Trit Trot

 I've worked for two years at a pony camp. Here's my list of what kids actually need to bring to camp.  My camp is a day camp for absolute beginners, and my list is tailored towards that audience, so your mileage may vary. Always check the camp website or brochure for more specific information. What to Bring Lunch + Snacks Always pack more snacks than you think is necessary.  It's better to leave food uneaten than to run out.  Boots With a Heel Even if they're not proper riding boots, most camps will accept any boots with a heel of 1.5 inches or more. A Change of Clothes This one's for the parents: If your child is prone to potty accidents or has just graduated from the accident stage, please make sure that they have a spare set of clothes in their bag. They might not need it, but if they do, it will be very much appreciated. For older kids, it's still a good idea, just in case of mud or dirt. Water Bringing water is pretty common sense. However, something you...

I was cleaning my brushes and figured I'd take the opportunity to do a tour of my grooming kit, as well as a review because the grooming kit that I have is one of the most popular ones in all of Canada (or at least that's what it seems like when I'm trying to find mine in the giant pile at the barn). I have the basic Greenhawk Grooming Package , which comes with a tote, dandy brush, plastic currycomb, face brush, soft brush, hoof pick, jelly scrubber, comb, shedding blade, and bathing sponge.  My grooming kit when assembled (not sponsored by Purell) All of the stuff in my grooming kit. I took out the sponge, which I never use, and added the yellow hoof pick seen above, because the pink one it came with didn't have a brush, and it was killing me. I also have two granola bars as an emergency snack stash, and when I remember, I'll throw an apple in there for Taz or whatever lesson horse I'm riding. In winter I also stick some gloves in there, which usually never ge...

Because of COVID, I wasn't able to see a horse for about 3 months, and coming back was just surreal. I rode Jack for my first lesson back, and when I went to catch him, I had to stand in his stall for a minute and give him a hug.  It's been about 2 months now since I've started lessons again, and I've managed to surpass where I was before the whole quarantine thing. I've started jumping courses now, and we're even talking about maybe entering in a schooling show sometime this fall, which is beyond exciting. New boots! I love them. A lot. In other news, I've been working as a camp counsellor again, although there are only four weeks of camp this year. I'm currently about to start week 4, which makes me sad. Sure, I fall asleep in the car everyday, and complain endlessly about how much my feet hurt, but I really do love it. It's also nice just to get out of the house, because when camp ends, I'm going to have to go back to sitting at home for two w...

Things to know: I have a Samsung J3, and upon opening this app I got a notification that my phone didn't have all of the necessary sensors, so I ignored that and used it anyways. As a result, the information I got wasn't as accurate, so I can really only speak for app usability, not accuracy of information.  The white stripe is the stable name, which I have blurred out. Data : Obviously, the data I got is incorrect, but I knew before I started that it wouldn't be, and just wanted to see how close it could get. As you can see, not very, but it's not the app's fault. I really like how it shows how much time you spent at each gait(although again, not accurate), and the little bar. The map isn't very useful for arena riding, because it all overlaps and doesn't really tell you much. This function would probably be better for trail riders. More stats! App: The first time using the app was a little confusing the first time, but it's not hard to get the hang of....

                                           What with the quarantine and all, I have a lot more free time. So, I thought I'd spend it making a cute, quick, and easy horse-themed decoration for my room. It doesn't need a lot of materials, and uses things you probably already have at home. Let's begin! Materials Acrylic paint & paintbrushes  Thin cardboard String Tape Step 1:   Draw or print a Dala horse outline, then cut it out. I found my template on Pinterest, but it's originally from  this website . Step 2: Trace the outline on to the cardboard, then cut it out. Step 3: Paint the horse one solid colour. Step 4: Paint a saddle, halter, and girth, then add decorations. Step 7: At this point, you can leave it as is or tape it to a string to make a banner. After that, you're all finished! ...

Life... has changed a bit since I last posted. For me, this sadly means no more riding, as my barn has closed its doors to lessons(which I totally understand). However, this might mean that I don't ride again until June, which is when my local government predicts that my area will be able to go back to normal. Before everything blew up, I was able to go to one week of riding camp. I've worked as a volunteer at this camp before and attended it for many years prior, but this year, I got to run the camp. There were only 9 kids at any point in the day, but I have NEVER been so tired. My voice was dead by the end of the first day, but I managed to get through the week without any major hiccups. I got to ride at camp while doing a demonstration on English riding. The horse, Archie, was a bit of a tougher ride, so none of the kids got to ride him. He's pretty fast, would rather canter than walk or trot, and bucks if you kick too hard, so all the volunteers and I all took turns ...

I had another lesson on Wednesday, but I don't really feel like writing about it, and nothing too interesting happened, so I decided to do a review of my favourite(and least favourite) horse-related books and movies. MOVIES                                                 Flicka (2006) Terrible writing & dialogue, questionable realism in regards to the horses, and Katy is kind of really stupid, although that's probably due to the horrible dialogue. This movie features Tim Mc Graw as Katy's dad, and he is very cringy, also due to terrible dialogue and a huge helping of sappy. That pretty much describes every character in this movie, so...  Anyways, this movie is awful, and I love it. I actually know the horse who played "Yankee", the horse that Katy rides just before she finds Flicka, so that adds an extra level of cool for me. "Yankee" is currently a ...

...but I'm back now. It's been two months, and I've gone from trying to figure out how to canter without dying, to jumping without dying. My lesson on Wednesday was mainly focused on jumping. We started with some canter poles, and counting the strides between them, then moved on to a line of 2 poles and then a jump. I'd done this before, so after the initial getting-used-to-it stage, I was doing pretty well. Then, the instructor added another jump, which quickly became my downfall. I've been riding Taz for the past month or so, and because he's really lazy, I've gotten used to riding very forward in the canter and over jumps or poles. However, at this point, he started to pick up momentum, and instead of going too slow, started going way too fast. 4 strides turned into 3 and a half and some pretty terrible counting. At one point, he took the first jump weirdly, which made me lose count, which made me get unfocused, which made him decide that the second jum...