Motivation Monday:

Motivation Monday: You never see the great things ahead of you if you always look at the bad things behind you.

Warm Up Pen Safety

Question: I have been to a few shows this winter and I am unsure of the proper riding procedure in the warm up pen. Actually I have been run into by a couple of people that were going the wrong way and not paying attention. What can I do?

Answer: The warm up pen is a pretty dangeous place when every rider is concentrating on his or her own program and getting ready for their classes. I will give you some general rules to follow that will make navigating the warm up arena easier and safer for you and your horse.

* Always go with the flow of traffic. If the warm up arena is large enough to allow for two sets of circles, one circle should be loping to the left and one circle loping to the right, they should pass left hand to right hand in the center of the arena. If the warm up pen has only enough space to lope one circle, ask when you want to change direction, as most people will want to go both directions before they show.

* Stay to the inside of the circle if you want to go slow, and to the outside of the circle if you want to go fast.

* NEVER, NEVER, NEVER stop your horse in the flow of traffic. If you are at a reining event, there will be time to work on fencing and stopping your horse so that you will not have to avoid other riders that are circling.

* If you need to school your horse on spins, or adjust equipment, move to the middle of a circle so that you're not in the flow of traffic.

* Do not pony your horse in the warm up pen.

* Always looks where you are going, and watch out for other riders. You don't drive your car while looking at the hood ornament and you shouldn't ride your horse looking at his head, eyes up.

* Don't exercise young or green horses in the warm up pen while it's crowded; wait until later in the evening or early in the morning. Safety first.

* Yield to the tractor, and always listen to the arena announcer and ring steward. They are there for your safety and to keep the show moving smoothly. Remember, every minute you waste when asked to leave the arena is just another minute longer the show will last.

* Don't tie your horse in the warm up arena. No one wants to dodge a kicking or loose horse while they are trying to get ready to show.

* If you have a question ask. The only dumb questions are the ones that are never asked.

* Always try to maintain a good sense of humor. People may be tired and nervous. Be patient with newcomers and try to help them learn by reffering them to these guidelines.

It is our job as riders to ensure the safety of ourselves, horses and others. Remember that some people don't know that they don't know, so take the time to explain to them the proper rules, I would rather them be mad at me for trying to keep them safe than to have them hurt one of my customers of family or worse visit them at the hospital.
As always remember: Ride Hard, Be Safe and Have Fun - Steve Kutie

Baby Lesson #2 Be sure the diaper is tight!

At 2:00 am this morning I found out where the phrase, sh#& happens came from, and I don't believe it was from Forrest Gump either, judging from the sound and smell that attacked my senses early this morning. I was having sweet dreams about eating suhi, relaxing in the sun and winning the Futurity, which might seem like a strange combination unless you know me, when I was snapped back into reality by a smell that I can only describe as a cross between my wifes five finger shoes on a hot summer day and a week old dead cow that has been baking in the Texas summer sun, combined with the sound of someone throwing runny oatmeal on my pillow with two hands.
Now believe me when I say I was wide awake, licky spit, sitting up to see what was happening in my perfect little world. Now Charissa being the person she is handles diaper duties as well as feeding during the night, I think in part so that I can keep up with my beauty sleep and because Jax thinks my chest is pretty useless when it comes to dispencing his meals. Jax, was having his midnight snack while resting his tiny hiny on the corner of my pillow when the explosion occured about a quarter of an inch from my ear and plenty close to my nose, I happened to catch a glimps of his tiny smerk by cell light, saying sorry sh*@ happens (We use the flashlight app. to save actually getting out of bed and having to stretch to turn on the nightstand light. Don't judge me, you just wish you thought of it first).
So thanks to Charissa and the engineers at Pampers, the diaper was tight, form fitting and leak proof. Lesson learned!

Fact Friday

Fact Friday: The mightiest oak tree was once a little nut that held its ground.

Theory Thursday

Theory Thursday: If Plan "A" didn't work, remember the alphabet has 25 more letters. STAY COOL!

Baby Lesson #1 Cover the Pee Bug

I am pretty amazed at the similarities between horses and babies. After two days of watching and observing Jax, it has become pretty easy to understand what he likes and what he doesn't like.

Likes:
-Eating
-Sleeping spread eagle
-Long walks on the beach
-Moms boobie
-Sleeping on dad

Dislikes:
-Dirty diaper
-Not being able to move his arms
-Michael Bolton

Baby Lesson I learned today: I learned why everyone warned me about covering a baby boys pee bug while changing a diaper. It's a good thing Charissa likes babies and understands that I have no clue when it comes to baby related maintiance like proper water temp, wrapping them in blankets and keeping the tiny high pressure urine squirter covered during diaper changes. I managed to get the diaper off, chassy cleaned and lubed and new diaper in the proper position when all of a sudden Charissa, still half asleep, takes friendly fire to the face and shoulder. Now if I were in her position I'm not sure that I could have stayed focused and finished helping the nimrod that was the cause of ramdom streams of baby urine to hit me in the face but, she hung tough God love her.
I thought the diaper changing kit that we recieved durning one of the baby showers was more of a joke, since it contained some plastic tongs, clothes pin for your nose, goggles and a few other funny items. But after this morning I now see the practical purpose for most of the items in the kit. So all I can say now is THANK YOU to the genius that designed the Dirty Diaper Duty Survival Kit, I will be eternally grateful to you.

Motivation Monday

Motivation Monday: My new motivation, Jax Lee Kutie. Life is great.