http://halt-near-x.com Halt Near X's blog, plus horse-related poems and images (more poems than images). en rider@halt-near-x.com Copyright 2010 2010-01-27T06:24:19+00:002010-01-25T01:48:02+00:002010-01-20T05:53:32+00:002010-01-08T03:54:06+00:002010-01-08T00:38:06+00:002010-01-05T03:05:09+00:002010-01-03T19:59:37+00:002010-01-01T07:23:50+00:002009-12-24T04:41:55+00:002009-12-23T02:32:57+00:002009-12-19T17:47:01+00:002009-12-17T06:14:34+00:002009-12-15T05:48:02+00:002009-12-12T03:43:11+00:002009-12-06T04:24:21+00:002009-12-04T07:49:45+00:002009-12-01T02:41:20+00:002009-11-30T06:45:10+00:002009-11-26T02:02:50+00:002009-11-23T05:19:37+00:002009-11-11T00:22:21+00:002009-11-09T05:05:56+00:002009-11-01T20:17:15+00:002009-11-01T16:35:07+00:002009-10-31T22:08:32+00:002009-10-31T06:19:35+00:002009-10-29T00:52:53+00:002009-10-28T01:12:32+00:002009-10-21T04:12:51+00:002009-10-17T05:54:43+00:002009-10-14T04:09:56+00:002009-10-13T03:00:38+00:002009-10-13T02:11:08+00:002009-10-08T02:55:52+00:002009-10-05T06:30:52+00:002009-09-30T02:42:35+00:002009-09-20T23:47:37+00:002009-09-18T02:14:21+00:002009-09-17T00:30:27+00:002009-09-11T00:25:12+00:002009-09-07T00:04:57+00:002009-08-30T14:27:20+00:002009-08-24T09:30:36+00:002009-08-22T03:01:17+00:002009-08-19T03:17:30+00:002009-08-16T05:36:38+00:002009-08-09T07:08:01+00:002009-08-03T06:33:17+00:002009-07-26T03:41:20+00:002009-07-25T02:51:48+00:002009-07-16T03:51:35+00:002009-07-15T23:40:18+00:002009-07-06T02:26:47+00:002009-07-04T23:51:08+00:002009-06-29T04:56:06+00:002009-06-23T04:25:21+00:002009-06-15T03:47:50+00:002009-06-12T04:10:51+00:002009-06-03T23:46:18+00:002009-05-29T00:05:52+00:002009-05-26T01:54:09+00:002009-05-23T18:58:06+00:002009-05-23T00:06:45+00:002009-05-21T23:39:59+00:002009-05-18T23:50:38+00:002009-05-17T18:44:57+00:002009-05-16T04:52:43+00:002009-05-11T13:21:58+00:002009-05-10T22:44:06+00:002009-05-09T14:38:43+00:002009-05-07T01:45:54+00:002009-04-18T03:15:33+00:002009-04-15T04:36:29+00:002009-04-15T04:27:40+00:002009-04-14T04:27:41+00:002009-04-13T05:12:43+00:002009-04-13T05:11:08+00:002009-04-13T05:11:04+00:002009-04-13T05:10:20+00:002009-04-12T04:40:01+00:002009-04-11T18:34:32+00:002009-04-09T05:11:17+00:002009-04-08T04:18:37+00:002009-04-07T00:38:35+00:002009-04-07T00:38:14+00:002009-04-05T03:14:03+00:002009-04-05T02:10:47+00:002009-04-04T14:00:05+00:002009-04-03T14:00:39+00:002009-04-03T14:00:09+00:002009-04-02T14:00:52+00:002009-04-02T14:00:27+00:002009-04-02T04:52:04+00:002009-04-01T14:00:39+00:002009-04-01T14:00:06+00:002009-04-01T03:18:41+00:002009-04-01T01:38:04+00:002009-03-30T01:43:07+00:002009-03-29T06:11:09+00:002009-03-27T03:36:40+00:00 http://halt-near-x.com/blog/archive/i-need-a-personal-shopper/ http://halt-near-x.com/blog/archive/i-need-a-personal-shopper/#When:06:24:19Z Maybe it’s because I started in hunter land, but I really hate Dressage bridles. They’re so… big. And blocky. And padded. And cranked. And blingy. And full of buckles. And the padding is all contrasting colors. And they’re black. And… Unfortunately, I suspect my budget is not going to give me the luxury of buying a brown dressage saddle quite yet, so I’m going to have to buy a black bridle. My hunter princess soul… 2010-01-27T06:24:19+00:00 http://halt-near-x.com/blog/archive/i-should-have-known-better/ http://halt-near-x.com/blog/archive/i-should-have-known-better/#When:01:48:02Z I am sitting on the couch with various parts of my body on ice and other parts on heating pads and others being smothered by Pook… although, to be honest, I think she’s just trying to steal the heating pad. Today started out so well; it really did. After a fantastic lesson yesterday that culminated in some incredible trot work at the end, I was on a high. I tacked up for today’s lesson and… 2010-01-25T01:48:02+00:00 http://halt-near-x.com/blog/archive/in-which-we-progress-slowly-without-drama/ http://halt-near-x.com/blog/archive/in-which-we-progress-slowly-without-drama/#When:05:53:32Z [This bout of shameless bragging brought to you by the letter A for Awesome] No pain, no gain. That’s what they say. They can tell it to my abs, which are currently so sore that even menstrual cramps sound pleasant. This is what happens when you try a new exercise and, while you’re doing it, think Hey, I can really feel this working! Awesome! More reps! More! More, I say! More sense would have more… 2010-01-20T05:53:32+00:00 http://halt-near-x.com/blog/archive/photo-op/ http://halt-near-x.com/blog/archive/photo-op/#When:03:54:06Z I realize I never post photos, but Gabi’s owner sent me some she took a couple weeks ago and I thought I’d share. She takes this trot and just floats across the arena. 2010-01-08T03:54:06+00:00 http://halt-near-x.com/blog/archive/i-am-a-cruel-cruel-person/ http://halt-near-x.com/blog/archive/i-am-a-cruel-cruel-person/#When:00:38:06Z With the freezing weather coming in, horses were not being turned out tonight so I figured I’d go hand walk Gabi. I tossed her in cross ties, threw a cooler on her back, and out we went. After the walk, I tossed her in cross ties again, grabbed brushes out of my locker, tossed the cat out of the locker, gave her a good grooming, tossed the cat out of the locker again, put the… 2010-01-08T00:38:06+00:00 http://halt-near-x.com/blog/archive/call-out-the-national-guard/ http://halt-near-x.com/blog/archive/call-out-the-national-guard/#When:03:05:09Z It’s going to be below freezing in Houston! For a day! Maybe two days! Maybe two and a half days! Maybe it’ll break the record 53-hour freeze! There may be sleet! Run! Run for your liiiiiiiiiives! (Actually, the last is not bad advice. Whatever you do, don’t drive. There is a reason every person I know who has lived in a Northern climate and cut their teeth driving in real winter conditions is already calling… 2010-01-05T03:05:09+00:00 http://halt-near-x.com/blog/archive/feeling-irresolute-theres-an-app-for-that/ http://halt-near-x.com/blog/archive/feeling-irresolute-theres-an-app-for-that/#When:19:59:37Z It’s that time of year again: we all get peer-pressured into making resolutions we know we won’t keep. “I am,” we say, standing on the living room couch and waving a pretzel in the air like a scepter, “going to lose weight this year!” And our friends bench-press their champagne glasses and shout, “You go, girl! You’re awesome! We’re going to exercise more!” And then we wake up the next morning, hungover and uncertain where… 2010-01-03T19:59:37+00:00 http://halt-near-x.com/blog/archive/jumping-into-the-new-year/ http://halt-near-x.com/blog/archive/jumping-into-the-new-year/#When:07:23:50Z As you know, I’ve been dealing with a crippling—can’t-ride-over-poles-on-the-ground crippling—fear of jumping. I kept trying to tell myself I was resigned to it, but as everyone but me realized (I’m sure), I really wasn’t. The thing is, I liked jumping. A lot. And I don’t like giving in to fear. A few weeks ago, I was watching a rider school over a vertical and I realized something very important: when the horse jumps, they go… 2010-01-01T07:23:50+00:00 http://halt-near-x.com/blog/archive/in-memorium/ http://halt-near-x.com/blog/archive/in-memorium/#When:04:41:55Z Multas per gentes et multa per aequora vectus advenio has miseras, frater, ad inferias, ut te postremo donarem munere mortis et mutam nequiquam alloquerer cinerem. Quandoquidem fortuna mihi tete abstulit ipsum. Heu miser indigne frater adempte mihi, nunc tamen interea haec, prisco quae more parentum tradita sunt tristi munere ad inferias, accipe fraterno multum manantia fletu, atque in perpetuum, frater, ave atque vale. Catullus 101. It’s… 2009-12-24T04:41:55+00:00 http://halt-near-x.com/blog/archive/this-is-the-world-we-live-in/ http://halt-near-x.com/blog/archive/this-is-the-world-we-live-in/#When:02:32:57Z I just… I… you know… I… Oddly Specific It’s not that there’s a blog collecting all these signs, it’s that these signs were necessary in the first place. I’m a little worried about the future of humanity. 2009-12-23T02:32:57+00:00 http://halt-near-x.com/blog/archive/feeling-stressed-about-the-holidays/ http://halt-near-x.com/blog/archive/feeling-stressed-about-the-holidays/#When:17:47:01Z I like to do my shopping at the last minute. It makes me feel better to be surrounded by people who are as stressed and unhappy as I am. My challenge: try to find something for the Chinese Gift Exchange at the cousins’ party that would not suck. The decision: a movie basket: movies, chocolate, wine. The problem: I have no idea which movies are hot right now. I wandered around the store and finally… 2009-12-19T17:47:01+00:00 http://halt-near-x.com/blog/archive/looking-for-a-great-dressage-horse/ http://halt-near-x.com/blog/archive/looking-for-a-great-dressage-horse/#When:06:14:34Z Gabi is for sale: Dreamhorse ad. This mare is absolutely amazing. She’d do great with a professional, but I think she’s a dream horse for an amateur. Lovely, competitive gaits—her trot just floats, and her canter is a blast to ride. The sweetest personality you could ask for on the ground and in the saddle; she exudes a “come pet me and feed me treats” aura. Best of all, she has one of… 2009-12-17T06:14:34+00:00 http://halt-near-x.com/blog/archive/expecting-more-from-the-horse-and-rider/ http://halt-near-x.com/blog/archive/expecting-more-from-the-horse-and-rider/#When:05:48:02Z I had two lessons this weekend—one on an upper-level schoolmaster, one on a lesson horse who has recently been used in some beginner lessons, and then I hacked Gabi. The schoolmaster and I had some significant steps forward—I am beginning to trust that I can push her buttons, and she is beginning to believe that I’m serious when I push them. I finally managed not to throw my body in the canter transition, which meant… 2009-12-15T05:48:02+00:00 http://halt-near-x.com/blog/archive/what-not-to-do-at-the-barn-653/ http://halt-near-x.com/blog/archive/what-not-to-do-at-the-barn-653/#When:03:43:11Z My office holiday party was tonight, and I was planning to head out to the barn afterwards and hand walk Gabi a bit. The plan was to swing by my apartment and change, but as I left the party, I realized that I was wearing jeans and I had wellies in the back of the car (a habit from life in the far north, where you always toss extra boots/socks/blankets in the car, unless you… 2009-12-12T03:43:11+00:00 http://halt-near-x.com/blog/archive/guilty-and-happy-to-say-so/ http://halt-near-x.com/blog/archive/guilty-and-happy-to-say-so/#When:04:24:21Z I had a milkshake today. Yes, yes. They are verboten. So was pie at Thanksgiving, and I had some anyway. I am wearing my smallest-sized jeans. I didn’t have to do a hop-and-pray dance to get them on or suck in anything to button them up. I do not look like an overstuffed sausage. I figure I’m about 1/3 of the way to my end goal. Well, 1/3 of the way +… 2009-12-06T04:24:21+00:00