got mayo?

Mayonnaise: not just for sandwiches
anymore.

Show preparation went well this week. I work in the preparedness field professionally so it is in my nature to over-prepare for everything. I like to have everything I need arranged neatly by the door (or even better, already in the car) so that all I have to do the morning of a big event is get myself out the door and not worry about organizing things. I also packed the trailer this evening with all my tack and supplies so that I didn't have to worry about it tomorrow.

My gear all cleaned, pressed, conditioned, and ready to go.

 I think I did quite well this week, though. I am not even nervous or worried *yet* about the show tomorrow. Lucy has been awesome all week. I had a quick ride today and I have no complaints. After a schooling session in the indoor, we rode in the outdoor, and then I took her for a hack around the farm. The farm borders a major 2-lane highway that connects northern Rhode Island to the beaches down in the southern tip of the state, and it is very busy with all the tourists in the summer season. I decided to ride her out in the front fields that have that highway close-by and to see how she was with the traffic. The field is fenced in so if anything went wrong, she wasn't going far. Several large trucks, schoolbusses, and lots of other regular traffic flew past us at 60+ mph and she didn't blink an eye. I was so happy with her!

After the ride, I pulled her mane and then gave her a thorough head-to-tail bath. This is where the mayonnaise comes in. I have read several places lately how well mayo works as a conditioner, so I decided to give it a try. I figured that at just over $2 for a jar of it, I couldn't go wrong. I slathered it on her tail and massaged it in after shampooing the tail thoroughly.

Lucy says, "Mom, you really couldn't spring for the Pantene
Pro-V deep conditioner? I am not a sandwich.
This is ridiculous."

I let it sit for about 20 minutes and then rinsed it all out. Her tail dried nicely and was soft, shiny, and very silky. I will call that a success!

One thing that almost sent me off the deep end today was when I discovered Lucy's front left foot getting a bit crumbly around the nails. Whomever said that there's no difference in the quality of white feet and black feet is an idiot. Lucy has one black foot and three white. I have never had any trouble with her black foot but I swear, those white feet will be the death of me. They crumble. They chip. They taunt me. This weather is terrible for feet, and to top it all off the flies are awful this year and bite right through the $60/gallon fly spray I have, and she stands outside all day stomping away to get the flies off her legs. I really think that does a number on her feet.

I couldn't get any farrier to come out and re-set the shoe, so we will just have to pray and think good "shoe-staying" thoughts.

I have been very busy this week with some artsy work. I went to Dover and picked up five pads: 1 white dressage pad, and four A/P pads (2 white, 1 black, and 1 green). I painted the dressage pad and the black A/P pad yesterday and was really pleased with the results:

These two are ready to go if anyone is interested. I settled on $45 per pad. The dressage pad's paint is a really beautiful dark purple colour and the black pad has silver paint. I can do initials on the other side of the pad for an extra $10. I plan on painting the other pads later next week!

I also completed a commissioned drawing:

AmyWater-soluble graphite on Bristol, 8x10"

So yes, it's been a busy week!

Wish us luck for tomorrow. I will be sure to give you all a full report on how it goes!