Will you blame me?

 Will you blame me?

If the odds are not in my favor,

Will you blame me?

For not being strong enough?

For not being positive enough?

For not having enough faith?

For not having faith at all?

Many will.

A fear of fate, such a lack of control, is possibly the deepest human fear.

The elephant in the room we live around and try to avoid all while yelling about it in code.  Different voices all saying the same thing.

In the end, this:

You are never alone.

Try.

*Do the best you can with what you have*,

But also,

Accept that there *will be* times when

That best will not be enough, but is still:

Good enough.

Half Marathon Springerle

One of the things I like about baking is that it's basically the same few ingredients that create such different outcomes. So the devil is in the details of method and ratios.  Springerle cookies are no exception to that rule!  They are so much fun to bake, and are so dependant on baking skill and timing.

The recipe I use I call:

Half Marathon Springerle

3 large eggs (6.5oz) room temperature
13.1 oz King Arthur Unbleached Cake Flour
13.1 Domini Confectionery Sugar
1/2oz water
1/8t bakers ammonia (or baking powder)
1/8t salt
1t extracts or flavorings

Water for brushing
Extra cake flour and confectionary sugar in a 1:1 ratio for dusting.
Parchment paper

__________________

Dissolve bakers ammonia and salt in the water for one hour.

Whip the eggs in a stand mixer for several minutes until thick and creamy.

Add Confectionery Sugar, whip again until very thick amd creamy, 5 minutes or so.

Add water with bakers ammonia and salt, and flavorings, whip to incorporate.

Switch from whisk to paddle.

Add Cake Flour, do not overmix, try to just fold the flour in.

Mixture will seem sticky, slack, and somewhat foamy.  Form into a ball, wrap in plastic and let the dough sit for at least a half an hour.  The flour will continue to absorb moisture.

On a dusted surface, roll out to desired thickness.

Dust springerle mold, press and cut. Place on parchment paper on cookie sheets, cookes of similar size and thickness on the same sheet.

Let dry for up to 24 hours.  If you wish to observe the bottoms of the cookies, don't let the drying of the cookie extend beyond a 1/4 from the edge to allow for a foot. If you'd rather not bother with that, simply brush the bottom of the cookie with water right before baking.

BAKING TEMPS AND TIMES MAY VARY! It all depends on the type of cookie you wish to produce.  I tend to go with 325F, until the bottom of the cookie turns slightly tan.  They may be baked at lower temps, for longer, to produce a drier amd paler cookie.  Thicker cookies will need to be baked a little lower than thinner cookies, so that the inside is baked enough. Experiment and enjoy!

After baking, air dry to cool and then store

Theory of coffin bone palmar/plantar angle.

The tension of the DDFT is regulated by the *brain* of the horse as a protective and reactionary measure.

Tension of the DDFT muscular unit determines palmar/plantar angle.

The horse is seeking to either protect itself from pain and damage and or is attempting to maximize efficiency in moving its mass from point A to point B over the ground.

Example: over hard ground the horse lengthens the DDFT to reduce the impact of ground reaction forces.  Over soft ground the horse shortens the DDFT to increase tone to be able to propel its mass forward. Pain= a shortened DDFT to produce the braced gait necessary to protect the limb.

Solution for a negative palmar P3- reduce the need for the horse to lengthen the DDFT.

How?  1- Utilize a shoeing package that mimics soft ground vs hard ground.  Frog support and impression packing 2- Reduce the lever of the toe wall to engage the DDFT in motion.

Solutions for a too steep palmar angle-   Utilize a shoeing package that protects the hoof from the ground, primarily the sole.  A stiff pad/frog support pad with super soft impression material.  Do not reduce the leverage of the toe wall beyond what would be considered "normal".

I'm not particularly trained.  I barely have a base, and because so I've done virtually no speedwork. I'm heavier than I want to be.

So why am I running the New England Mountain Running series?

Because I CAN.

Years ago, when I was "serious" about running- translate- my horse was lame and I couldn't ride, I had endometriosis that was not well controlled.  It meant that I could squeeze in 19 days of running, followed by 4 days of being so grokked out on pain medication that I could barely function.  It meant that certain days were totally off the table for running, and in particular, racing.  Ya do what ya gotta do, right?  But I wouldn't be human if I didn't say that it was irritating to not be able to run a series of races.  Back then I was "into" the Mt Washington Road Race, and thus ran many of the mountain races as prep races, but never the whole series.

Fast forward to perimenopause (a relief from endometriosis that has its own special quirks- hello heart arrythmias!)  the ever increasing "grandma bod", and a sudden refusal on my part to spend time in the saddle, I've decided that it's time to drag out this particular axe to grind.

Hence, the New England Mountain Running series. I want their mountain goat status.

Three mountains down, three to go.

Because, after all these years, I CAN.

Whooeee, lookit those nice assets!

Doing the best you can with what you have does not equal making the most of what surrounds you.

This goes back to designing a venn diagram of your assets and needs.  Assets are the things in life that you have immediate at your disposal.  Personality traits and talents, geographic location, finances, extraneous support; all the little things involved in goal setting that have nothing to do with effort. Needs are the end game venn diagram.  The skills you'll need to develop, the where you'll have to go to get what you want.

Now, if your asset diagram is pretty far off from where you "need" to be for your goal, that shows the effort.  Just how much grit you'll need to have and where you have to put it.  It also shows a level of dissatisfaction you'te going to need for your current situation in order to toggle all those various aspects to get to your goal.  And partly, that's OK.  Depending on the situation, it's GOOD to be pissed off amd require change.

But what if I sat down and drew you a diagram of your goal.  Of what it really means to you, psychologically.  Because it's never really about the blue ribbon, or the marathon, or the thing bought. It's about how they make you feel.  Connected, respected, worthy, *special*.  Basic human psychological needs.

And then what if I showed you how your assets could be best utilized to meet your needs.  Pursuing a goal is a vehicle to meet your needs as a person, and there are a lot of makes and models out there to be had.  It only makes sense to select the best vehicle for the job, but that's not what we tend to do.  Instead of making the most of what we have, we pick something and try to do the best we can with what we have; making life harder than it needs to be, and making ourselves a lot less happy than we need to be.  "Praise be the grit!" is reinforced in us constantly.  Praise be!.... someone who you aren't... yet.

But what if... Praise be! who you are.  What you have to offer.  What your life has to offer.  It doesn't mean there is no room for improvement, it's spinning the perspective so that you're working on maximizing who you are and what you have rather than having to focus on who you aren't and what you don't have.

Will it mean giving up on your current goal? Well, it might mean that you don't need it anymore.

Take the time to diagram it out. In your head and on paper.  Maximize your assets and you might find you're a lot happier.

-From Gelin, with love.

Cheryl's in the kitchen, mixin'up the...

thrush powder??

Randy knows better than to get hopeful when I drag put the mixing bowls.  No chocolate cake with chocolate frosting today!

My project as of late has been thrush powder.  I'm always looking for thrush remedies that are effective, not caustic, and not expensive.  Most of the ingredients for this I sourced inexpensively on Ebay. I also happened to have a few squeeze bottles lying around for applying the powder, but once again Ebay sellers have Yorker top squeeze bottles for sale on the cheap.

The recipe:

1C sodium bentonite powder

1 1/2C diatomaceous earth powder

4T copper sulfate powder

1T oregano leaf powder

1T eucalyptus leaf powder

Whisk together, fill bottle.

Apply to cleaned frog once daily.  Sometimes I'll spray the hoof with apple cider vinegar with some tee tree oil in it or old fashioned Listerine before applying the thrush powder.  

The Terrata

I had a dream that I went into a Dunkin' Donuts and they had a new, special pastry available called the Terrata.  It was beautiful.  It looked decadent.  A rustic apple tartish thing, but more.  As dreams are wont to go, things got bizarre and I won't relate anything more than that, but when I woke up I was convinced that at some point I would need to make a "Terrata".

An evening of baking I'm now several pant sizes larger and in utter bliss.  It's amazing.  Worth every minute, at least this once.

So here we go:

The crust:

1.5C flour

2t sugar

1/2t salt

8 T unsalted butter, cold

1 egg yolk

3T whole milk  

Chop the flour, sugar, salt, butter together until the butter is smaller than peas.  Mix the egg yolk with the milk, then add incrementally to the flour mix until you have a perfect dough.  Might take less milk-yolk than you have.  Press into two disks.  Freeze one for later.  Chill the other for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375.

Roll it out, put it in a 9" deep pie pan.  Poke with fork and bake it until it's done.  

While it's cooling...

Make the caramel sauce...

1C brown sugar

1/2C half and half

pinch of salt

Mix together and slow boil for 6 minutes.  Add 1T vanilla, and boil two minutes longer.  Cool.

Make the apple filling:

4C peeled, diced apples

1T lemon juice

1T maple syrup

2T brown sugar

1 1/2T flour

1t cinnamon

Simmer the above in a medium sized saucepot on the stovetop until apples are tender to the fork but not mushy.  Cool.

Make the ricotta filling:

8oz ricotta

4oz cream cheese

1/2t vanilla

1/2C confectionary sugar.

Whip it.  Whip it good.

Make the sweet cream:

1C whipping cream

1/4C confectionary sugar

1/2t vanilla.

Whip it.  Whip it even bettah, but not to buttah.

So now to assemble:

To the pie shell first add the apple pie filling.  Top with the ricotta filling.  Drizzle with the caramel sauce.  (Use your judgement here, if you don't like things super sweet, go light, if you prefer to mainline your sugar, dump it alllll on.)  Then pipe out your sweet cream on top all fancy like.

Enjoy!

SHIPPING your sold dressage saddle.

Yay, good for you, you sold your saddle!  Congrats!  Now here are some tips for shipping from someone who handles a lot of packages.

1- Attach your address and phone number to the stirrup bar via a tag.  In the unlikely but also possible event that your saddle should become separated from the box, an address and phone number will help your saddle find its way home.

2- Wrap that rascal!  Packing shifts during transit. Then the leather rubs on cardboard for hundreds upon hundreds of bouncy miles.  Not good. I use oversized contractor garbage bags and slide the saddle in sideways, flap first not cantle or pommel first.

3- Size MATTERS!  Certainly you don't want to roll your saddle up and cram it into the smallest box possible, but shipping companies do have different pricing for certain size boxes.  Currently, an 18x18x24 size box will be big enough for the average dressage saddle and still small enough avoid those additional oversized fees with USPS.  USPS and UPS have great website calculators where you can calculate and compare shipping charges.  You can even purchase and print out your shipping label/postage on the sites, and usually for an additional savings.   I recommend checking out all options- don't always assume that ground/standard will be less expensive.  Pricing structures change, it only takes a few minutes to double check.

4- Don't create a box using other boxes.  Seriously.  Last I knew, Walmart has a decent 18x18x24 shipping box for next to nothing.  It's worth it.  Boxes that are cobbled together tend to be weak where they are taped.  I always have a spare box in the tack room because I've demoed many a saddle where the current box will not make the return trip safely.

5- Pack adequately, but that goes without saying.  Remember that parcels are not always handled by humans and that other parcels can and will be falling onto your parcel in the sorting machines.  To see these machines in action you can do a YouTube search.  Some shippers do offer a "Fragile" handling fee for extra careful treatment if you're particularly worried.

6- Be generous with the shipping tape. It doesn't weigh much.

7- Insure it.  Again, the vast majority of parcels arrive to their destinations perfectly fine, but not 100%.

8- Require a signature for delivery.  This service may come with the insurance automatically.  Once again, the vast majority of parcels arrive to their destinations perfectly fine, but not 100%.

Thinking about selling your dressage saddle?

It seems that I'm almost perpetually saddle shopping!  As I've ended up having to spend quite a bit of time asking for what I consider basic information from sellers about their saddles, I thought I'd put together an outline that might save sellers and buyers some time and effort.

First, please consider consigning it to a reputable saddle shop.  My MO is that if I don't sell a saddle quite quickly locally or on any of the Facebook groups, off to the consignment shop it goes.  I'd like to think it supports the industry a by helping someone earn a living by being a pro at saddles.  A win/win for me as I'll never have the depth of saddle knowledge that they will.  And beside making my life a whole lot easier, I'd like to think it also makes someone feel more comfortable buying a saddle.  Rather than having to trust someone they do not know with a PayPal transaction, they have the professional reputation of a business on which to rely.

So, if you're not going to consign...

1- Try to get the manufacturing stats on your saddle.  If you didn't purchase it new, contact the manufacturer with the serial number (if there is one), and ask if they have that information.  Model, year of manufacture, original tree size, seat size, any custom alterations, etc. I've been looking for a particular saddle lately, and I find that after I contact the saddle manufacturer about 50% of the ads have been incorrect- sort of- because...

2- For some saddles, that info may have changed (adjustable trees); each individual hand made saddle actually varies slightly; or the seller's description is really using a comparison.  An example would be to say that a certain saddle has a "wide" tree compared to other saddles, but really the manufacturer lists it as a medium.  So for clarity, it's also wise to provide a couple of measurements along with the manufacturer's stats.  This is why saddle shops will state that a saddle is "Marked" a certain measurement, but "Measures" another measurement.

The two most important places to measure are seat size and gullet.  Seat size is measured from the center of the nail head to the center of the cantle.  Gullet is a less standard measurement, what I recommend is to find a landmark (lines of stitching at the top of the panels), measure evenly and include a photo of the measurement so that the buyer has a visual comparison.

3- If the size of your ad is limited, a quick side shot of the saddle is OK, but if there is room seven pictures is even better.  Please don't condition your saddle immediately before taking pictures, I know it makes the leather look great but a good ad is all about clarity and accurate representation!

Seven pics- Front, gullet measurement, left side, rear, right side, top and bottom.  All of the saddle needs to be in each pic!  Additional pics to show close ups of any blemishes are also ideal.  Because of custom alterations, many models of saddles will have variations.  Providing a complete set of pics eliminates having to ask exactly what kind of panels that particular saddle has, etc.

4-  If wool or foam flocked, describe the condition of the flocking.  An older saddle that has recently had a strip flock is worth more than an older saddle that needs the flocking replaced.  Once again, clarity! Don't make a buyer guess or have the opportunity to be disappointed.

5- Double check the tree condition and possibly have it verified by a reputable saddle fitter.  I've received "flex tree" saddles on trial that really had broken trees.  The first test I do when pulling a trial saddle out of the box is to double check the tree.

6- Allow trails.  I know it sounds scary.  Probably so scary it's easier to just consign the saddle and let someone else deal with it.  But there are a lot of people who rightfully will not consider buying a saddle unless they can ride in it first. If you're confident that you can sell your saddle even after eliminating those people from a list of potential buyers, then by all means don't allow trials. 

7- Be savvy about pricing.  What other saddles just like yours are listed for might not be what they're actually selling for.  For this reason I also always entertain offers, and if someone catches me on a day I'm feeling cash poor, they could get a very good deal!   

Good luck selling your saddle and happy riding!

Pancakes!

It's  been even less exciting around here than normal, and normal is never that exciting*, so I thought I'd share my pancake recipe.  Gluten free, dairy free, high fiber and surprisingly tasty.  If I could figure out Pinterest I'd put crap like this there, but I can't so it goes here. 

1/4C coconut flour
1/4C oat bran (gluten free)
1/2t baking powder
1T arrowroot powder
1T chia flax blend, ground
1/8t salt
1/8t cinnamon
1/2C almond milk
1 egg
1t vanilla

Mix dry ingredients, add wet ingredients and mix again.  Makes two pancakes- small so they flip easily.


*thank goodness.

Pumpkin lovers, check this one out too!
http://terragarcia.blogspot.com/2014/10/pumpkin-all-things.html

Pumpkin all the things! PALEO PUMPKIN WAFFLE RECIPE!

Even in the throes of a Whole30 I treat myself to a waffle on Sunday mornings.  Go ahead, judge me. :D

To help offset all the pumpkin angst I've been having (those Pumpkin Spice Oreos, Pumpkin Pie Dunkin'Donut) I made a simple pumpkin waffle.  I googled and all the recipes seemed to be just too many.  Too many waffles, too many ingredients. Not simple enough.

So here is mine:

Paleo Pumpkin Waffle

1/4 C coconut flour
1/4 C pumpkin, canned or roasted/mashed.  Roasted/mashed would be more exciting.
1/2t baking powder
1/2t pumpkin pie spice
1/8t salt
1T arrowroot powder
1T ground chia/flax blend*
1 egg
1t lemon juice (optional)
1/2 C coconut milk

Mix, cook in waffle iron. Is difficult to lift out, be careful!  Eat.  Makes one.  I think it's a winnah!

*I bought this stuff at Walmart?!  I suppose one could make their own as well.

Vermonters in the Olympics.

Sochi, 2014.  Vermont represents.  Per capita Vermont produced more Olympic athletes than any other state, with one out of every 48,000 participating.  Second place New Hampshire had one out of every 147,000 residents.

I'm kinda not surprised we Vermonters outrank Florida in the winter Olympics.

But wait...

London, 2012.  Per capita, Vermont ranks third in producing Olympians with one out of every 313,216 residents.  Not very far behind first place Wyoming with their one out of 284,079.

For a small mostly rural state, I think that's pretty impressive. Is it a coincidence or a distinct byproduct of the lifestyle and sense of community we have here?  I prefer to think the latter.

Then I throw a wrench into this...  I can't find the current data, but as far as per capita ownership for horses, VT ranks very high.  At one point I think VT did have the most horses per capita.

Sooo...does VT produce more equestrian Olympians than any other state?  Denny Emerson and Mara DePuy are the only natives that come to mind.  I can think of a couple of people who are trying their best to get there, and I most certainly hope that they do!

Is the community and culture the same for equestrianism as it is for other sports here in Vermont or is there somehow a disconnect?  

The Kingdom Curve

Many years ago my mother thought I might enjoy having a running companion.

So she suggested that I should contact a woman working in her office who "ran cross-country", thinking it a good match because I didn't like to run on roads.  Through various circles I did know Sue and thought her to be a super nice person.  I didn't end up contacting her because I was being obsessive about my training schedule for Mt. Washington and felt that "cross-country" (running through golf courses, right?) was something I should do after the race.

A few weeks later, I'm eating lunch while reading a running article in Outside magazine, and all of a sudden there's a picture of Sue.  A picture of Sue kissing a really big, hard, rock.  Which is what is expected of one once they complete the Hardrock 100 Ultramarathon.  She had actually won.  She's won it more than once as a matter of fact.

So I show the picture to my mother, and say "cross-country"?  "Did you know that this is what she really does?" She did not.  Apparently Sue didn't really talk about it around the office.

To me, this is Kingdom.  We have a lot of people who live here who do some very incredible things, but don't really talk about it much.  I've never felt that it comes from people being so egotistical that they feel others would be jealous about their accomplishments and therefore spare those others the humiliation of not being as worthy.  I feel it comes partially from people just doing what makes them happy every day and aren't seeking outside validation. The bigger part of it is that it's a small enough community everyone usually already knows anyway and one would be considered a bore to bring it back up.  Best to avoid that.

I think that people moving to the Kingdom have a hard time seeing this.  In more populated areas, one needs to advertise themselves more to get ahead in life.  An introduction to a Kingdomer?  You'll discuss road conditions, weather, maybe that there are now less hermit thrushes than in years past due to haying practices.  An introduction to someone from outside the Kindom and they will, either subtly or not so subtly, include their resume and life achievements in short order.  Highlighted will be letters that stand either before or after their name.

A Kingdomer perceives the Outsider as being a braggart and is put off.
The Outsider perceives the Kingdomer as being someone who has accomplished nothing and is put off.

Each in their own element is served well.  Each outside of their own element is not served well, and there is a learning curve.

The Outsider in the Kingdom learns that they need to stop ADVERTISING to fit in.  To chill, pay their taxes, work hard and stop trying to impress everyone.  To expect that their hard work will be noticed but not noted.  To also learn to respect that there is often more under the surface of Kingdomers than they realize, because Kingdomers are quiet.

The Kingdomer in the Outside, needs to learn how to effectively advertise themselves or they'll be passed on by.  They need to stop being offended by people whose custom it is to provide a life resume in conversation.

The Kingdom Curve.  It's painful to watch people go through it.  The Kingdom certainly spits out those who fail here and sucks back in those who fail there.

Loco loci.

So what are the chances I'm going to keep my right fingers closed during my ride tomorrow?  It's one of my bad habits.  Slim to none?  None at all?  Should I just leave the horses alone and sit inside sipping coconut rum instead?  (Wait a minute, now I wish I hadn't thought of that last one.)

Over the years and over many lessons, I've noticed one clear thing.  Some position corrections stick quickly, others linger for YEARS despite conscious practice.  Plus, I've noticed what seems to be a clear cause and effect as to what sticks and what doesn't.

Worst case scenario is that  make a correction and I feel that nothing changes in the horse. Either I've blocked out the horse totally by focusing too hard on what that change feels like to me internally, or nothing really did change in how the horse goes. No reward, no punishment, no improvement, a correction that just floats in a sea of nothingness.  The correction is not going to stick.

What could be somewhat better, is that I make the correction and I "feel" that things get worse.  A punishment.  Not so good would be pain in my body (rode my @ss off, AGAIN.) or too much the feeling of discomfort that can come with a physical change.  Better though, it could also mean that technically speaking I'm headed in the right direction, but that something else also needs to change.  As in, I close those fingers, use an appropriate rein length, and all of a sudden I can actually feel how heavy the horse is in that rein, rather than having abandoned the rein altogether.  BUT, as a temporary quick fix, instead of addressing the hindquarters of the horse, my brain lets my fingers open and the rein slides.  Until I can diligently focus and process the various things that need fixing, my fingers are consistently going to slip and slide right off that rein as their own personal evasion.

Best case scenario, there are the corrections that I make where I am able to feel a positive change in the horse.  Reward!  These corrections are the most likely to stick, and almost become less of a personal correction and more of a tool. It still takes time to practice this and let it sink into subconscious competence, but the process is a lot faster.  Horse nose push/shoulders back to soften.

Given the worst case scenario of no feel, for a long time I've felt that other than practice, it's very important to open up one's peripheral feel to include what's going on in the horse when making those position corrections.  To make that mental link of "Horse nose push/shouders to soften, rather than "I need to remind myself every other stride to put my shoulders back."  I think it sounds simple, but the reality of it for me is that I can easily turn that intense focus on and block that horse right out. (yes, this does relate to http://terragarcia.blogspot.com/2014/01/ride-like-pro.html)

What got me even more excited was that while doing some reading about skill learning and automaticity, I found a study that I feel backs up my experiences in the saddle.

http://www.castonline.ilstu.edu/smith/257/pdf/ws%2009%20paper.pdf

"In these studies, the effectiveness of directing the learners attention to their body movements (internal focus of attention) was compared to that of learners directed to focus their attention on the effects of their movements on the apparatus or implement- that is the environment (external focus of attention)  Even though the actual differences in the loci which attention was directed were sometimes very small, an external attentional focus consistently resulted in learning benefits (as measured by performance in retention), relative to an internal attentional focus."

So there you go.  Some food for thought.

Happy riding.

.

Paleo "Sundae"

Paleo "Sundae"

1/3C unsweetened dried coconut
4 dried dates, chopped
1 banana, sliced
1/2C chocolate coconut milk
1 maraschino cherry (not quite Paleo, and optional!)

Put it all in a bowl.  Eat it up.

Many options are possible with the coconut-

Suggestions:
Vanilla coconut milk, raisins, dates.
Vanilla coconut milk, blueberries
Chocolate coconut milk, raspberries.
Pumpkin, pumpkin pie spices, walnuts, vanilla coconut milk...

Add a little cinnamon or other related spices.  With some, you can heat it up and don't call it a sundae for a warm treat.

Endless variations!

Crimmus Stumpy.

One of the things I miss about being a baker is having the opportunity to both try and create new recipes.  I avoid baking like that at home, because it gets obsessive and someone has to eat the "failures".  I'd end up weighing, well... more than I do now.

So I'm stoked when I get the opportunity to bring a dessert somewhere.  Friends and family might be forced to eat a prototype, but they're *almost* always edible.  Really they are.

For Christmas this year I perused the net, solicited advice and eventually decided on a dessert from Food and Wine called "Stump de Noel".  It sounded fabulous.  A chocolate roll with malt buttercream filling and a chocolate buttercream frosting. 

The only problem was the buttercream recipe the recipe used.  It had a tremendous amount of egg whites.  Uncooked.  Uh, nope, I'm too much of a germaphobe for that!  No problem, a buttercream is a buttercream, right?  I'd never eaten an egg white buttercream, at least to my knowledge, so I figured I'd simply adapt my usual buttercream recipe.  Not realizing until afterwards that the buttercream in the recipe is much more mousselike than our "American Buttercream".

So Crimmus Stumpy #1, resplendent in all my buttercream was sweet.  REALLY sweet. Over the years my sensitivity to sugar has dulled, so if I think it's sweet then I'm pretty sure it would mellify anyone else.  Of course this was still proffered to family.

With Crimmus Stumpy #2 I adapted the filling and frosting in my usual fashion- a handful of this and a handful of that based on an idea/basic recipe until it tastes good.  The recipe that follows reflects this- since I rarely bother to write an experiment down, it's a close approximation to the actual measurements.  This is what I'll follow the next time I make it, knowing that I might have to make amendments as I go along.

Stumpy roll:

8 eggs.
1.5C sugar
3/4C cake flour
1/2t baking powder
1/2t salt
1/2C baking cocoa
1t vanilla
8T COLD coffee (brewed as you'd drink it)

Bake in a jelly roll pan until done, roll up in a towel to cool.

When cooled and ready make:

Filling:
1C cream
1/2C malted milk powder
1C confectionary sugar
1t vanilla

Whip until as thick as it's going to get.  It's not going to whip like cream does.  If it's not thick enough, add more confectionary sugar, a little at a time, until it better resembles something that would hold shape when spread.

Frosting:
1C cream
1/4 C cocoa
1/2Cconfectionary sugar

Whip that too, it WILL whip up very stiff, so don't whip it so stiffly that it's obnoxious to spread.

Unroll the cake, and make the decision to make either a log or a stump.  Proceed accordingly with that decision.  Fill with the filling, frost the outside with the frosting.  Volia!

Stumpy #2= I'm done.  No further amendments needed.  I could eat the whole thing.

Cheap and easy soak boots!

I'm a fairly big fan of using Chlorine Dioxide products in hoofcare.  Labeled White Lightning or Oxine AH, these products rely on the production of gas to be effective as a treatment.  You can purchase soak boots that will lock that gas around the hoof.

But I'm cheap.  The boots run $25 to $50 each, which is fine if you intend to use them repeatedly, but if you're hoping to only treat for a week or so, they are not inexpensive.

Making cheap and easy soak boots is a great short term alternative.  I've had them last for several treatments.

Step one:  Assemble your duct tape and some gallon size freezer bags.

Step two:  Apply the tape in layers along the bag.  The duct tape will reinforce the bag and prevent tears.  One layer is sufficient, two is OK, more than two and the bag becomes unwieldy when fitted to the hoof.  Your finished work will look like this:



When you fit the bag to the hoof, it tends to fit best if the corners point toe to tail and not side to side.

I lift the hoof, put the bag on and set the hoof down.

While the horse is standing I pour a quarter cup of the 1:1 chlorine dioxide to white vinegar mixture in, on the front of the hoof wall.  Pouring it directly onto the hoof  wall rather than having it hit the coronary band or heels lessens the chance of the horse reacting.  (translate: lift hoof and spill everything everywhere)

Then I quickly tie a 2' length of an old polo wrap around the pastern.  A basic overhand knot will do- it can be quickly removed if necessary and provides a hold that lasts the length of a 20 minute soak.   The wrap should be tight enough to keep the gases in but not tight enough to restrict circulation.  I like using an old polo because mine have just enough stretch to provide a good closure.  Plus, I have a few polos that need to be recycled.

I do keep the horses in a stall when they're soaking and provide hay to keep them preoccupied.  Otherwise I'm sure they'd tear most every kind of soak boot to shreds.

The eye.

Lookit StickGelin gooooo!  I drew StickGelin as an abbreviated way to explain to someone what I'm looking for when a horse moves.  Call it the stick explanation maybe. 

Gelin, who is moving beautifully here, is not floating on a pink and blue magic carpet.  The pink and blue represent the relationship with the ground that his leading hind leg is about to have.  (leading= the one pointing forwards)  Ideally, once that hoof lands and he uses his leg to draw him forward over the earth, the area in pink underneath his body is where the magic is going to happen.  The horse both pulls itself forward and releases the body upwards at the same time- once the leg passes vertical and enters the blue area under the horses body the body is propelled forwards only.  A horse on the forehand will have a hind leg that only functions in the blue area, a horse in piaffe only in the pink area.  The ability to "party the pink" can be seen in even the young horse, it's just not as developed as in the older, more trained (or incredibly talented) horse.  If a horse isn't moving in this manner, I don't see it as a horrible thing, it simply tells me that the gait needs work.

A good video example of a well functioning hind leg that lifts the body of a very talented horse:
http://youtu.be/_x6_9ccOqKw


But waitaminite.  Gelin has a front half too?  Yes, he does.

The front half of a well moving horse in a way moves similarly to the hind end.  It's not propelling the horse, but it will show freedom towards the front and does not linger underneath the body of the horse.

So what does it look like when you're doing it wrong?

Although the legs might be thrown forward, look for the energy of the stride being shortened towards the front, and instead pushing out the rear propelling the horse downward into the ground.

The Chair.

My mother passed away while napping in her favorite chair, a sliding rocker.  That's pretty much how everyone wants to go, isn't it?

My brothers and I while cleaning the house, are all standing, facing the chair. 

"Do either of you want it?" I ask.

Nope. 

It was a quandry.  I couldn't simply throw the chair away.  1-It was her favorite.  2-She DIED in it.   I didn't exactly want it in my living room, because, well, see #2.  I decided to bring the chair home with me.  I put it outside, facing the pasture.  "Here ya go Mom!  You can watch Bucky for a while!"  She loved to watch Bucky, who wouldn't?

The thought of her contentedly watching Bucky in the afterlife gave me a certain amount of peace.  I told Randy that when I was ready I'd hold a small ceremony to burn the chair.  The summer passed, and that did not happen.

Now it's fall, and we're finally able to close out the estate.  It's brought about some mixed feelings for me as I never expected or wanted to be in this position, that of having an inheritance.  As much as I'm grateful, it makes me sad and uneasy.  It's not how things were to have been.

And then, yet another unexpected turn of events in what has proven to be an unusually eventful year.  Many of which were unpleasant.  This one was not.  A parcel of land came up for sale near our house.  The owners bought this land in 1971 with dreams of eventually building, but never did and had decided to sell.  In their absence I've hacked over it many times.

What would being able to purchase that land mean to me?  Almost too much.  Over the years I feel I've spent a lot of time and effort to try to become a decent dressage rider.  Not "Ruth going to work for Rehbein effort", but working hard, traveling a lot and trying my hardest to learn effort.  For years upon years.  One of the things that required me to work harder once we moved to the North Ridge is that I don't have a ring to ride in at home.  I hacked in the fields when I could, trotted in a crop 20m circle around Posey's trees, have even trailered out routinely but it's not the same as having a 20mx60m flat space on site to work in.  I tried to not use it as an excuse, to me it meant I had to be more creative when I rode.  I was OK with it.  Until this spring.

I had been on what I was calling "my sabbatical" from riding as I was feeling burned out and had lost my  passion.  I still rode.  Not nearly as much.  More like barely.  Whenever I rode I would still work diligently.  Meghan's voice "go back to straight!"  Ruth's voice "Pirate!" ( ;) ), among many others!  But there was still part of me that was dragging my feet.  The final nail on my coffin was when the footing was re-done at the outdoor arena where I would truck in to ride.  Gelin didn't go well in it.  He'd go well at home, but the footing there was deeper than he was used to and it felt like he was struggling.  I didn't have the heart or drive to ask him to work in it.  So we hacked.  And hacked.  And had a great time.  Even then I still practiced while hacking.

All the while thinking "I've spent the past 20 years wanting to ride dressage, WTF is wrong with me?"

Being able to buy this land means I get to have a riding ring.  It didn't truly sink in at first, but as the days have passed and now that the P&S has been signed, the reality has awoken.  I get to ride a diagonal.  On good footing.  I can set my jumps up and scare the crap out of myself.  The dream has changed from hacking to "I hope I can put some mirrors up so I can make sure I'm not doing that funky thing I do at sitting trot!" 

If my mother hadn't passed away it would not have been possible for me to buy the land.  It's the most amazing gift I've ever been given and I'll never forget that.

When it's all said and done, I'm going to take her chair and put it in a quiet corner near the ring, under the canopy of the maples.   So she can watch.  Thanks Mom, I hope I can make you proud.

NSC's

NSC amounts. Here's where you can find some of them online for feeds available in New England.  Nutrena has many of them now listed on the individual guaranteed analysis of each feed at their website.

Blue Seal:
http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=36354&d=1344344733

Triple Crown:
http://www.triplecrownfeed.com/article/horsenutrition-carbohydrates-in-equine-nutrition-horse-nutrition

Poulin:
http://www.poulingrain.com/resources/Poulin_Horse_Feed_Carbohydrate.pdf