Shit Clients Say; 1

"I guess when we get home YOU need to do some Trailer Maintenance..."

- when one of our trailer windows is completely broken, as if I can just snap my fingers and fix that shit-

Sun-Daze

Sundays.

Oh, wonderful Sundays.

Sundays are my only days off, unless we are at a show... or heading to a show... or just generally something is going on.

& truthfully, even on my "day off" Sundays I have to unblanket, turn out and feed grain/supplements..

BUT aside from that I get to lay around... I get to live in my sweatpants... and I generally just get to be one lazy slob.

What is riding a horse? What is showering? What is speaking to people? Not on Sundays my friends!

Life is good on Sundays.

Me... on day off Sundays...

& perhaps the more accurate of all...

Should I get out of bed and do something?

No, absolutely not.

Things I Struggle With: Machinery

Enemy #1: Leafblower

Boss-Lady leaves me a to-do list, one of the items says "THOROUGHLY clean out all feeders in the trailer." Well, unfortunately our trailer does not have pull out trays, so after attempting to shovel, rake and broom the hay dust out of the feeders I thought -ah ha!- I will blow the dust out, easy peasy.

I WAS WRONG.

First of all, I couldn't get the damn thing to start, the gas pulley thing was not pulling. Cue me embarrassingly having to get two different people to start it for me.

Then, I got into the trailer, pointed it at one of the feeders and hay dust ERUPTED all around me.

Once the haze settled... the hay dust was still freaking there, it was just blowing up, at me, and then back down.

Sigh.

Fuck Machinery.

I am a loper, not a handy-man.

Unfortunately for me, those two jobs often go hand in hand.

I will sadly admit that it took me 3 hours to clean out 6 hay feeders, does that sound very "handy" to you?

Overheard in the Loping Pen:

Today non-pro/ammies were loping within ear-shot of me. An older gentleman remarked to the lady beside him,

"It's really not all that bad you know? Granted, it's pretty small, but it's a good plane to have. It really does fit a lot of people, and it's gotten us where we need to go."

& I'm just beside them like...

One Upping the Horse Show Dog

Whilst at a show in Las Vegas I came across a very strange creature on a trolley... a pygmy goat. It was hopping up and down and squirling around and just having the time of it's life.

I wondered if maybe all those endless circles in the warm-up pen was making me absolutely crazy.

Then, at a show in Arizona, I came across it again...

... A loper owned the little guy, the mom had rejected it and so she was bottle feeding it. It was the strangest, craziest, horse show pet I have come across thus far in my journey.

Take that mini-aussies, you definitely aren't as cool as this thing.

Horse Show Dogs

There is a trend amongst horse-show goers: dogs.

"Horse-Show Dogs" are their own breed, they are of all sizes, all shapes, all temperament, all obedience... the list goes on and on.

Some like them big...

... and although the big breeds appeal to me (I have a 105 lb dog back in Canada-land), I never thought they were very "practical" to haul down the horse-show road with.

Some like them useful...

Border Collies as far as the eye can see!

... i.e. intelligent. Boss-lady has a working Border Collie and let me tell you something, she is one useful pup to have around. However, they don't seem to really enjoy being at shows - too much activity, not enough control over it.

Many... many many many... like them teeny.

... for every 5 horse-show dogs, there is 1 Chihuahua in the crowd, I swear it is true. Small dogs are easy to haul with, easy to put places (in the trailer, in a small pen, in a stall), and so... many horse-show people have teensy tiny teacup... yappy... dogs. Generally, the smaller, the less obedient. (I'm sure the Border Collies truly look down their noses at this crew)

Finally, do you want to be the utmost of trendy? Do you want to show your fellow competitors that not only do you have money (these purebred "designer dogs" aint cheap)? But you ALSO have a teeny tiny dog that theoretically comes from useful stock... The Mini Aussie... is the dog I keep seeing pop up everywhere.

& so... what did I do... well, I wanted to look cool... I wanted to fit in...

like this super chill dude

So I went and got a stereotypical small, yappy, poofy, not-so-obedient DOG...

This is Cash. The cutest mutt you have ever, ever seen.

& he's fitting in too, and adding too, the craziness that is this horse-show life!