Today is 2/17/2021 and I spontaneously decided to ask if Capone was busy today, and it was just my luck that he was not!! I gathered all my needed items fairly quickly and headed off around 12:15 to go see the superest Pony there is. I blasted some Lana Del Rey and Drake on my way to the barn and made it there just around 1PM. I switched from my blue Converse to my paddock boots and pulled all of my stuff together after closing the main gate. I find it nearly impossible for me to drive in my paddock boots because they are so hard on the sole and I have no sense of feeling in them unless I am riding with my foot flat, so I wear my sneakers until I’m at the barn. Plus I keep my car cleaner that way too. My Cavali Club Tryon backpack and I made it up the hill to Capone after settling in for my barn time, with some fun company!!

I haven’t ever genuinely been a bird person beyond loving crows/ravens/corvids from a distance. I had some experience in the foster care system towards the end when we got canaries, but this chicken at the barn just loved me. It was so excited from the moment I arrived to my ride to the time I went to leave.

I unlocked the tack room, set my Caramel Craze from Dunkin’ Donuts down, took Capone’s blue blanket off, folded it over the edge of his stall and headed over to the spare shed to pull things out from my tack trunk since I didn’t have everything I needed at home. I realized immediately that some of my stuff had been moved, but I didn’t think anything of it then. Everyones trunks were there, and mine was up on top like it has always been. There was a well loved Matte’s half pad on my lid, and 2 blankets, but my bag stuffed full of saddle pads was not anywhere nearby. I looked in the corner by the saddle racks and there wasn’t a pad or bag of mine in the area. I opened both trunks, nothing. I searched in the main tack room just for kicks, nothing. I walked to the tack room doorway to think about where they could possibly be when Capone shoved his nose into my chest and sniffed me to say hello and remind me he was there. That was all I needed to put that aside to have a good day with him.

I turned my music back on, and grabbed my leather halter and green & blue lead, slipped it on his adorable dish face and started currying him. He was a bit touchy about his left side with the curry, but was still mostly respectful about bringing it to my attention. His butt, would not get clean for the life of me, but I really tried, I promise. It’s been way too cold to bathe him, but he definitely needs it after all his arena rolling time. I took a lot of time kindly unknotting his tail with a wide tooth comb so he didn’t lose a single strand of his beautiful tail, I will attach a photo of it. Plus the shavings falling out of it was more satisfying that way in my opinion.

I tidied up his hooves outside and on the sole with my sturdy blue hoof pick. Technically, its not the very one that came with my SHE package (that one was black), but I exchanged it back at Webb to match my grooming kit so everything is blue. I treated his thrush in his right front with my SHE Hoof Oil (check out this post for more information on the oil itself) and treated him for being so good with some front leg stretches. We didn’t have the right saddle in the tack room, so I was just planning on hopping on bareback, but I was slightly worried about the quality of my ride without the stability a saddle provides for my first ride back. I would’ve used my bridle on Capone, but it’s still missing a couple components for actual work. Instead, I opted for his owners new and absolutely stunning one ear headstall with a cactus hand tooled onto it with matching reins and Capone’s new bit. That’s right, he grew up and takes a bit now.

I didn’t feel the need to lunge him because I was told he’s been so good recently, and I just went with it. We made our way down the hill, and took the photo from above on our walk down to the arena. My chicken friend followed and hung out just under the hay bin while we settled into the arena. I got off and on probably 5 times during my ride because of various things, but still managed to have a great ride. I slid the trot poles out of the way so I didn’t have to worry about them, moved the mounting blocks and just settled in for a nice warm up. We walked around and around loosening up and finding our balance, also making sure Pony knew gates weren’t going to be stopping points for our ride. We both stretched out and established clear communication and straightness. I wouldn’t say we were entirely balanced in terms of what sides we worked on, but it worked for us for the short ride I had.

We worked to the left very consistently and I grew comfortable with that, before switching it up and working to the right. I was much more confident working to the right, but overly so because I would drop way more of my weight into my inside leg and nearly slip off my clean pony!! Not ideal. Granted Capone was a very good boy at sensing when we needed to slow down or even stopping on a dime when needed. The whole ride he was active in the mouth and even worked up a bit of “lipstick” from our workout which is something I was actually quite proud of given how long it’s been since I rode.

To the non horse person salivation during work is a great thing. After our ride we walked back up the hill, snapped some more photos and got cleaned up again. I used my PURE bit wipes from the Infused Equestrian, they’re peppermint flavored and they work like a charm!! I used them on the lipstick Capone worked up directly on his face, and all over his bit to prepare it for his next ride without having to soak it. We used to do that at Sagebrook Farms after every ride, and I’ll never forget that habit. After everything went away from our ride, I broke some carrots and threw them in Capone’s water trough for him to search and bob for. It’s an easy way to get him to drink after a workout and it is great enrichment for your equine friends, plus it’s so cute.

Hope you guys enjoyed reading about my ride back, it truly was everything I needed these last few weeks.