Product review: PC Bell Boots

Professionals Choice ballistic bell boots

Why: You may recall that Hampton sliced his heel bulb back in April or May. Since then, he has lived and worked in bell boots. I have tried several different kinds with the exception of pull-ons. I hate pull ons because I am lazy. That is the only reason. I hate putting them on and taking them off. I pay for Hampton's plethora of items so they damn well better not annoy me. :) That is all.

Size: They run pretty small. Hampton wears an XXL and they are not big on him by any means. The only color choices in this size is black and white. So no fun colors or peace signs for us.

Material: I will say that since wearing these bell boots, Hampton has not suffered any more injuries to his heel bulb. The material is durable and the boot keeps its shape well. It does well in mud, grass, sand, rain, dressage, jumping, hauling, etc. It hoses off easily.

Do they turn? Yes. Maybe not as bad as others, but they DO turn. Infact today, all I had done was WALK to warm up and I hear a wfffftttt sound, look down and the left front was turned completely around. Had to get off and fix it. Maybe I am not putting them on right. I have tried making them tighter, looser, smooshing them down around the hoof ... but they do still turn sometimes.

Do they leave rubs? No. Even after 24/7 wear, they have never rubbed.

Hamper's footsies. These boots do ride a little high. I don't think they are meant to go all the way down to the ground. Also, horse is due for a trim. Geez.

Cost: I picked mine up for around $23 from smartpak. I think that's what they generally run. I do find them worth the money as Hampton's first pair lasted pretty much all summer. I just now replaced them since the stitching broke on the original pair. This is through daily turnout and work in all conditions.

Verdict: I like these boots, thus why I bought another pair. I wish they were more durable but we are talking about Hampton here who is turned out for 16 hours a day in a field of other geldings and it is basically a big frat house out there. They have done a great job of protecting his heels, which is why I bought them. So if you like velcro boots that look nice and are easy to take on and off, I'd recommend these.

Porkchop

Another throwback

Hmmm it seems one of us has gained some weight. (hint: not me.)

Spring 2009

August 2013 (yes that is Hampton and not a broodmare)

4 years of dressage

2009

2013
(photo used with permission)

You and me, baby.

A Day in the Life of a dressage schooling show
(KDA schooling show wrap up)

10 a.m.-4 p.m.I spent all day Saturday cleaning out and organizing my trailer for Sunday's show. I haven't been able to use my wonderful trailer for almost a year! It was so nice of a fellow barn mate to lend us her truck for the weekend.

My bombdiggity trailer

All organized!

4 p.m.: Hampton loaded up fine. But Davey decided he would rather not get on the trailer and became quite defiant about it. After I made his life a living hell outside of the trailer, he did step right up on the ramp and right as I thought he would walk all the way he whipped backward and ripped the rope right out of my hand. He took off toward the field where his friends were. He was captured and this time I used the annoyance method to encourage him on the trailer and on he went.

4:30-6 p.m.: The drive to Masterson Station was uneventful and really easy. Although I did not realize just how hilly I-64 is until I was pulling a trailer with Hampton's fat ass on it. ha!

6:15 p.m.: We arrived and unloaded the boys. The stalls here are super. They are big and roomy and have mats and most of them have windows. However, upon leading Davey (my friend's horse) into his stall, something startled him and he swerved over into my space and smashed my foot something good.

Karen is now a 3 out of 5 on the lameness scale.

 After settling in we decided not to ride because it kept threatening to storm. Instead we just took the boys for a walk to the arenas and let them graze a bit before tucking them in for the night.

11 p.m.: We were so tired that we ended up watching 3 hours of "Honey Boo Boo" on TV. Our IQs were dropping by the minute I think. None of us slept well. The beds were not comfortable and I just kept hoping it would be 7 am already so I could get up and do something. Darn you, Clarion.

7 a.m.: Grabbed a quick breakfast and heading out to feed the boys. They seemed perky and Hampton had drank all of his water. I suggested we lunge them in separate areas because we all know how horses become attached at the hip when you trailer them together.

8 a.m.: We give the boys a quick lunge. Hampton yells for Davey a few times but after about 10 minutes he gives that up. Nicole reports Davey was about the same way. After this initial "weaning" process, they were perfect angels the rest of the day.

9 a.m.: We get Nicole ready for her rides. Her warm up goes really well. She has a really solid go at Training 2. Training 3 is also pretty good but there are a few bobbles. No big deal. They are a green pair and Davey is half Arabian so he really enjoys looking around at things and avoiding the connection. But they will get there! Nicole had a really good point. She said that shows are so refreshing because as you watch others you realize that EVERYONE struggles and has issues. Sometimes you get frustrated when you ride at home all the time and you think you are the only one who is having problems. Which is not true (duh). 

11 a.m.: Nicole and Davey are done for the day so we head back to the stalls and get Davey untacked and hosed off.

11:15 a.m.: Get Hampton braided.

11:30 a.m.: We have some time to sit down and chillax for a bit. I wolf down a mimosa and then get dressed in my show clothes.

12:25 p.m.: Get Hamps groomed and tacked up.

12:45 p.m.: Hop aboard and head to the rings. Warm up goes really well. Hampton is calm and obedient. He is a bit tense in his back so I work on trying to loosen him up. So this was the first time I have tried the sticky spray stuff. I was hoping it would help me sit the medium trot. Well, it did. When I tried to post, my butt came out of the saddle but my pants did not. Hilarity ensued.

Warming up

1:34 p.m.: We trot down the centerline for Second Level Test 3. Hampton is right there for me every step of the way. He was so good! We only had one VERY MINOR bobble where he stumbled in a corner. But it was not bad. We recovered really well. Our medium trot was worlds better than Meadowlake. Counter canter was balanced. I was so proud of him after that test. I was beaming!

Why did I get a 6.5 on rider position?

Preparing for turn on the haunches

We got a 7 on the medium walk

Counter canterin'

10m circle I think

2:24 p.m.: This was our test for First Level (Test 3). I made a big mistake, however, and decided to put my spurs on. I really wanted to "go for it" for the leg yields and encourage dramatic crossover. This decision would be my demise. The trot work of the test went well. Although during our lengthening he ALMOST broke into the canter. I caught it in time, but he did have a few irregular steps. Drat. Then during the canter lengthening I wanted more so I touched him with the spur. Well, that resulted in the classic " F YOU LADY" move and he kicked out during that. That sort of rattled me because I didn't want that to continue so I sort of froze. Not out of fear, but out of caution in that I didn't want my scored to be dinged. So during the canter loop, I felt him ask me if he should swap leads. I stiffened my body as a way of saying "no, don't change" and so he broke to the trot. He did exactly what he has been trained to do. I should have supported him with my seat and legs, but I did not. I froze. Totally my fault. But we got dinged majorly on that. The rest of the test went fine but I was disappointed in myself for not riding well.

My wild stallion

First level

Loved Masterson Station!

3 p.m.: Back to the stalls in which we hose Hampton off and back up the trailer, strip the stalls and get organized for the ride home.

Guess what I made the boy do?

4 p.m.: We go check our scores. Nicole had gotten hers earlier and earned a 58% and I think a 56% in her tests. The judge was pretty harsh. This is not a bad thing but she was not very liberal with giving out any 7s, that is for sure. She did give really good feedback, though, which is what matters. Hampton squeaked out a 62% in First3 to give us second place. I think I may have squealed a bit when we realized that we had WON the Second Level class! (All second level riders were lumped together in one class no matter what test you were riding. There were 6 or 7 riders I think). We scored a 63% and some change. I was REALLY happy with that. We got pretty much straight 6.5s. Man, I don't know what you have to do to get a 7 from this judge! I even got a 6.5 on rider position. I don't think I have ever earned anything less than a 7 for that. BUT ... in Second Level Hampton DID get a 7 on gaits! With a comment of "regular." (Thanks to the ulcer guard? LOL I slay myself sometimes) Which was awesome.

6:30 p.m.: Arrive home exhausted. Put horses to bed, throw our stuff back in the tack room. Whew!

____

Overall this was such a fun show. Masterson Station Park (Lexington) was a nice facility to show at. My only complaint was that the rings were really dusty. In fact during my first level test a bunch of sand got in my contact and was irritating the crap outta me. Not using that for an excuse for my poor riding but, it happened. Comments from the judge included "more uphill balance," "work on straightness at the canter" and "be more accurate" (ARGH!). So nothing I did not know. But this was the first time I felt like we actually belonged at Second Level. We owned it and I did not have to walk around sheepishly like I was out of my league.

Lovely facility (I believe there was a federal prison way out in the background)

DUST.

 Also, I was so thrilled to see Kelly from Princess Diva come out to watch!  Can't wait to see her and Riva out and about in beautiful Kentucky. :)

Now for a bonus! On our walk back to the stalls after our rides, I spotted a bank complex. (Masterson Station has a wide variety of cross country jumps and hosts horse trials, too).

Hmmm, I thought. Wonder if I should take Hamps down the small bank since there is no pressure?

So we did it. In my dressage coat and all. He stepped down the tiny bank no problem. This is something he would not do even just this spring! So then I asked him to step down the BN bank. Down he went! did not even hesitate! I think our fear of down banks has been conquered. I was so, so proud of him for that.

I love this.

Easily and calming stepped down. Neither one of us freaked out.

_______

What's next: He will have a couple of days off and then some hacking this week. I did give him ulcer guard and probiotic doses over the weekend and he did not get any nervous "soft serve" poos like he did at Meadowlake. I was going to do a rated show in early September but I think I'm going to change our plans and aim for October. We will see.

Sexy Rexy update

Little Rex has been working hard all week, too! He has really started to make some dramatic progress lately. This is why I really enjoy the young horses. The progress is so obvious from day to day.

He will start out a bit wiggly but then settle into a nice rhythm and balance as the ride progresses. Today we had NO WIGGLYNESS at all. He stepped right into a balanced trot both directions and we were not even riding in the ring - we were in the grassy area surrounding it. So no "barriers" to rely on. Good critter! Very steady in the contact today with numerous moments of roundness, too.

Ears shot!

Looking not quite so awkward anymore.

Vienna reins help him lower his whole neck.

I have been lunging him a bit in vienna reins which really help encourage him to lower his neck. He is of the Friesian type where he would rather go around like a high headed driving horse. But he needs to build his top line and use his abs. He has really figured it out and is looking super. He is also getting more crisp and prompt canter transitions lately. That will improve with more strength and time.

So, at 3 years old here is where he is at:

• Ties like a pro in the crossties
• Stands quietly for baths, grooming, feet picking.
• Easy to bridle.
• Lunges walk, trot, canter. With or without side reins. Excellent with voice command and body language.
• Walk, trot, canter under saddle.
• Waits by both the small mounting block and the larger one by the arena.
• Can also mount him from the ground
• Hacks out in the field
• Walks over poles and flower boxes
• Rides alone or with other horses

Here is what needs improvement:

• Still thinks fly spray is going to kill him
• Needs more time with the clippers

What's next for Rex:

• Learning baby leg yields at walk and then trot.
• More hacking out in the fields/trail rides
• More prompt canter transitions
• Hill work
• Teach turn on the forehand

Overall he is such a pleasant creature to be around and I have been really enjoying him. He is sensitive but in a good way. He prefers if you just whisper your aids. He has never offered to do anything remotely naughty but I do think he would prefer a quiet rider who has light aids. He tends to worry if you are too "loud." 

Meanwhile ... Hamps has been getting clipped and washed in preparation for Sunday. He will get another bath on Saturday before we take off. But don't tell him that. haha.

woman where is my cookeh!

Horse show prep



Our last show was way back in April.

 This weekend we are headed back out to a horse show. Hard to believe we have not shown since April. Our summer of hard work went by really fast. We are also coming off a bombdiggity lesson on Saturday during which Hampton was a legit Third level horse. It was a nice confidence booster going into the weekend.

Anyway, so this weekend is a decent size schooling show (in Lexington). Hampton and I will be accompanied by our friends Nicole and her half Arabian, Davey. They will be showing Training Level, and Hamps and I are sticking to our old standbys, First3 and Second3. My instructor kept urging me to leave First level behind but I really want to have an "easy" test to work on ME and my test riding. I lost a butt load of points at Meadowlake for being sloppy (cutting corners, not being accurate, etc.) and I need to get in there and school myself on how to ride a dressage test. Might as well make it easy for Hampton. He's not the one who needs the schooling here.

Goals:

• Ride my corners
• Ride accurate transitions and figures
• Ask for more in the trot lengthenings & mediums
• Try not to look like a sack of potatoes while sitting the medium trot
• Show off our strengths (lateral work especially)
• Keep my toes forward! (one can hope)



Let's see if I can keep my rogue right toe in line.

 A very generous barn friend is lending me her truck so I can pull my trailer down there. We plan to leave Saturday afternoon, settle in, school, eat and hit the hay (har dee har) before the show on Sunday.

I think it will be a fun time. It's so much more fun to have a friend with you at the show. Nicole and Davey are a really cute pair, but both tend to suffer from nerves (hey, we all know what that is like).

Plus the boy is coming along so there will be photos. I am hoping I do not forget anything and have had some anxiety about this lately. Argh. I don't know why, I mean this isn't my first rodeo (maybe I should not use that word, in fear that is actually TURNS INTO A RODEO.) ... So we shall return with show results. Hoping the weather holds out as it has been unreal here lately. Absolute riding heaven!

... still need to clip up the beast, drop off dry cleaning and pack the trailer. Later gators.

Fly (ing Change) like a G6

Renvers

Well. Dare I say it.
The flying change has been installed.

I started this whole ugly annoying horrible enlightening process ... ummm ... back in March? I knew it would be ugly. And it has been. But the last few weeks we have really made progress and within the past 2 weeks we have gotten a flying change (clean) 100% of the time. Granted, they weren't all pretty - aka they were accompanied by a buck or kicking out - but he CHANGED.

Today I do believe people in Ohio may have heard of shrieks of "GOOD BOY!! YOU ARE SO SMART!" after we nailed one particular change. Canter lengthening across the diagonal ... collect before the corner .. and change. It was straight. Prompt. Clean. NO buck. My jaw must have hit the dirt. "Did that just happen?" I asked myself before making a big stink out of it and immediately putting Hampton away for the day.

Leg yield. LOVE the swishy tail!

Here is how our changes used to go:
Me: Half halt. Please make your canter more jumpy.
Hamps: Ok, can do, captain.
Me: Canter across diaganol ... half halt ... switch legs in a dramatic fashion to new canter ...
Hamps: Uh, wait, what?
Me: Smack with whip "Do something!"
Hamps: OMG you are beating me! Jesus! ....kicks out and/or bucks.

.... scattering of legs and dust ...

Sometimes he would switch in front. Sometimes nothing would happen at all.

Then it turned into this:
Me: Half half. More jumpy canter please.
Hamps: Ok ... errr are we going to do that thing when you smack me? ...
Me: Jump jump, switch legs, SCHMACK!
Hamps: f*ck lady!! I knew it!... bucks ... scampers ... but changes!

Today:
Me: Lets lengthen the canter.
Hamps: Got this.
Me: Before corner, half halt, collect, jump!!
Hamps: I can do that
Me: Half halt, switch legs
Hamps: I bet you want me to switch my lead, don't you. (clean change).
Me: You are the smartest horseh ever!
Hamps: I know this.

A big part of me wants to keep doing changes because it is SO FUN! But I know that I need to back off until October when we will be done with our shows. I still need miles at Second Level and don't want to get burned if he thinks he needs to change during counter canter. So I will back off the changes for a bit. He won't forget about them, now that he understands what I want.

I'll write another post about the various exercises I have used to help install the flying change.

So for those of you learning changes - keep at it. Ride through the ugly. It will get better!