Saturday Steeplechase

So today has been a fun day for me. I traveled to Charlotte North Carolina (6 hours west of where I grew up) to visit my best friend and go to the Queens Cup Steeplechase. A Steeplechase is a horse race with jumps.

Sarah is my best friend from college. I went off to college fall '06. We didn't live together but we might as well have. We both ended up transferring colleges the same year but never stopped being best friends. Of course, she was a bridesmaid in my wedding. She rides as well but doesn't own a horse. It's nice we share a mutual love for horses :)

I have realized how amazing of a friend I have had for the past 7 years.

The race was a blast. What a great day of socializing, horse races and of course great fashion :) ;)

We wore matching Target dresses! I want to get the mint one like Sarah has. They didn't have them at my store. Great minds think a lot ;) I borrowed the belt from her though and skipped the necklace I had originally planned.

I fly back to Fl tomorrow. I'm ready to see my H again and pick up again on house projects but for now best friend time is great.

Hope everyone has had an awesome weekend so far like I have had.

Perfection.

Happy Friday! I am so glad the weekend is here. I am ready for another visit from my mother in law and to finish painting our living room!


After work on Tuesday H and I went to go see Shirley together. He loves her and she loves him. I will share my barn proposal story later :) for now I captured this precious shot when he wasn't paying attention.


Perfection. I love my little family.

Non-Riding Evening at the Barn

Back when I used to show, I would ride everyday but Sunday. Sometimes, I even had two a days! All of this and working was a lot to handle.

Now that I haven't shown since June 2011 (marriage caused some sacrifices) I have days where I go out to the barn and I don't ride. I go, hang out with Shirley, and don't feel guilty. Not riding every time is a good thing. It allows the horse to learn how to relax with you, and not associate you with having to work.

However, I can still make my evening productive.

One way I work with Shirley is by lunging her every few days. What is lunging? It is a way to exercise your horse from the ground. It also works voice commands, balance, and it allows you to watch the horse's natural movement to detect any injury or soreness. It is done in a "lunge ring", which is a fenced in 50-60 inch in diameter circular arena. You can do it with what it is called "a lunge line", which is a 30 inch rope with a buckle on the end, or you can do "free lunge", which is what I prefer...no line.

Shirley is an old pro :) The way her neck is out and her head is slightly down means she is using her neck muscles and she wants to strech and relax.

I also enjoy going to the barn and giving Shirley a good grooming, giving her treats, and just hanging out at the barn with the other riders.

Oh, and taking photos of my favorite barn dog, Jessie, a jack russell. Isn't she precious!

I love spending time at the barn, and relaxing after a hard day at work!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful week so far :)

Smartpaks!

This post is not sponsored by Smartpak in any way. All reviews are my own.

As a horse owner, I try to give my horse the best. I want her to feel, look and perform her best.

There were 2 things over the past year that made me adjust her health routine...the fact that we moved from a dry, cold climate to a warm, damp climate, and the fact that she turned over the age of 15.

Smartpak is an amazing brand. You choose your supplements, and how much you want measured, then they create your "Smartpaks" for you! The supplements are sectioned off into their own sections, and are labeled. They have so many supplements avaliable, (their own generic brand is amazing and affordable) and they package it out for you. Then they ship it on an auto shipment whenever you want (I do it every month). They are labeled and measured. All you do is rip open the top and dump the supplements. No measuring! It's great for a barn that has a variety of people in charge of feeding. They also give you a free storage container when you first sign up, and are always happy to send samples to make sure they work for your horse.

Their customer service is beyond amazing. I ordered some shampoo that came opened when it was delievered. I called them, they gave me a refund, sent me a new bottle free, AND a $10 gift card towards Shirley's smartpaks. It was beyond expectations. They have won awards for their customer service. Smartpak orders over $40 ship free.

Their website also sells horse items, riding apparel and animal related gifts, and they ship free with Smartpaks!

ANDDD.....they have Smartpaks for dogs also!


Shirley is on 3 supplements. She gets 1 pack a day, usually with dinner.

The first is Smarthoof. I love Smarthoof. When I moved to FL, Shirley's feet got really brittle, due to the grass changes here. Within 2 weeks of using this, her feet have never looked better. Originally I was on 1 scoop, but now that it's dryer here, I reduced her to 1/2. I may increase it back to 1 starting this summer.

 

The second is Smartmare Harmony. I give this to her frankly, because as much as I love my Shirley, she can be very difficult to handle when she is in heat. This supplement has seriously made my life easier. Now her heat is very managable, and actually has reduced her stressing. She gets 1 scoop.

 

 

 

The last one is SmartLytes. I started this right before we moved to FL so she wouldn't get dehydrated. I was worried about the heat and how she would react. We did not have problems, and I give credit to this supplement. I found out that many of the other horses at the barn are on this supplement. As hot as last summer was, I am thankful she was on it!

 

Right now she gets 1/2 a scoop, I will probably bump her up to 1 when summer starts.

 

So that is my review! I feel like supplements have made Shirley happier and more comfortable, and also has made my life easier and took some worries away. Like people, changes in life can cause changes in diet. I feel very proactive in what Shirley gets.

Do you give supplements to your pets? Don't forget to visit Smartpak as well here!

 

 

 

 

Meet Shirley!

I thought I would take a blog post to introduce my sweet girl Shirley Temple!

Her show name is Kiss and Tell, and her barn name is Shirley Temple, or Shirley. Kiss and Tell is the name of a Shirley Temple mini movie.

So the way she came into my life is an interesting one. I knew her previous owner very well, as we went to horse camp together when we were young, and we showed together. One show, she shows up with Shirley. I had my old horse Roscoe at the time (more to come on that), but I saw Shirley and immediately fell in love. I remember thinking to myself that one day she would be mine.

About a year later, I made the decision it was time for me and Roscoe to part. He has not the horse for me. I had owned him for about 3 years at ths point, and I knew I wasn't the right person for him. I put an ad up for Roscoe, knowing that I wanted to find the perfect home for him, not just A home. I received so many phone calls from people on him, and no one seemed to be perfect.

I later heard from a reliable source that Shirley's owner was looking for a new horse. I called her up, arranged a time to see Roscoe and Shirly together, and we ended up agreeing on a trade. I got my Shirley! I knew that one day she would be mine, and I was right. Roscoe went to my friend, and the best part was he was nearby and I could see him whenever I wanted. He had the greatest home until he past away from colic in January 2011.

This was almost 5 years ago. Shirley will always be mine, no matter what.

Shirley and I did the show circuit for 3 years, winning many year end division titles, and many local titles. Now we just enjoy riding and enjoying each other's company :) I even had my bridal portraits taken with her.

Some facts about Shirley:

-She loves black licorice, candy canes, mike and ikes and spicy peanuts
-She is afraid of cows
-Her color is called grulla, and it's very rare. It's a recessive gene.
-She is 3/4 quarter horse and 1/4 arabian
-She is allergic to wool
-Her best friend is my best friend's horse named Willow