A Truby in Tucson: December 2018

Monday, December 31, 2018

Closing Out 2018

All in all, I think my 2018 was a pretty good year. Of course, it came immediately after 2017, which was just a fucking dumpster fire of a year, so it's hard not to improve on that. (Fun fact, on the 30th or 31st of December 2017, there was a literal dumpster fire at a nearby dump. It was *great*.)

This year has been much, much better. The new barn that we moved to in February continues to be wonderful. Truby continues to be happy and sound. And we've gotten to explore trail riding a little bit more, with walks and rides on the nearby Loop Trail!

Getting in a hike before a storm rolls in

Recently it's been COLD. Like, for reals cold. Low 50s during the day, and down into the low 30s or even 20s at night! Brrrrr! Truby's staying snug as a bug in her rugs. I've been layering her new Back on Track mesh sheet under a no fill rain sheet, and her Back on Track quick wraps, to keep her warm and toasty at night.

I'm toasty!

This past week or so we've gone for two walks out on the Loop, and two arena rides - with a saddle! I finally feel up to fully tacking her up for rides. Plus she's pretty slick and slippery with her nightly blanketing. A bit of self preservation!

The first time we did a saddle ride, she was NOT amused. She wanted to lollygag and sightsee, and I decided that saddle = work. Bareback rides can be for fun, but riding with a saddle will mean SRS BSNS time.

She wasn't too bad. A couple times she threw her head up and jigged forward. Highly disappointed that that didn't intimidate me, and I could bring her back to a walk in a few strides with just my seat. She also kicked out at my leg once, when I gave her a little thump to remind her not to ignore me when I squeezed. Sorry, Grumpy Pants McMareFace, leg means stuff! And you gotta do it. She gave me a good reminder to kept my leg on, even when she was being 'hot' and 'racy'. I mean, as much as a couch potato can be hot! Still, we ended on a good note, and a few days later, she was much more amiable about going for a working saddle ride.

When I was driving home after that first ride, I looked over and saw a HUGE, BRIGHT rainbow! A double rainbow! I pulled over as soon as I could, and grabbed a picture. Then I texted M, Cinco's owner, and told her to look north! (She was still out at the barn.) And of course, as soon as I got home I grabbed the husband and made him got out in the rain to look.

taken from the side of the road

Decent panoramic photo from our apartment complex

M sent me this picture from the barn

I'm taking that huge rainbow that stretched from past my home to past the barn, covering them both in sparkly rainbow glory as a good sign. 2019 could be another year of change, and possible chaos. (Husband graduates and will get a new job in a new field. Anything could happen.) But we're starting it in a good place. Truby's happy. I'm happy. Things are going well. And hopefully they will only get better!

Yeah, yeah. But a girl can dream, right?

Truby's ready!

Monday, December 24, 2018

The Calm During The Storm

Truby made a friend!

Thursday afternoon was one of those perfect afternoons that we have in Tucson. It was warm, and sunny, and the light was golden. The barn was peaceful and quiet. It was the kind of day that just begs you to sit down, soak in the sunshine and just relax.

Truby and I enjoyed a nice easy stroll. It was too lazy an afternoon to even walk. Just a nice meander together.

Glowing in the afternoon sun

It's impossible to describe how calm and gentle these afternoons are. The sun warms you just enough to feel good and drowsy, but not so much to be hot or uncomfortable. Everything seems to glow gently. The horses are relaxed and sleepy. After we were done riding, I just sat on Truby, breathing in the perfectness. Enjoying the soft, fuzzy creature beneath me. Truby blinked slowly, and started to doze.

I knew that Friday would start The Gauntlet. The last few days before Christmas, and even worse, a weekend. Luckily for me, it wasn't too crazy. I was definitely very busy, but not overwhelmed. There was some moments of chaos, but not many. A few rude people, but just a few. Most of our customers were wonderful to deal with, happy we could get their pups clean and fluffy before Christmas. Pretty much people we see all year round.

But in the middle of a rough patch, it helped to remember Thursday. Try to recapture some of the peace of that day. Remember the soft snort and quiet munching of the horses eating their hay. The warm and fuzzy coats and velvety muzzles.

Sunday after work I hand walked Truby for a bit. Same golden light and sleepy sunshine. We soaked in the last warmth of the day (once the sun sets it gets chilly!). It felt so good to stretch my legs and enjoy the scenery of our adopted home. We walked among the mesquite trees, which is a bit like old English parkland. Lots of trees, but with the underbrush all cleared. Of course, there's no grass or grand oak trees, but it almost feels the same.

CANDY CANESSSSSS!!!!!!!!!

I successfully ran The Gauntlet, and survived! In the 15 or 16 years I've been grooming, I think this was one of the least stressful holiday seasons. Busy! But not terrible. Still, I'm so happy it's over, and I can relax. Today I gave the last few gifts to friends, wished everyone a Merry Christmas, and spent a blissful hour putzing around the barn. Truby is tucked in for night with a fresh stall of fluffy shavings, a big net of hay, and a couple extra treats. Now it's time to tuck myself into bed, with a fluffy blanket, not shavings! In the morning I'll give Auri her Christmas present, a whole bag of catnip mousies. Then I'll get to spend the day with Truby. It will be a wonderful Christmas!

Gotta find juuuuust the right place to roll

Wednesday, December 19, 2018

A NonTruby Adventure

One of my favorite Tucson people is a multi-talented artist. Last year I participated in a jewelry photoshoot that combined two of her loves, photography and making jewelry. Definitely not a "me" activity, but it was a ton of fun and we all had a great time.

Fun fact: it took about 3 days to fully remove all the eye makeup

So a few weeks ago, when she asked if I could help out at another photoshoot, I of course agreed immediately! This time I just had to help hold a horse and get stuff. Much easier than putting on fake eyelashes and looking haughty.

Meet Daphne!

Daphne is kept at a super fancy ranch that's just a couple of miles from my apartment. I drive past it all the time, so a chance to wander around and look at all the gorgeous horses was a treat. And I was not disappointed!

Hello, I would like ten, please.

Oh, and 5 or 6 of these, too.

These beauties were in the jumper barn.

My job was easy. Hold the horse while her owner was doing solo shots. Daphne has great manners, so it was just a matter of walking when she was bored, trying to keep her from eating random stuff, and oogling my surroundings.

There was 5? 24 stall barns, each stall had an attached outdoor stall.

Currently housing jumper, dressage, and western training and showing horses

Plus an onsite breeding barn with AI collection and veterinary services.

Trying, and failing, to get uppy ears

This was fun. Bentley was holding a mirror, and Pamela was

shooting into the mirror to get T and Daphne in the reflection

One of the outfits being recycled into a very posh duck blind

The hardest part of my day was trying to convince Daphne to get in juuuuuust the right position. After a few minutes of that, mostly I just got to hang out. Kinda like helping out at a horse show. Lots of walking, lots of looking at fanciness, and if you're lucky, not much else!

Getting her in place was sooo hard.

Daphne refused to give me uppy ears :(

This guy was SO FUNNY. He actually warmed himself up before galloping around and playing.

He walked a loop, then jogged, then a loop at a slow canter.

Then he let loose, running and playing.

After seeing all those stunning show horses, it was nice to go see my fuzzy, scruffy Truby.

We might not be fancy, but it works for us.

Tuesday, December 11, 2018

Sassy Pants

The beautiful sunset from last post led to a fun little storm system that brought us a good day of rain, and even snow in the tippy tops of the mountains! But before the rains came, it was incredibly dry, and every time I touched or tried to brush Truby, her coat crackled with static electricity. I sprayed her quite generously with some Vetrolin Shine Spray just so I could pet her without shocking her.

So of course, a few days later I decided to hop on bareback for a little ride. She was still very, very slick from the spray....she's been very good recently...mostly...so I figured it would be okay. The second I got on, she spun around and dove her face into a few scraps of alfalfa hay that was left over from someone's turnout time snack. I let her eat for a second while I settled myself, made sure I had some sort of grip, and then hauled her head up and sent her to work.

Can I spook at this?

She pranced off and started trying to get back to the hay, or "run" off, or twist around, and all of that involved a very high head and very prancey feet and an overly light feel to her front end. I very much dislike the feel of a high strung horse being way above the bit and extra light on their feet. I hate that feeling of being completely unable to control or influence the horse, and the feeling that anything will cause them to leap, twirl, or run off.

Luckily Truby is pretty unathletic, and I remembered how to actually ride. So while I had to be quite a bit braver than I prefer to be, I sat squarely on her back, my legs firm on her sides. Never pinching or clinging. I forced my body to belie my nervousness, and rode. Even just at a walk, I used my leg to push her into my rein. I used my core and seat to hold her into a nice pace. I kept my voice relaxed and low, and my buttcheeks unclenched.

It took a good 15 minutes, but I got her mostly focused on me. She moved forward in a solid, starting-to-swing walk, no jig, no giraffing. She did occasionally think that spooking at something would be fun, but never followed through. There was a moment when we were going past the far end near the neighbors chickens, and a couple of them started to squabble. Truby only took a large step away, but I was much more startled and found myself clenching with my thighs, leaning quite forward, and grabbing at my reins to shorten them. I had to give myself a good lecture about that, because that's an excellent way to teach a horse that they really should be afraid of something!

But in general, everything went really well, and I was proud of myself. Proud of myself for being brave, for riding through it, and doing those things well. Proud of Truby, too. She's allowed to be sassy sometimes, but she worked through it as well, and was a happy pony by the end.

I finished our ride just a few minutes later. It had started to drizzle heavily, and while it was exciting (it's a desert thing), Truby hates getting rain in her ears, and I thought she deserved to stop on a good note.

She was still pretty up and sassy, so I turned her losoe and let her run a bit. She enjoyed getting to be a little wild, tossing in a few bucks and some playful striking with her front legs. I even got a little bit of video!

I filmed this in Slo Mo on my phone, but can't upload that version. Which is a shame, because it's so much better! After a few minutes of sassing around, Truby walked over to me and nuzzled against my arm. Having gotten the crazies out, she was relaxed and happy again. She got some cookies, wrapped in her rain sheet for the chill rain that would come overnight, and tucked into bed with lots of hay.