Spring wardrobe

For anyone that's curious, I mentioned to Trainer A that I looked at the derby cross and got the look.  I am NOT supposed to be distracting myself at my first dressage show of the season by sneaking away to jump.  If I'm good at my first couple shows, then she'll let me jump at the shows after my dressage tests.  Until I am consistently not forgetting how to ride as soon as the judge rings the bell, I will keep my butt in the sand box while at shows.

So sayeth the trainer.

With the plan set up for the first show of the season, I am now focused on learning my tests and getting my gear in order.  I have to track down the clothes I haven't used since October, locate my travel stuff, and work on Theo's turn out.  Anyone that shows a horse knows that the turn out doesn't come together the day before the show.  It's weeks of currying and pulling and clipping and feeding to get that glossy sheen.

Looking very much like a serious business dressage horse yesterday.  Minor detail we had just gotten back from tearing it up on the trails.

Theo gets a lot of grooming and fussing, but it's still a tough time of year to turn out a horse for show.  His trace clip is in full effect which isn't the fanciest look.  The clipped areas are currently dry and he's been itchy and a bit cranky about it.  I've been hitting him with a leave on conditioner daily to try to help, but our humidity is in the teens right now and my skin is just as dry and itchy.   We're finally getting warm enough for a bath but the winter coat parts of him are long enough that a bath is completely impractical.  He'd be wet for days.

Despite the fact I dislike clipping in spring, I attacked Theo with the clippers today.  He needs a bath so badly, I can't wait for him to shed out on his own.  I used my smaller clippers with the guard and went the same way as the hair so I only had to clip the areas that haven't been clipped yet.  The length is the same all over this way.  I didn't want to go over the dry parts of his skin again.  I did his butt, leaving the fuzz under his saddle pad, and clipped his legs down to his knees.  I also found his ears in all of the fuzz on the top of his head.  Then I pulled his mane, which he didn't appreciate. 

About this point I heard there was a pony party at the barn in 30 minutes.  I threw mi papi's mask on and chucked him in his field so I could escape before the screamers arrived.  I'll get pictures of his new clip job tomorrow.  I have some evening up to do and probably should get further down his legs.  it was like an archeological dig trying to find the horse under the fuzz.

But that's a big part of the show season check list done.  Another round with the clippers and pulling will happen this week, his first real bath of the season, and then tack scrubbing.  I guess I should be thanking Trainer A, I only have half the tack to clean this way.