October Ten Questions

Answering some fun fall-themed questions courtesy of Liz!

Brown boots are very fall festive though

Most equestrians quote fall as their favorite season to ride. Are you one of those that does? Or maybe not; what is your favorite season to ride, if so?

I like fall, don’t get me wrong… but I love spring. All things spring. Well, okay, not my allergies, but basically everything else. Fall is lovely, but it comes with this little pit at the bottom of my stomach that warns me it’s going to get dark and cold and I need to get into survival mode. Winter: surviving, not thriving.

As a kid/perpetual student, I loved the feeling that summer was almost here and classes were coming to an end. I love knowing days are getting longer and lighter and it’s warming up and I just want to be outside ALL.THE.TIME. A big reason I didn’t study abroad in college was because I refused to miss a fall football season (uhhh should have totally missed 2012), but I also refused to miss a spring semester because it’s my favorite. For riding, it gives me a burst of motivation – show season is coming, I can ride after work (in the light!), water buckets don’t have to be broken, blankets get to be put away… lots of good things.

Do you clip your horse in the fall? Or maybe you wait a little longer? 

So breed show people are weird and put their horses under lights instead of clip. I have no reasoning, so don’t ask. But it meant we never body clipped, just turned on the lights starting in August and blanketed the hell out of everything. Or in years we were done showing in August/September, we didn’t do anything. Lucy never grew enough of a coat (still doesn’t) that she’d be too sweaty. This year, I think Doc will need some type of clip, but I will be leaving that to trainer’s capable hands. I want to vote for a fancy hip mark of some sort though, just saying.

Have any costume riding events in October on/near/around Halloween? What will your horse be dressed as? What about yourself? What would you dress as if money/time were absolutely no issue?

Nope. I actually hate Halloween. I only like it for Reese’s pumpkins, which are the 2nd best shape of Reese’s (Easter eggs, pumpkins, Christmas trees). Costumes are annoying and you’re hot or you’re cold or you’re uncomfortable. I am the grinch of Halloween.

do love Dia de los Muertos though and think it’s one of the most gorgeous holidays ever. The traditions are beautiful, the colors and artwork are insane and I was lucky enough to have a school growing up that celebrated it and made sure we understood it. (So New Mexican, right?) Seriously though – check these out and tell me it’s not unbelievable.

Is your horse afraid of any autumn colors? Or maybe has a certain quirk that appears only in the autumn?

Not super excited to be limited to this space all winter, but good excuse for mirror selfies

Not afraid of anything, but definitely not fond of rain in his ears (I mean, me neither dude). It’s my first autumn with Doc, so I guess we’ll see about quirks. Lucy doesn’t particularly have any, minus her inability to grow a real winter coat. She’s also like, the most boring ever though. I love her dearly, but nobody would ever say she is full of personality. My first mare used to colic the beginning of August every year like clockwork though – barometric pressures!

Pumpkin spice. It’s everywhere right now. Find any natural pumpkin [squash] spice-esque recipes for your horse? 

Nah, although I’m sure Doc would eat anything I come up with. Hmm.. maybe we’ll experiment.

We’re getting to the end of the calendar year, any final few “big-bang” shows to look forward to?

We just did our first CT at starter and then depending on weather (…and my bank account), might get to show once more at the beginning of November. Otherwise, we’re done until spring!

Winter is coming. What are you doing to winterize your trailer/rig/car?

Sob?

Wait, that’s not an appropriate answer?

I’ll try again…

Hibernate.

Still no?

Whatever.

Hell no, I want to stay indoors until it’s 75 and sunny.
I did do this to my car last weekend though to load hay

Do you have any autumn traditions you/your horse follow?

I do dress Doc up for gameday. He is now a member of the Auburn family. His degree is in turf grass management.

Consume my body weight in Honeycrisp apples? Watch College Gameday every Saturday and yell at the television like the Auburn sideline can hear me? Consume a million and four Reese’s Pumpkins? Burn the Nest Pumpkin Chai candle 24/7 (and before you say a word about spending that on a candle – it’s worth every penny). I love pumpkin pie, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin bread… yum. I’m also basic AF and love pumpkin spice chai and lattes and I’m not ashamed at all. I also still wear Uggs from 2006 though, so this shouldn’t come as a surprise.

October in many places marks the beginning of deer hunting season. Does this affect your riding at all? Do you wear blaze orange or modify your schedule to accommodate the season?

Not here, but in NC it did. We stayed in the arena more or less during that time. Even wearing blaze orange still left me a little freaked out to venture out and we still had on property small fields to ride in.

What are you most looking forward to goal-wise as the final months of the calendar year approach?

Goal: less of this

Learning how to steer? No, in all honesty, continuing to improve our dressage work as we get confined to the indoor, riding to the base of the jumps instead of taking all the flyers so I can stop sending my trainer into an early death, keeping my collarbone UP and getting stronger (leg, core, cardiac). I’m hoping having some distinct goals to work on this winter will help me survive and we can come out stronger on the other side and be ready to go compete next spring!

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1 Comment

  1. LOL love your hibernate comment. I wish we could do that. And yes before I had a truck I have been guilty of using my car to transport hay, saddles, you name it!! LOL

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