How does Harvey stay chubby?

The answer: A sh*tload of feed.

Harv has never been a hard keeper, but he's not an air fern either. He has always tended to lose weight if not fed near the upper end of the range for regular feeds, and he loses weight on the lower quality feeds. And now that he has no teeth to speak of, well...

Food manufacturers to the rescue! My vet told me with the new feed formulations for older horses, no horse needs to be skinny. But you've gotta feed them right.

I've tried a lot of Senior feeds and they all seem to work "just fine" in the right quantities. That said, I have been very pleased with the Nutrena ProForce brand of Senior feed, AKA the "black bag." It is not widely available-- for a number of months I had to travel and make special arrangements to buy it. The manager of Harv's barn was impressed with it, and the barn is now using it for its senior horses. We we go in together to have it delivered. Here are the things I love about it...

• Harv likes it, but he likes almost all feed. Other horses in the barn who are pickier like it as well.
• It does not break the bank! It costs several dollars a bag less than Triple Crown or Purina, and it is a little less than other Nutrena lines.
• If you want to add water, it holds up fairly well. 
• It is high fat, high fiber.
• It does not get hard in the winter -- always easy to scoop. 

The ProForce line has a number of other interesting feed options: for hard keepers, for extreme athletes, and high fiber feeds. I recommend  the Senior feed -- and note that Nutrena does not I exist (this is not a paid ad or paid endorsement). 

Harvey -- chubby is good

Harv is lookin' good after his first "real" bath -- shampoo, conditioner, and fly spray.

Shirt alert!

From my Walmart cart -- $4.88 for this kid's-sized bright pink shirt in sizes 3 to 7/8. I bought it for the grandaughter of a friend...

A personal best in running

I had a riding lesson at 9am, took care of Harvey (gave him a bath!), went home for a bit, and went running. I went to the Lehigh cross country course, which has an excellent reputation for its beauty and management. Usually, I run on a country road near the barn where I keep Riley (usually in my breeches!), but there is traffic to look out for. Or, I run on a trail in Hellertown that is fairly populated. Previously I topped out at 3 miles. 

This course is so gorgeous, and so isolated -- I totally zoned out and was shocked when I'd run three miles, and wasn't tired or ready to stop. My first five mile run, ever!

George Morris on patience

This is a photo from the article. Read it :-)!

The Chronicle of the Horse posted a great article on George Morris -- "Riders ditch their stirrups on Day 5 of the Gladstone Program."  I like to read about George, because he is from an era that defined modern American riding -- and he is cool. I love this passage below...

Katie Cox's athletic horse Twilight was giving her a hard time, refusing to relax and swapping canter leads. Morris praised Cox for handling him so well, but wanted to hop on the horse himself, sans stirrups, to teach the gelding some respect for the aids.

The hot-tempered gelding clearly has a sense of humor, because once Morris got a leg up, he refused to move into the trot. 

"He's a character," Morris laughed. "I can't make this horse trot! It's water on a stone, people. Horses take patience, infinite patience. Wait for the horse."

Later in the article he said he did not spend long on the horse, because he ran out of gas. At his age, it's impressive that he is getting on these finely tuned hothead horses...

"The leather doesn't lie"

I really don't want to think I'm a super crooked rider -- but, as a fellow rider and I looked down at the stirrup leathers I've used for the past 4-5 years, we had this exchange: Me: I don't believe how uneven these are! Look at the string where my stirrup holes are! Friend: [Looking somber] Leather doesn't lie....

It's all about the bees

The university where I work has established a beehive, and I've joined a group that will help take care of it. It's been fun! I had no idea bees were so cute. Like horses, the bees have sort of a collective personality. So far, very fun!

Here is a summer exhibit I put together at the library...

Latest browband sale

Ada Gates Patton on Late Night with David Letterman

Guess it's possible that a guy from Indiana might have shod a horse -- but if you look at this footage it does not look like he has! This was a fun segment on an old David Letterman show.

Riley and I find fame!

Well, the photo is about three years old now, but I still like it. Ri and Harv get Redmond salt rocks and I'm happy to be one of their blogger affiliates. I just ran across this banner on another site. Who knew?

Horze squishy dressage whip -- in brown!

This is my new Horze Ashton dressage whip, shown here in brown, but available in black, red, and blue too. At $12.95 it's hard to complain about the price! I think they should call it the squish whip because the handle is a wonderful, spongey hand grip that is probably a gel-substance. It is also available as an Ashton jumping bat for $10.95. 

The whip itself is more or less medium in its whip-like action, neither stiff nor floppy. It comes in 100 or 120cm. 

Bliss dressage saddles @ Rolex

Bliss of London Saddles has had a booth at Rolex for a number of years. This saddle, though, was new this year and it really turned my head! I think it is the Paramour -- such romantic saddle names! It looks like it would be comfortable -- and it would look great on Riley...

Happy Birthday Riley!

Riley's birthday was Sunday -- he turned 9! I hope to have new photo or video shortly, but I never tire of his baby pix.  

I don't post much about Riley lately, but he is doing great. Showing is not in the immediate future, for numerous reasons that have nothing to do with my horse life -- suffice to say that it's been a tough year in a lot of ways. 

Would we be ready to show if I could? Well, no, although we aren't that far off. In order to ride Ri properly I'm relearning to ride. When I'm correct, he is beyond awesome, but he does require me to be correct in a way that Harv never did.  God love Harv. Ri is making me tow the line.  I am happy with Riley, and happy with our progress. It is slow but real. 

Harv after his spring bath

Harvey hangs his head out

Sweet Briar browband!

A custom browband for a Sweet Briar alum, made with rhodochrosite and silver beads. More at btbbrowbands.com.

Silver Striker! Metallic gray dressage whip with bling

I got this Horze.com whip at Rolex for my trainer, who has a gray horse. I can't tell you how much I personally love this whip -- it is gorgeous, a metallic gray, with sharp-looking bling on the handle. It makes me wish I had a gray horse. I am picky about "whip action" and this one has a nice flex without being too floppy. HUGE thumbs up.

Harv's hind legs

Yesterday I took Harv out for hand-grazing. As a retiree, he is allowed to roll when he wants, including when he is in hand. He rolled in a particularly luscious patch of tall grass, and normally I enjoy his enjoyment. He has been having minor issues getting up in that he doesn't get up as easily as a young horse would. But yesterday,  he had trouble getting down. He gets part-way down and then falls to the side the rest of the way, and he hits pretty hard. He rolled fine, but getting up, he sat like a dog for a long time. It took him three tries to stand and it's clear that his hind legs are not very useful in the process. He's throwing himself up on his front legs. 

He's overdue for a trim, so I'm having that done to see if it helps. I may try more bute or some Previcox short term, to see if that helps. But I don't think it is a pain issue so much as neurological. Nothing else to do but be watchful. 

Horze grooming bag: A review

I was given this Horze grooming bag to review, and it arrived the other day. When I think of the kind of bag I'd want to go to a show or keep in my tack box, this has the features I'd want.

• It's lightweight.
• It has a number of pockets, both open and securable depending on what you're storing. 
• There are mesh pockets for damp items.
• Many loops for hoof picks, combs, etc.
• It has short straps and a long shoulder strap (detachable).
• There is an ID holder where you can put contact info.
• Saving the best for last -- if you're in a dusty environment, textile bags can harbor dust. On this bag there is a nylon drawstring that pulls everything closed. 

What's there not to like? Not much. I do notice that the contrast stitching is not as uniform at the edges, but in the big picture does that matter? The stitching is tight. Retails for 39.99. See photos below -- a picture is worth a thousand!