All posts tagged equestrian

Ketchup in the Tail?

July 14, 2015

Have you seen this thing going around on social media about putting ketchup in a horses tail to help make it whiter? I kept seeing it and I decided to give it a try. I actually did two trials.

Trial ONE – Spike

I was already giving Spike a bath so why not try it? I washed his tail out like normal, using equine shampoo. Then I squeezed in a ton of ketchup. I really worked it in too. I let it sit, impatiently, for about four minutes before I washed it out. I brushed his tail out and let it dry.

Result – I think its whiter? It looks a lot whiter, but I have only given Spike one *real* bath that included tail scrubbing. So I didn’t really have a control factor to compare it to. (I also did not get a “before picture)

Trial TWO – Simon

I had also decided Simon needed a bath so I figured, why not try it again. I have given Simon plenty of bathes so I will know more easily if his tail looks whiter. Like with trial one, I washed his tail out with equine shampoo, rinsed, and then applied ketchup liberally. This time I let it sit for closer the seven minutes before washing it out. I brushed his tail out and let it dry.

Result – It was whiter for sure. Not like blindingly white, but certainly whiter than it normally comes out with a good washing.

Conclusion – If I have some ketchup laying around and am having an enjoyable pony bathing day, I think I will probably add this into my routine. If I did halter classes or high end hunters or show ring stuff, I might be more into it too. But I do not have anyone judging the shade of white my pony’s tail is, so its not that big of a deal to me. So I am not going to rush out and pick up the biggest bottle of ketchup to keep in my wash kit for every competition I go to.

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by riderofchaos on July 14, 2015 • Permalink

Posted in Pony Stuff

Tagged equestrian, horse, pony

Posted by riderofchaos on July 14, 2015

https://blueridgepony.com/2015/07/14/ketchup-in-the-tail/

Mad Tack Solved my Saddle Situation – 2015

July 4, 2015

I have had Poe for two years now and have had continuous saddle fitting issues. Luckily Poe is not picky and has not seemed to mind any of them. But when your saddle rolls around your pony it can make it difficult to mount up, or lean effectively. Both mounting and leaning are pretty important skills in mounted games.

A few days ago I decided call Mad Tack in Madison, Virginia, where I heard they have a large selection of inexpensive used saddles. I talked to Samantha on the phone and told her my saddle situation. And sure enough. She raddled off a good selection of possible saddles that fit my criteria. He suggested I bring Poe with me and we could try saddles to my heart’s (butt’s) content.

I had Friday off for the Fourth of July so I loaded Poe up and off we went.

Mad Tack was mad easy to find. right in Madision just a quarter mile or so off rt29. Samantha had me park ou back next to a grass area. She took a look at Poe and then we went inside to select some saddles.

We started off with four saddle and, putting each one on a naked Poe to see the fit. Samantha was knowledgeable and competent. She commented on the fit in the front gullet area, thought the should, along the panels and back. Taking note on length compared to Poe’s back and how level the seat sat.

After looking at a few on his back we girthed up one and I climbed aboard. Now my main issues is the saddle rolling when I go to climb on, so paying particular attention to that, I was instantly pleased to see that it did not move. Score! I rode around and worked up some heat and a little light sweat and we pulled off the saddle. It was pleasingly even. We sat that saddle, which I’ll refer to as saddle #1, on the “maybe” stand.

The next saddle we girthed up and I climbed on, let’s call it saddle #2, was not as pleasing as saddle #1.

We looked at the fit of a few more and then Samantha our saddle #3 on Poe’s back. She liked the fit on him and so did I. We girthed him up and I climbed on and it didn’t move. My butt it the seat and my legs settled along the laps and off Poe and I went, trotting some circles, a short stop, some leaning, another mount, and I announces saddle #3 as the hands down winner!

While I was there I dropped off two of the saddles I have that do not fit Poe for consignment. Oh, did I mention that the store has all kinds of stuff? Lots of used stuff, new stuff, great prices, simply awesome!

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by riderofchaos on July 3, 2015 • Permalink

Posted in Pony Stuff, Reviews

Tagged equestrian, horse, pony

Posted by riderofchaos on July 3, 2015

https://blueridgepony.com/2015/07/03/mad-tack-solved-my-saddle-situation/

Vet Wrap – Always on Hand

July 3, 2015

What self respecting horse person runs out of vet wrap? Me! I was even at a honest to goodness tack store (Mad Tack) this morning. Dag-nab-it. Daisy came in with a cut on her ankle about an hour ago. I used a little Betadine and put some Furison on it but no vet wrap to finish up the job. Poor pup has a piece of gauze wrapped around her ankle and held on with some electrical tape.

Vet wrap is on my shopping list.

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by riderofchaos on July 3, 2015 • Permalink

Posted in Pony Stuff

Tagged dog, equestrian, horse

Posted by riderofchaos on July 3, 2015

https://blueridgepony.com/2015/07/03/vet-wrap-always-on-hand/

MGAA Nationals 2015

July 2, 2015

This years MGAA Nationals was at the Meadow Event Park in Doswell, Virginia. They set up a huge 350×600 grass arena for us to play in that was right next to the camp grounds. Not only did this make for excellent spectating, but the riding was awesome on so much grass with so much space.

I rode Poe with my team, Gone Rogue, and we sorted our orders per Val’s suggestion. It worked well. With the added challenge of being the anchor rider for many of the races, and the support of my awesome teammates, I really pushed myself to pick up the pace. Zoe also pulled anchor duty quite a bit, with me handing over to her. Kristin was our main starter, and she really launched her new to games borrowed pony out there to eat up the field. Averi and Matt also took a few turns at the start, Sparkles even did an uncharacteristic excited little rear on one of her starts.

There were quite a few very close races, and I just love those types of runs, even when my team doesn’t come out on top. The top four teams really played around taking turns leading the pack from session to session. In the end Border Patrol, a four rider, four pony team, trumped us all, taking the blue. Full Tilt really got their game on for the last session and pulled one point ahead of Time Flies for second, with my team bringing in fourth, followed by Black and Blue Crew and Antiques Roadshow.

I personally felt really good, and back in the game. I had some stupid, uncommon mistakes that were just pure sloppiness on my part. I also need a bit of brushing up on my handoffs. But all in all, I felt very on. And Poe loved the footing. Go us!

Nationals is always an awesome competition, with bigger prizes, more races and social activities. this year we ran five sessions with a total of 54 races. Interestingly, for Sunday’s 15 race final session, the masters division wanted races cut, but the fossil division almost unanimously did not want to miss a single race. Nearly all of the races in the last two sessions were sponsored. We missed out on the best prizes but we still went home with a bucket full of treats and other goodies. Every rider also got a small tote bag that contained some pony treats, sample supplement, a last-rider-helmet-band, an MGAA logoed Klean Kanteen bottle and a commemorative MGAA Nationals 2015 patch. Really fantastic prizes!

I skipped the Friday evening trip to Kings Dominion. The lazy river was pretty tempting, but I enjoyed some down time in the camp grounds with teammates Matt and Zoe before turning in. The Saturday night party started out awesome. It was catered by Chipotle with a cotton candy machine too. Zoe and I played some of the carnival games, enjoyed the DJ and watched some people ride the mechanical bull. Unfortunately a massive storm rolled in with tornado warnings, rain and wind. This sort of shut the party down just as it was kicking it up, and although it did continue after the storm passed, it still took some of the flame out of it.

The campsites were fun. Jeannie picked up a blow up pool and we sat ringside in the shade with our feet in the nice cool pool. That was probably the best part. Carl put a pool in the back of his truck with chloride and a filter! The ice cream truck swung through a few times a day, and we had more food than we could eat. Oh and did I mention that Wendi kept us stocked up in fresh cold tea?

Nationals is certainly the most exciting competition of the year and this year was no let down. Now I have to wait a month for MA3 to get here!