Feb Link Luv (and a bonus update)
| March 9, 2015 | Posted by Melinda under Uncategorized |
February was a blink and I can’t believe it’s already 1/3 of the way through March before managing to throw this post up.
We will get to the links, but first thought I would give you some updates on Mel and MerryLegs.
Why not Farley? Because….I’m going on day 9 of being away from home and since I haven’t heard from either the Barn manager or Matt, I will assume that she is still alive. Beyond that? Who knows.
MerryLegs is doing really well judging by the email updates I’m getting from Amber. My original list of tie, trailering, and jogging is proving to be a rather short, easily accomplished list so I’ve been trying to come up with a more extensive “bucket list” for ML. What should a three year old know for the next year? Here’s a sampling of what I’ve come up with.
- Wearing a turnout blanket
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Ponying at walk and trot – She has a tendency to lag behind and hang on the halter which means it isn’t as enjoyable for me and Farley as it might be…which means she doesn’t get out as much.
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Taking a bit and bridle
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Fully tacked up (including crupper and breast collar).
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Trail obstacle stuff in case I want to do an in hand trail class with her?
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Traffic (cars passing etc)
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Cows
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Foot trims and shoeing. When I first got her she was a bit dicey about her feet for trimming. She’s gotten better…but repetition in this area doesn’t hurt. I want feet to be no big deal, no matter what I’m doing. I’ll be a lot more motivated to do boots and/or glue-ons early in her career if she’s easy about her feet.
Now for the Mel update. I’m in Tulare (about 5 hours away from home) doing a Dairy rotation at the extension service. The days are early and I get off at 5pm….but somehow I’ve filled my evenings with family visiting (grandparents, cousins etc all live down here), socializing (I have 3 roommates in the dorm) rather than blogging and writing. I’ve gotten some runs in, including coaching my sister through her longest (and furthest) run to date! A time for everything right? As everyone here as told me multiple times – even when my life gets crazy you will be here for me to tell the story to when I get back – and that is an enormous comfort.
Onward and Forward! To Links!!!! (I’m including all my interesting links through today, even though I’m 9 days into March).
Bwhahahahahahahahahaha. Oh yeah. Any takers?
Photo series like this fascinate me. Bittersweet knowing that me and my 2 sisters will never have this chance, but it makes this project even more touching. The other interesting thing is how something as simple as a hair cut changes how old a person looks.
As usual, mugwumps makes excellent points. Over the years I have adapted principles of various clinicians to get something done and appreciate the tools it has added to my toolboxes. However I feel like they continually fall short in the “real” world when using strict application of their techniques.
Can someone please watch this and give me a synopsis? I don’t have time for watching videos. Ever. Probably because I’m a little ADHD and can’t effectively skim videos like articles. But I still really want to know…..why do these people say crunches are bad? I gave up crunches in favor of different core exercises a while ago but there’s that whole confirmation bias thing ya know?
I was hoping this article would come with cool pictures, but it’s still a cool article even without them.
Was it Liz that had an interest in this subject? Not true research, but another really well written article on the “cult of being busy”. Something I 100% buy into. Note that there are true exceptions that he gives as examples of “yes you really are too busy to add something to your life, even if you really want it, if you say you are” (like having young kids) – but in general, “busyness” is a choice. When I look over my list of small changes over the years, most of them are focused on doing less and reminding me what the most important priorities are in my life.
Patience. Not one of my virtues. But one I’m getting better at :). Here’s a good reminder of why as endurance athletes patience is key.
You guys that live in the OMG-I-can’t-even-imagine-that-much-snow part of the country…here’s yet something else I didn’t think of.
Have you ever had a goal that once you started was impossible to fail at? The closest thing for me has probably been vet school. Once you get in – at least in Davis – your odds of finishing are darn good. But it’s still not the same as a goal that is impossible to fail at because if you fail you die. I think one of the challenges of endurance sports (and part of the lure) is the chance of failure and guarantee of relative safety even if you quit. So tempting…the game is to keep going.
When I read this post last month, this sentence practically flew off the page: “It’s easy to feel a lame step when you’re trying to find one.” Spoken like a rider that used to do endurance for SURE.
Yes, you can do endurance and board. I’ve done endurance when boarding in less than ideal situations, and in is-this-heaven pretty near ideal situations. Ironically the only time I owned Farley and had her on pasture was a period of time when I WASN’T riding endurance. The other ironic thing is… the hardest thing about boarding and endurance is NOT overriding your horse. Leave your guilt at the door and have confidence that many Many MANY people (at least here in CA where pasture is non-existent in many parts of the state) ride endurance successfully and board in small paddocks that could not be considered pastures by any stretch of the imagination. I’ve written about the nuances on this blog several times over the years – including my realization that I was overcompensation for my perception of how I needed to “make up for” boarding in a small paddock resulted in mostly overriding my horses….(Oh and apparently the blogger was having issues with the post going up, so if the first link doesn’t work, try her second attempt at putting up the post.)
Ashley writes an excellent article on arena cross-training in a very understandable and clear way. Check it out if you are a trail rider who is normally bored stiff in an arena.
Yet another good blog topic that I will not get around to writing up in a timely manner. If you blog I would encourage you to think about the subjects of blogging honesty and filtering on a regular basis and reassess your “lines”. As a blog reader, I think you should keep both of these concepts in mind because it will help you not make assumptions and judgements that are incorrect and perhaps do the blog writer a discredit. For me….I am always 100% completely honest here. If I can’t be honest, I don’t write about it. That isn’t to say that what I write isn’t colored by my personal perception, or that I don’t change my mind when I get new information. However – I never ever change the content in a post that has gone up, without adding in an alert that the post has been edited and why. When it comes to filtering…this is a blog about endurance – both running and riding. I try to include unrelated stuff rarely if at all. Being so open and honest about this sector of my life makes me very protective and private about the other areas of my life…and unless the “other stuff” is going to impact the blog or its content is some significant way that I feel like it’s weird and confusing not to say something…I leave it out. The big glaring exception is vet school – but because you guys helped me get there I share what I can :).
These really are beautiful shirts and if I was less, absolutely, completely broke I would buy one.
I dont’ know what to think about these sorts of studies/findings. Mostly because (like coffee) they flip back and forth. I think it’s pretty clear that running is better than not running (or not exercising). But when it comes to what speed….my opinion is that life is short and you should run at whatever speed your little heart desires. RunnersWorld’s did a little blurb on why simple conclusions from these studies sometimes are that simple.
I find it interesting that most (all?) other endurance sports that does seem to be an inequality of how women are represented. EXCEPT HORSE ENDURANCE. Perhaps why this is why so many women seem to gravitate towards horses? They are the great athletic equalizer? Anyways. I thought this article did a really good job of challenging me to rethink some of the reasons I justified why women are under-represented. Turns out that perhaps many of those “truths” may be shakier than I thought.
Bravo. Once again a good article on why DNF can be better than finishing, and it’s not always about waiting until you (or your horse) is no longer fit to continue. By the very definition of our sport (specifically talking about horse endurance), not finishing a ride IS FAILURE. But Finishing is not always success either (which Aurora can explain to you here).
IMO this reminder can’t come often enough. Your brain has to be refreshed before you can train. Take a week to ease back into it – not because you aren’t physically ready to go, but because mentally you aren’t. I should have implemented this rule after starting each new clinical block and my running this year probably would have been a lot more consistent.
Ever had one of those moments?
After a decade of consistently wearing synthetics when doing outdoorsy stuff…I find myself more and more reaching for the natural fibers. Yes, even cotton.
My biggest pet peeve – prominent figures (or heck, ANY one who is posting recommendations publicly or writing reviews) in a sport that gives recommendations without disclosing which companies sponsors. In this case, this athlete is sponsored by almost (all?) of the company’s whose products he’s recommending. It’s not just the big sports and names either. There’s more than a couple of people who do this in horse endurance too. There’s an almost-finished blog post in the works on free stuff and product/company perception based on some research that led to the policy of my vet school banning much of the “free stuff” that vet students would traditionally get (no, I don’t think this is the answer either). Stay tuned for what I promise will be an interesting and surprising discussion on the topic.
What I posted….
One year ago: Convention overview
Four years ago (2 posts): A lesson, Random 20MT musings
Five years ago: Custom Saddle bags
Six years ago (2 posts): Crew bags, Beautiful weekend and no riding
I love these posts. And yes, I was the one interested in the cult of busy….as I tend to be a member. Though after reading that article it makes me feel that if the spectrum of “healthy busy” and “unhealthy busy” exists, as it seems to suggest in an undertone, that I am certainly trending toward “healthy busy” this year so far – which is most excellent. Ultimately, as long as I’m happy and feeling great, that’s all that matters.
I really liked the line about busy being a confession instead of a boast. I think that’s the difference for me.