October 10 Questions from Liz from In Omnia Paratus!

1. Most equestrians quote fall as their favorite season to ride. Are you one of those that does? Or maybe not; what is your favorite season to ride, if so?

I hate the fall. I’m an odd one yes, but I’ve always HATED fall. I hate losing daylight, I hate it getting cold, and I hate, Hate,  HATE the angle of the sun. I  HATE THE ANGLE OF THE SUN! I have always had the worst headaches of my life in the fall. So there is that. Plus the impending doom of the winter doesn’t help either. At least after winter there is spring, but after fall there is only winter…

So no, I’m not a fan of fall. But the riding weather is great.  If only it stayed lighter and the sun wasn’t so deadly!

2. Do you clip your horse in the fall? Or maybe you wait a little longer?

I clip Jiminy (less his head and legs) in the fall. I should have clipped him in September and then again in November, but I was lazy and waiting until last week so I don’t know if I can get away with one clip or if I’ll have to clip again in December… Last year I did a bib clip in September and full clip in November. Either way, fall has just been way too warm.

If I’m going to ride Batty,  I’ll probably do a modified chaser clip soon. It’s still so warm that he’ll be fine unblanketed for several weeks and since he’s so fuzzy, he’ll probably be more comfortable anyway. He gets 1 clip for the season and  that’s it.

3. Have any costume riding events in October on/near/around Halloween? What will your horse be dressed as? What about yourself? What would you dress as if money/time were absolutely no issue?

Nope. Not a costume person, but I’m sure Jiminy could be fun to dress up…

4. Is your horse afraid of any autumn colors? Or maybe has a certain quirk that appears only in the autumn?

Nothing that I can think of… I’m sure the hoovers try and eat dead leaves but….

5. Pumpkin spice. It’s everywhere right now. Find any natural pumpkin [squash] spice-esque recipes for your horse?

Haven’t tried anything. I’m sure Jiminy would eat anything. Subi wouldn’t. And Batty could go either way (he says yes to everything but fig newtons, bananas, watermelon, and cough free powder).

6. We’re getting to the end of the calendar year, any final few “big-bang” shows to look forward to?

There was a show this weekend but I decided I’m broke and no more shows on Ranger this year. Just can’t afford it as much as I’d like to.

But, a friend of mine is trying to convince me to do a schooling dressage show on Batty in the  beginning of December. Forget the fact I have never ridden a dressage test in my life… So we’ll see about that one… Since  it’s close and I can haul myself and no trainer fees and I can do 1 test, I could swing it. We’ll see…

7. Winter is coming. What are you doing to winterize your trailer/rig/car?

Errg. My trailer is only about 4 years younger than me… It’s survived this long… Meanwhile I plan to actually take my truck to the car wash this winter to make sure  we wash the salt off the bottom of it…

8. Do you have any autumn traditions you/your horse follow?

Survival? Hopefully some trail rides… is it even fall if it’s still in the 70s and 80s? Seriously PA?

9. October in many places marks the beginning of deer hunting season. Does this affect your riding at all? Do you wear blaze orange or modify your schedule to accommodate the season?

When I take out trail rides, we do try and remember to wear orange/neon yellow vests and talk a lot. I think it’s either small game or bow and arrow season right now in PA? Hunting allowed except for Sundays in PA.

10. What are you most looking forward to goal-wise as the final months of the calendar year approach?

Again, surviving. Also trying to actually ride and death of the bees! I definitely want to ride and maybe do the Black Friday paper chase at Fair Hill this year. I rode with strangers last year and had fun so we’ll see… Batty needs to get in shape!