Whoops
I had a spam attack this morning and while attempting to clean it up and put some better defenses in place, I deleted the last 100 or so comments.
I apologize; I fat-fingered something and didn’t catch it in time.
And we’re back, in a manner of speaking
I am in the process of consolidating some sites and trying to make my online life easier to maintain.
As a result, you’ll see some non-horse-related things appearing on this site. In fact, almost all of the pre-2007 blog posts are non-horse-related. They are posts merged from other blogs I have had over the years. There’s not much quality control going on, so I make no promises about the amusement or intelligence factor in any post on this site.
As I keep working on the merge, you’ll see the gaps in the archive fill in.
I’ll also try to clean up the design a bit.
But since the bare bones of the site are working, I figured I’d open it back up so I can keep posting new things.
Stuff is happening. Ro is going on a trail ride soon. She’s going to a clinic. She’s going to a… dare I say it?... show.
Detailed update to follow this weekend.
Pardon my mess.
Listen, it’s not that I don’t know how to do a seamless upgrade and redesign on my site.
It’s just that I never do one. Isn’t there a saying about the shoemaker’s children?
Bits and pieces of the site will come back gradually. Not too quickly—the weather this week is supposed to be fabulous, and you better believe I’ll be at the barn as much as possible.
Pardon the mess in the meantime.
Now for the update that really matters:
Ro has been absolutely brilliant these last few rides. We are getting a fairly consistent rhythm in the trot, instead of speeding up and slowing down like we’re in rush-hour traffic on the highway. She’s also beginning to reach into the contact at the trot and hold it for a few strides, instead of backing off immediately. Her canter is coming along. She’s much weaker on the right hind than the left, but she will pick up the right lead canter if she is balanced and not rushing. We also cantered around the whole arena today instead of sticking to the “safe” end/corner. Pony has the smoothest canter ever, and it’s a blast to ride. She slipped into a hand gallop a couple times, but she responds beautifully to the seat and comes right back. When I ask. Which, I admit, was not right away; who wouldn’t want to gallop around a little on the first real day of fall that we’ve had?
Now with video
I am taking bets on how long I keep the photo and video section up. At some point I am going to come to my senses and realize anonymity was much better, but until then I’m trying something new.
And that includes some video clips from this weekend’s lesson.
Please keep in mind that I don’t own any of the horses I ride and, while the owners are aware that I am posting video, they didn’t sign up to have their horses critiqued to pieces.
You can say anything you like about my riding, though. I have a graduate degree in creative writing. Trust me—there is nothing you can say that would be more brutal than a graduate-level creative writing seminar.
If I don’t chicken out and can keep conning unsuspecting passers-by to hold the video camera, hopefully I’ll keep adding video on a regular basis.
Maybe I’ll even buy a decent video camera.
Current Site Status
For the record, when I took the site down to redesign it, I planned to have it back up within an hour or two.
But after I put up the new design, I decided I hated it.
I figured another day or two of down time wouldn’t hurt anything, and I could create something new in that time.
And then… and then… and now it is weeks later and I am halfway through some major reorganization of all of my sites.
Most importantly, I combined this blog with an older blog behind the scenes. I am currently shifting through entries to determine what should appear where. Entries (and comments) will reappear eventually. You may notice a few new (and yet old) entries—these were originally posted on the other blog and have been moved here. A few entries may disappear. Things are being categorized now, for people who like categories.
This decision means the blog is no longer anonymous. Anyone who is curious can now find out who I am. You’re not going to find anything very exciting.
I will be adding some additional features to the site, such as a photo gallery.
In the interest of not having the site down for six months while I putter around in the back end, I have gone live with what I have done right now. Which isn’t much, obviously. At least I can add new entries while I sort through the old ones.
Comments should be working. If you experience any difficulties with the site, please .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) so that I can resolve them.