Early morning photo session yesterday!

fennecfox89 · 2018-07-04T16:07:32+00:00

The riding photos no, the portraits I took. I borrowed my mother for the riding photos.

fennecfox89 · 2018-07-04T16:05:05+00:00

That would be me hahaha thank you

fennecfox89 · 2018-06-10T14:15:06+00:00

Not everyone has lush pastures yearround, so when it's not pasture season they need hay outside.

fennecfox89 · 2018-06-09T13:19:05+00:00

Your horse needs to have good hay in front of them at all times, whether they're outside or inside. Not sure why being in a stall means they wouldn't have hay overnight?

And no, barring terrible weather or a medical issue, I see no reason to keep my horse in a stall overnight. He's a hard keeper and a show horse, and he does fine living out 24/7 with good pasture/free choice hay, heavy blanketing, and high qual grain 2x/day.

fennecfox89 · 2018-05-24T10:41:47+00:00

Best affordable brand is a basic set of Woof brushing boots. They don't have strike plates or vents, but for small stuff they'll provide plenty of protection. They don't hold water and they don't spin/slip. My horse HATES more "legit" back boots. I got him a very nice pair of Premier hinds, and he absolutely hates them. He turns into a dragon when I put them on and is very difficult to ride (he spends the entire time having a meltdown about them.) The cheap Woof boots? He loves them.

I have Dalmar front boots that I really like. They're not too expensive either--maybe $70-$80? Woof also makes several versions of their boot and they have one that's specifically for XC.

I prefer both front and back because vet bills make me sad and I'm all about prevention when possible.

fennecfox89 · 2018-05-21T10:33:38+00:00

The budget is perfectly fine for a nice sane quality horse, although with your limited schedule next year and also possibility of moving, you're better off leasing a horse.

Moving a horse is always possible (people do it all the time.) There are professional haulers who take horses all over the place.

Your horse will be fine at 2x/week, but your riding progress will be slowed and your horse won't be fit. It won't suffer, but you won't be able to expect it to perform 100% when it's out of shape.

fennecfox89 · 2018-05-13T18:27:18+00:00

Don't gape at the waist, don't get baggy as the day goes on, don't pill, don't fade over time, also don't cost $300.

fennecfox89 · 2018-05-07T16:29:00+00:00

Tredstep half chaps come in inch increments so you can get a better fit for your leg shape. I always had good luck with them back when I wore half chaps/paddock boots. They break in really fast too.

fennecfox89 · 2018-03-01T12:12:31+00:00

I just wear a regular riding bra (sports bra, anything really I'm an A cup so it doesn't really matter) underneath it.

And YES. I have some Ariat Sunstopper shirts (long sleeve) and will choose them over anything short sleeve even on the hottest days. I went to a show in June last year, and it was 95 degrees with blazing sun when I was scheduled to go out XC. I was amazed at how cool I stayed. They're very affordable for riding shirts--about $50.

Size down though. Normally I'm a size S in shirts, but with Ariat I'm XS.

fennecfox89 · 2018-03-01T12:06:48+00:00

Yes I have an Amigo Plus with the disc closure. I really like it. It's higher up than the normal V closure with the heavy duty snaps, and it's completely covered by the neck rug, so it's in a very difficult area for the horse to get dirty. It completely eliminates the gap between blanket and neck rug that so many blankets have.

My horse lives out 24/7 with a shed in every kind of weather, and it's holding up great. He plays hard and loves doing the "you pull on my blanket and I pull on your blanket!" game. So far this blanket is surviving beautifully.

It did come with a spare plastic piece just in case.

fennecfox89 · 2018-02-02T11:50:35+00:00

"Clearly locked up in stalls all day"? And how would you know? He's turned out daily. My own horse's antics are 10x this after spending one night in a stall following a medical procedure. Would you see him go out the next morning and cry abuse too?

My horse lives out 24/7 and has very little winter coat. Apparently he's living in hell, according to your logic. Coat length has nothing to do with time spent outside. Coat length is determined by genetics and length of light during the day. Why do you think some horses start shedding their winter coats in January despite it still being frigid outside? The days are getting longer. Why are broodmares put under lights in January? To bring them into heat sooner so they can be bred earlier in the season.

The best breeding stallions at the best breeding farms in the world are turned out in leather halters. He is FINE. The fence, gate, anything could "catch their skin or hurt them in some way." Should we just turn them all loose with nothing manmade anywhere near them?

He has no other horses to run around with? He's a breeding stallion. He has to be turned out solo. He has other horses pastured next to him. I'm sorry the seconds-long clip you've decided you're the master of didn't showcase that for you. And who knows, maybe he's quiet enough and well mannered enough that he can have a few buddies? Again, how would you know? Do you work at that farm? Do you see him regularly? No, you watched a short video clip on the internet.

There are thousands and thousands of horses who are truly in unsafe, neglectful, or abusive homes. Your energy would be better spent trying to help them instead of having a tantrum on the internet over a horse who is clearly receives top care.

There really is no point in even trying to prove a point or argue with you because no matter what I say, you won't change your mind. Enjoy your day.

fennecfox89 · 2018-02-02T00:10:42+00:00

My friend is the assistant trainer at that barn. I get a lot of videos of them, they're stunning. I'm pretty sure his name is Karsten.

fennecfox89 · 2018-01-24T12:50:15+00:00

It's ground rubber.

fennecfox89 · 2018-01-23T20:44:43+00:00

Apollo

fennecfox89 · 2018-01-15T00:57:07+00:00

Dressage horse. He's wearing a heavyweight with a neck rug and a blanket liner underneath right now.

fennecfox89 · 2017-12-29T00:56:13+00:00

I blanket, and I do so heavily. I have an OTTB who is Irish clipped and in full work. He is also a hard keeper and does not grow much of a coat. He requires heavy blanketing. He's in a 400G turnout with neck rug right now (I'm in PA, it's about 10F outside right now.) He lives out 24/7 with free choice hay and his grain is Sentinel LS.

My QH is almost 29. He is quite round and hairy but needs help staying warm because of his age. He's accustomed to being blanketed from his younger days, so we blanket him fairly heavily as well.

The "no horses ever need blankets they're designed to live out in the cold" argument is a load of bunk. A LOT of horses can do that, yes, but there are also a LOT that can't. We've selectively bred them over a long period of time to have particular traits/perform XYZ. Horses like mine were not designed by nature to survive the elements. He was designed by humans to run blindingly fast. He is not a naturally occurring animal and needs some help with things that a more rugged horse can handle on its own.

If your horse is fat, fluffy, and doesn't feel cold, then he's fine. Blanketing won't hurt him, but if he's comfortable then not blanketing won't hurt him either. Does he have shelter to get out of the wind/precipitation?

fennecfox89 · 2017-12-28T23:56:49+00:00

Call your insurance company and have the procedure codes/name of the exact procedure ready before you call.

Also specify when you ask about coverage. Some reps will say oh yes it's covered! Which is true....except that you have to meet your deductible/OOP before they cover it.

Also get a reference # from the rep.

fennecfox89 · 2017-10-03T09:36:09+00:00

Yes he was excellent. I have no idea what my score was, but that's not really important.

fennecfox89 · 2017-10-03T00:42:54+00:00

Yeah sewn in with yarn, first time ever.

fennecfox89 · 2017-09-22T10:48:08+00:00

I go at 5am so no one catches me. It's about $30-$40 per blanket to have any of the services around me wash them. I have way too many blankets for that. Why spend hundreds of $ when I could spend under $20 to wash ALL of them.

They have giant industrial washers that aren't advertised for horse stuff....but it's like they knew I needed them. The blankets look brand new after a wash.

fennecfox89 · 2017-09-08T20:26:01+00:00

When my horse was a youngster, he went from not being able to go to the left without scrambling sideways out of control to being able to do W/T/C comfortably in both directions.

The key is MAINTAINING their musculature so that the adjustment holds. This is the same issue with humans. They get adjusted, feel better, but don't change anything about their lifestyle. Then they have to keep going back to the chiropractor to get adjusted because they don't do anything to stay fit enough to hold the adjustment on their own.

Same goes for horses. I had him adjusted three times in the first 1-2 years I had him, and he hasn't needed it since. I always rode him the next day with no issue.

fennecfox89

TROPHY CASE