Here's what's been on my radar this week:
ONE Horse Blanketing Flowchart
It's so easy to project your feelings about the weather onto your horse! I've always been a blanketing minimalist, because my horses have been furry and fat. This year, both horses are partially clipped and are still trying to gain weight. This flowchart is a good reminder that sometimes, your horse doesn't need a blanket, even if precious baby looks cold.
I think we can all agree that quarter sheets look pretty- but do I really need one? This article outlines different types of sheets, why you'd use one, and what the differences between different types of fabrics are. Gina tends to warm up slowly in the winter (she is 17, after all), so I've been curious about if a quarter sheet would help. Have any of y'all used one?
THREE Patagonia Baselayers
A couple of years ago, I received a pair of Patagonia Capilene bottoms as a gift; they're so comfortable and are thin enough to fit under my breeches without adding a lot of bulk. They're great for reducing that feeling of wind shearing through your clothes! I'm currently eyeing this pair of Merino midweight bottoms- they're heavier than the Capilene, but I'm willing to trade a little bulk for warmth!
My favorite pastime lately is dreaming about producing a lovely sporthorse foal out of Gina. She's a fancy-moving, well put together mare with good legs, good gaits, and a nice jump. The CotH Forums are a vertiable fount of information: stallions, bloodlines, how-tos, etc. Will I ever breed Gina? Probably not, but it's fun to think about.
FIVE Open2Study
This has nothing to do with horses, but surely everyone can find something here they're interested in! Thanks to the power of technology, massive open online courses are available for anyone to learn about nearly anything. I particularly like Open2Study's easy-to-use interface. I've completed a couple of courses there, and am currently enrolled in a couple more. Learning is fun!
What have y'all been checking out this week?
5 comments:
Point 2 - I'm a big quarter sheet fan, especially on a clipped horse. However I will not use anything fleece (ever), I'm a wool only kind of girl. And it's gotta be easy to put on/take off.
Point 4 - Obviously I'm a big breeding nut and have been for a long time. It's fun to dream!
i've always been curious about quarter sheets, but never used one...
I have one. It's fleece/wicking on the inside and waterproof on the outside. I use it to warm up/cool down on a clipped horse in cold weather. It's heavy enough it doesn't blow around, which I like.
I love that that chart came out of my alma mater! Go ag schools.
I have that exact quarter sheet pictured (well, okay, in a different color), and I love it. Pig lives in it in the winter time. You're supposed to take it off after the horse warms up, but because it's cooler fleece I leave it on. It pulls off any sweat he accumulates (often having little crystals of frozen sweat hanging off the outside after a hard ride), and keeps him from chilling during walk breaks. I only use it when he is clipped and it is 30 degrees or below.
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