Long one

I have to make a list for this post.  I usually post while I'm at work (bad me!), so there are lots of interruptions.  Making a list so I don't forget what I want to post about:

1.  Feet
2.  He's going to kill me
3.  Saddle pad
4.  Whip
5.  Go button
6.  Wilson's song
7.  Theme songs

Yeah, it's gonna be a long one.  Just for fun...  I'm starting this at 9:40am EST.  Let's see how long it takes to finish.

Feet.  Fourth time was the charm!  Farrier was supposed to come out last Tuesday, but the weather was too bad, so we rescheduled for Friday.  He got stuck around NYC doing polo horses and couldn't make it, so we rescheduled for Saturday.  His truck broke down and had to be towed.  So we very very carefully rescheduled for yesterday, trying not to let The Powers That Be know so they wouldn't arrange for a new disaster.  I took decent before pics of my mare's feet, need to get good afters.  The mare has funky legs and feet, and you would not believe what a difference a good trim makes in how she looks.  Riv's feet are slow growing, but they're improving.  We think both of them will improve a lot with the new barn.

He's going to kill me.  "He" being River.  I rode last night after the farrier.  Keeping our ride with Jeff in mind, I kept up a chant of "turn the key, release.  Turn the key, release."  Out loud.  For the entire ride.  I'm shocked River didn't stop, turn to look at me, and yell at me to shut up.  Poor Princess.  He was okay.  Not as good as when Jeff was telling us what to do, but that's to be expected.  We did a decent job on our own, I guess.

Saddle pad.  Because Riv is a skinny TB, we've needed some help to keep the saddle off his withers.  I'd been using one of these pads:

It's done the job, but I'd noticed that Riv was ouchy when I brushed his back after riding.  So I dug out another pad:

The Thinline Saddle Fitter pad... it's sheepskin with pockets for Thinline inserts.

I brushed him last night after the ride... no ouchies  when I brushed his back.  Either the other pad was quite uncomfortable or the new pad is very comfortable or a combination of both.  I'm sorry for not noticing sooner, Riv!

Whip.  I finally found my sparkly pink dressage whip in my car.  (Yes, it does sometimes take me a week or more to find things in my car.  Don't judge.)  I quite like the sparkly pink whip.  The cover is missing from the last couple inches, so I need to get some duck tape or something.  (I know it's "duct" tape, but I always get the Duck Tape brand because it comes in pretty colors/designs.)

Go button.  We have a go button!  Finally!  I'm not sure if it's because he likes his new feet or because he remembers Jeff chasing us with the longe whip or because he likes the new saddle pad (my money is on this) or because he likes the sparkly pink whip.  Regardless... for the first time, he was moving FORWARD without me getting after him constantly, or even regularly.  So nice to ride a horse who moves!

Wilson's Song.  If you don't remember or didn't read the post from way back when about Wilson, here's his song:

Well, last night I was on youtube and found this...  Wilson's song on violin with harp:

I love Wilson's song.  I love the violin.  I love Wilson's song on violin.  The only problem is that I can't really listen to it without crying.  But gosh is it beautiful...

Theme songs.  I love picking theme songs for my horses.  Several years ago, a barn friend made a DVD for everyone for Christmas.  It has pictures of all the horses set to their own songs.  Every horse had a song that fit them perfectly.  The adorable little gray pony who looked like a unicorn without a horn was "Barbie Girl."  A very sweet but incredibly ugly Appy/Paint lesson horse was a song that goes "they call me Mr. Personality because I'm so ugly."  An old TB gelding with lots of problems was "Tub-Thumper"--you know, the chorus is "I get knocked down, but I get up again, you're never gonna keep me down."  My old guy was "A Good Day to Run."  Which.... LOL.

The red mare kind of has two theme songs.  The primary one is Nelly Furtado's "Maneater".  The chorus is "She's a maneater, make you work hard, make you spend hard .... wish you never ever met her at all."  So true.  Also, Christina Aguilera's "Can't Hold Us Down."  Basically the first few lines...  "So, what, am I not supposed to have an opinion?  Should I keep quiet just because I'm a woman?  Call me a bitch 'cause I speak what's on my mind, guess it's easier for you to swallow if I sat and smiled."

Like my old bumper sticker said "Hell Hath No Fury Like a Chestnut Thoroughbred Mare!"

Princess doesn't have a theme song yet.  I'll have to wait for something to come to me.

And the time is...  11:00am EST.  Hm, that didn't actually take as long as I was expecting.