Mini Updates

Hocks

Eugene had his hocks injected last week. We had this done a year ago and it helped him a lot. The effects had worn off and he was dragging his back feet through the ground like a skier. We had originally planned to do an endurance ride at Cache Creek this weekend, but thought it was better to get his hocks done instead.

Poor guy was so drunk he couldn’t figure out how to get his tongue back in his mouth. 

Shopping

I might not have gone to Rolex this year, but we did get a lot of horse shopping done this week. On Saturday we drove down to a sale at Morgan Hill. It was a total score. I found this Gel-Eze sheepskin pad and when I asked how much? $15. Sold! We also bought a red fleece cooler I didn’t get a picture of which sold for the whopping price of $1. Score!

We’ve been looking for a dressage saddle for my husband now that’s he’s taking eventing more seriously. At the next table, we found an 18″ Isabell Wintec Dressage Saddle in really good condition. How much? $50. Umm, yes please. I figure I can resell it for more if it doesn’t work out. It’s actually a little too small for my husband so we’re looking for another, but we’ll keep this one until then.

We also made the long drive up to Dover to buy a show coat for my husband. He’s been showing in my black Kerrits coat, which is not designed for men. It’s not the worst look, but the new coat fits much nicer. I actually managed to leave Dover without purchasing anything for myself. Trust me, I’m as shocked as you.

Showing in my coat.

Trails

Because I still have no job, I’ve been riding out most mornings with a friend at the barn. She used to lease Shasta and bought her own horse a few years ago. She just bought a new trailer and wanted me to go with her for her first time driving it. I was like, “you probably want to take my husband, not me, but sure.” It was all fine and we had a lovely ride at the park across the street from the barn.

Nilla has simply decided that she will not pose for pictures. Even with the allears app or any amount of noise/food/waving. The second the camera goes away? Ears back up. #mulesofinstagram #trailride #trailriding

A post shared by Olivia @ DIY Horse Ownership (@diyhorseownership) on May 3, 2017 at 5:30pm PDT

Pasture

The barn owner rearranged some things so that we could move the Mustangs into a shared pasture. In the past this area was a stall and a turnout. But no one was using the turnout. Levi has a lot of rambunctious energy and we’re hoping having lots of space to run around will let him get that out in a good way instead of by destroying things. I’m really excited about this. I love having my horses turned out as much as possible and it’s just not a thing here in the bay area. Having our own private pasture is an amazing opportunity.

There’s still more pasture to the left of the fence in the foreground.

It took a long time to prep the pasture and shelter though. We were trying to make sure there wasn’t any way they could escape or destroy things. I’m not entirely sure we’ve accomplished that though. We started by just turning Levi out yesterday. I found him today with his head stuck through the fence trying to drink from his neighbor’s waterer. Of course, that doesn’t really work so he then set about trying pulling some wooden shims out from under the waterer and I had to go fix that. I tied up plastic chicken wire to keep him from sticking his head through there. I came back again to find he’d ripped all the plastic out. I really do not need to have kids; I already have a toddler.

I love the licking – I keep telling people he’s a golden retriever

We put Eugene out with him for an hour tonight and they tried to kill themselves galloping up and down the hill. I’m not sure if they’re going to destroy themselves or the pasture first. I guess we’ll see.

This is the other side of the fence in the picture above

Campgrounds and Heat

On one of my many trips to Santa Cruz to look at saddles, I decided to check out the two horse campgrounds in the area. From looking at satellite imagery, it didn’t look like they had shade, but I wanted to check them out in person before ruling them out. The first one didn’t have a tree in sight. I ended up there on the hottest day ever. Normally, Santa Cruz is nice and cool with the ocean breezes but it was hot even there. I had kind of hoped the breeze would make up for the lack of shade, but it was boiling hot. The gate for the campground was locked so I had to walk about a 1/2 mile up a hill in the heat to get to the campground. It was so hot and there was no cell phone service. I was joking later that I was going to die and no one would ever know where I was. More seriously though, I do a good job of letting people know when I’m riding alone, but somehow not when I am hiking in the wilderness in extreme heat. I need to change that.

Wilder Ranch State Park Horse Campground

The second campground was really nice. There was even a nice ocean breeze and a view of the ocean from the campground, but sadly, still no shade. We might be able to do this one if the heat isn’t too bad. There are even waterfalls you can ride to.

Horse Campground at Rancho Del Oso – Big Basin State Park, view of the ocean from the Campground, and a brief stop at the beach for a photo

Although hiking to the campgrounds in the heat was annoying, it was good to find out in advance that we would not want to camp there in the heat of the summer. I don’t know where this heat wave came from, but I really hope it doesn’t come back. It’s not supposed to be this hot here. Especially not in May.