couple trail strings that connect the two barns but it is still going to be a 6 hour trail ride (oh the joys of having a horse that doesn't load). Wish me luck with that one, moving is always fun!

Bracelets!

I've been working on another project - nameplate bracelets! These are hand stamped with my friends' horses' names. They're not perfect by any means, but I think that just adds to their charm. These little guys are destined to be Christmas presents. I think they're just as cool as the leather ones you can get through a tack catalog but they have a bit more personality and making a gift is far more thoughtful than buying one, in my humble opinion.

I'll post detailed instructions in the next couple days!

Updates

I haven't done any new projects lately so I'll just update on some old discussion stuff.

DIY Stall Snack - Desi LOVED his licky thing! I hung it in his stall while he was turned out so I didn't get to watch him discover it. But I did come out the next morning and find that he had sticky molasses all over his face and even behind his ears :) With the pelleted feed it's taken him a week to go through it. Next time I'm going to try grinding all the dry ingredients (oats, pellets, etc.) into a powder so it licks off easily without losing pieces on the ground.

Myler Bits - This was a topic I discussed a long time ago but I've since done some new research. My old conclusion that you could not buy a knock-off myler bit was incorrect. With a small caveat - you can really only get a knock off level 1 mouthpiece, or at least a bit with similar features and style, and most of them are 5" mouthpieces. Desi is a 4.5" (which is pony sized and so weird for a 16.1hh horse!) so I really haven't had much success with finding a knock off for him with d-rings (why buy another loose ring if I already have one?). But, if you want a myler level 1 5" mouthpiece, there is no reason to spend the $80 on a real Myler. Unless of course you have a thing for brand names and don't care how much you spend.... Anyways, here is a short list of other sources, I'll be updating it if I find any others!

• FES Bits from Schneider's Saddlery - $32.99 Great value, seem to be of good quality. Schneiders also carries a few curb-style varieties like the level 2 or 3 mouthpieces. Only available in the 5" mouthpiece.

• Heritage Saddlery Bits - $46.92 Made in England with great reviews. A little bit more pricey and will have to have them shipped to the U.S. but they carry more sizes, like 4.5"!!