Fall Favorites | 2018

 

PC: my lovely trainer

Now that the leaves are falling and the air is getting cooler, it is time to break out all of the lovely things that are reserved for the cooler weather! I haven’t been doing much shopping here lately, but I have accumulated some things over the past few months that I just can’t wait to share with you.

Back On Track Mesh Sheet

 

All warm and cozy in his fancy BOT mesh sheet!

I am in love with this sheet! I purchased the burgundy sheet and neck combo from Smartpak, and let me just say, it is gorgeous! Burgundy is definitely Dies’s color! Since Dies is known as the destroyer of blankets, I reserve it for shows and supervised grazing only. I can’t stand the thought of it getting a rip lol. I ordered a 78″ sheet, but I will say that it definitely runs on the larger side – especially in the chest area. I think Dies could have gone for the 75″, but the 78″ is fine since his older brother will be using it as well. Diablo could not have squeezed his chunky butt in the 75″. Other than the larger fit, the sheet fits and works great! I definitely notice a difference in relaxation and suppleness when using the sheet on cold mornings and nights.

Equifit D-Teq Boots with Colored Binding

I finally bit the bullet and bought a new set of Equifits as the XL pair I have loved for years ended up just being too big for Diesel. He really needs a large for them to fit correctly and not slide down. Instead of buying a pair of plain black ones, I opted for the D-Teq boots featuring a brown binding. Let’s just say they are GORGEOUS! I love them so, so much.

A Fungus Amungus Leg and Body Wash

We all know how irritating it is to stumble across fungus when grooming your horse. No matter how well you take care of them, it always seems to make an appearance – especially when the wet months set in. After fighting a losing battle against cannon bone crude for what seems like forever, I stumbled across a super product called Fungus Amungus shampoo. Washing my guys’ legs with this after every ride has completely eradicated the cannon crud. It also has a pleasant smell and lathers nicely, resulting in a squeaky clean and fungus-free pony.

Glossier Makeup

 

While I like to trick myself into thinking I actually like full coverage makeup, I’m not a huge makeup person when it comes time to actually putting it on. Glossier caught my eye as their makeup is designed to be quick and easy to apply. You can achieve a healthier, more put together look without the time commitment of applying full coverage makeup. That is definitely a huge plus when you’re a busy college student and equestrian. Who’s got the time for a full face of makeup between a schedule full of lessons and classes?

If you’re looking for a sheer, all-natural makeup look, Glossier products are just the thing for you! I currently own the skin tint, concealer, boy brow, haloscope (highlighter), cloud paint (blush), wowder, and lidstar (eyeshadow). All of their products feel wonderful on the skin, and you can achieve a full look in around 10 minutes! How great is that?

Grey Horse Candles and Melts

Let’s just say that I spend an ungodly amount of time browsing through Etsy. I have a real weakness for personalized, hand-made products. When I stumbled upon Grey Horse Candles on Etsy, I just couldn’t say no. Candles that are horse themed? Yes, please!

The candles from this shop are very well made – they always burn evenly and produce a great scent payoff. You can really tell that the owner put a lot of work and love into each candle. Also, the scents are just amazing! My favorite scent by far is Morning Hack, which really reminds me of just that, a morning hack. It has a very fresh, woodsy smell that is so relaxing. I also love Sweet Feed and High End Tack! They smell just like the real things!

Hello Fresh

As a college student who is shopping for one, buying ingredients and cooking meals is always such a pain. I always seem to end up with too many ingredients that take up way too much space in my refrigerator and pantry and I struggle to find good, healthy recipes that don’t require 40 pieces of cookware. Not to mention, I’m not the best cook.

I just recently started receiving weekly meal-kits from Hello Fresh, and all I can say is wow! Each kit comes with all the ingredients you need (minus salt, pepper, and olive oil) and detailed step-by-step instructions on how to prepare your chosen meals all for around $40 a week. While it may seem kind of expensive, if you compare the cost of eating out and factor in that the kits give you four meals, it is actually really reasonable. It also doesn’t hurt that the meals are delicious and easy to make! Even I, the worst cook in America, can whip up a tasty meal. That’s really saying something.

 

Lesson and Life Update

Boy, it’s been a while since I was last able to sit down and get my thoughts together on here! Life has been pretty hectic in the last month between moving, starting the new semester, and horses. However, now that the first two weeks of the new semester are over, I feel like I can actually take a quick breather and get back to doing what I love: blogging!

Last Monday marked the beginning of my third year here at good ‘ole UGA and my second year as an Animal Science major. This semester’s classes feature organic chemistry, physics, animal reproduction, and equine undergraduate research. Whew! It’s going to be a tough semester, but hopefully, I will make it through in one piece. Either way, I am ready to step up to the plate and give it my best shot!

Even though I am currently living and going to school in Athens, I have decided to keep both of the ponies at my trainer’s farm. Both of them are at the best place they could possibly be, so it definitely wasn’t a hard decision to make even though they are an hour away from me. I just have to make a little extra time and effort if I want to continue to ride and lesson as much as I have been. Let’s just say that in order to get a lesson in during the week, sunrise lessons have become a thing. 😊

While getting up early is not my forte, I am actually loving being in the saddle right when the sun comes up. I actually look forward to my sunrise lesson each week, which if you know me, is probably a little surprising! 😂

Our lessons recently have been going extremely well with both he and I learning a lot each time out. I feel as though I am finally starting to figure him out rather than just going along with the motions, which has been a huge confidence booster for me. My trainer has also been pushing me a little out of my comfort zone each lesson by slowly inching up the jumps. Yes, that’s right, I said jumps! We are actually doing some courses now!

Jumping a “bigger” cross rail in our lesson two weeks ago!

A little trotting!

 

Our first 2′ jump together at our lesson last week!

 

The video below is from my lesson two weeks ago. Unfortunately, the video of my lesson from last week wouldn’t load. 🙃 The main goal of our last few lessons has been to work on relaxation and pace on course. I sometimes let my anxiety creep its way into my riding resulting in me leaning and rushing at jumps. Thankfully, that habit is slowly disappearing each ride as I continue to gain confidence in both Dies and myself.

There are definitely a lot of things that I need to work on, but overall, I am really proud of our progress so far! I am also really proud of how far I have come both mentally and physically in the last few months. I am finally starting to feel at home in the saddle and like my old self again, and it is all thanks to my amazing trainer and my wonderful baby horse!

 

 

 

10 Things That Happen When You’re A College Equestrian

Continuing to ride in college can be quite the challenge and not for the faint of heart. As we all know, horses have a way of consuming all of your time. But wait, doesn’t college do that too? Here is a list of 8 things that happen when you’re a college equestrian:

1. Coffee is the only reason you can still function. Let’s just face it, you could probably own Starbucks by now with the amount of money you have spent on coffee just in this past month. Between early morning rides, classes, long afternoons at the farm lessoning and feeding, and late night study sessions, you’ve probably just decided to live by the phrase “sleep is for the weak” and go ahead and chug that second coffee.

2. You make your own fashion statements. With your schedule filled to the brim, riding before class is often a necessity, and it isn’t always feasible to be able to shower and change before you have to make it to that early lecture. Rather than try and hide that slobber stained shirt or messy barn hair, you have decided to just embrace it instead. Surely nobody will care that you have hay in your hair, right?

3. Your closet is half breeches and sunshirts and half t-shirts and jeans. So much for variety! If you’re not wearing your riding clothes to class, you’ll most likely be caught wearing your favorite t-shirt and a pair of old jeans. It’s a good thing that most of your breeches can double as everyday wear because after all, who can afford nice, new clothes when you have a horse?

4. The barn becomes your classroom. Rather than just skipping out on pony time, you lug your heavy backpack out to the barn and start typing away at that essay while perched on the top of your tack trunk or the nearest bale of hay. By the time you are done with college, your horse should be able to graduate from college with you as many times as you’ve used him as a study buddy.

5. Your planner looks like a murder scene straight out of CSI: Miami. Horses take up a lot of time, so in order to continue riding in college, you’ve had to master the skill of time management. Your planner is overflowing with sticky notes, written messages, highlighter marks, and those alert stickers. Between juggling barn time, classes, work, big due dates, and a plethora of exams, it’s hard to believe that you can even make the time to breathe.

6. You never have money to go out with friends because you spend it all on your horse. At this point, it’s safe to say that your horse has a better wardrobe and eats better than you do. Plus, you’re pretty sure the only thing in your wallet right now is hay and those free peppermints you snag at every restaurant.

7. The dining hall is your new favorite treat destination. Since college and horses are bleeding your bank account dry, the dining hall has become your one-stop shop for horse treats. Why pay for an overpriced bag of treats when you can just snag a few apples and peppermints on your way out?

8. None of your college friends ever ask you for a ride. Since you are always on the move with no time to waste, your car becomes your mobile tack trunk and closet. With all of the saddles, bridles, treat bags, and saddle pads residing in your car, it’s surprising that you are even able to fit in there much less another person. The passenger seat? Yeah, it’s for my saddle. Oh, the back seat? Sorry, that’s where all of my saddle pads and horse blankets reside. Maybe you can fit in the trunk next to the bale of hay?

9. Friday night out on the town? More like Friday night in my bed. Unlike many of your college friends, you have to be at the show grounds at 5 am. Who has time for partying when you have a horse show to go to? The answer is: not you!

10. You wouldn’t have it any other way. Despite all of the hardships that come with continuing to ride in college, at the end of the day, it is completely worth it when you get to the barn and see your horse’s dopey face after a hard day or classes or that killer exam. Ponies can make anything better!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday Fun

Since I am a full-time student and work part-time at a vet clinic, I haven’t been able to make the hour-long drive to see Diesel very often. However, when I do get to make the trip, it is always the absolute highlight of my week! Today was no exception!

I headed straight to the farm after I got off of work today to watch my trainer school baby Dies and swap out his blankets. His Amigo turnout took quite the beating this past month, so it is on its way to get repaired. He somehow managed to put several rips in it even though it is only two months old. Boys will be boys. Since he ripped his own blanket, he is currently outfitted in his brother’s SmartPak Ultimate High Neck Turnout that I managed to snag for $80 during their year-end sale. It’s about a size too big for Dies, but it’ll do for now. You just can’t beat SmartPak’s 10-year warranty – especially when you have a young rambunctious gelding! All of his blankets from here on out will be from SmartPak.

It was a busy day at the farm today with construction going on around the arena and the spreader trucks visiting. Not to mention, the cows that live beside the barn were extremely vocal! With all of this commotion going on, I was a bit anxious to see how Diesel was going to behave. After all, I couldn’t blame him if he was wild!

However, baby Dies was on his best behavior this afternoon! We tacked him up and took him up to the arena to take a look at the scary spreader trucks, and he stood like a rock the entire time they were there. That is a huge deal for him as he is such a scaredy cat by nature. After about ten minutes, he even lost interest in them and decided that checking my pockets for treats was a much better use of his time.

Speaking of treats, Diesel absolutely loves Stud Muffins – especially the peppermint ones! If you want to try them out, they are on sale on SmartPak right now!

Dies decided to show off for me – he was absolutely fabulous for my trainer today under saddle! He trotted and cantered around so much more relaxed than the last time I watched him school at home – even with all of the commotion going on. He is beginning to understand how to support himself and not rely on the rider’s hands to hold him up. He still has a lot of room for improvement, but I am just so pleased to see him actively learning. There is still a lot of work to do with his changes as we are still working on getting him to change every time when asked. He has great, easy changes, but he loves to be stubborn and act like he doesn’t know what you are talking about. Geldings, haha! He was also an absolute star over fences! His jumping is getting better each time I see him, and he is getting more comfortable with not-so-perfect distances. He looks so much more confident! I am just over the moon with how great he is coming along! I couldn’t ask him to be any more fabulous than he was today.

Watching him on days like today reminds me of how much I miss riding him! He is such a fun guy to ride. I have to keep reminding myself that I am not the only rider that is not confident 100% of the time, and it is ok to be afraid sometimes. While he is gaining confidence, I am gaining it too. I am hoping that I will be back in the saddle in the next few weeks – I can’t wait!

Spring (?) Semester is Here!

Wake up in the morning feelin’ a little chilly. Grab my bookbag, I’m out the door, I’m gonna hit this city… Actually, nevermind. It’s too darn cold.

I’m not going to lie – I was not so thrilled about trekking to class all the way across campus in freezing temperatures. I was even less thrilled when I stepped outside and realized that not only was it cold but WINDY! Walking to my first class of the day felt like I was embarking on a trek across Antartica. I know what you northerners are thinking, and yes, as a southerner, I can conclude that I am in fact a wimp when it comes to cold weather. My animals can attest to that. Just check out the picture below! 😬 They all love their warm blankies on cold winter days like this!

Despite the subzero temps (ok, mid-thirties), the first day of spring semester gives me hope that this will be a great semester for me. After changing my major from neuroscience to animal science at the end of last semester, it was refreshing to sign up for classes that I actually wanted to take! I felt right at home in my first animal science class at UGA.

I decided at the end of last semester to stop doubting myself and pursue my dream of being a veterinarian. I decided to ignore all of the discouraging statistics surrounding vet school acceptances and follow my dream, which has been one of the best decisions I have made so far in my college career. If you are doubting your choice in major, take the leap and follow your heart!

After attending all of my classes for the day and surviving the brutal cold, I came back to my apartment to lay out my planner using the syllabus from each class to mark important dates, plan out which days I will ride and go to the gym, and organize my work schedule. Life just isn’t complete without my cute Lily Pulitzer planner! I feel so lost without it. Now it’s time to crack down and get to studying!

Happy studying everyone!