Horse Movie March Madness: The Bracket

It's time! Here's the bracket for our March Madness voting, based on the poll that ran Monday and Tuesday. I chose the top 16 vote-getters, and then randomized the brackets using a handy-dandy website generator.

I know I said I'd start voting today, but doing this bracket has taken all my extra mental concentration for the day, so I will set up the polls to start voting tomorrow. Get ready! Some crazy matchups in there.

Can't win for losing, also VOTE

It's finally warm enough to ride consistently, so of course I am sick as the proverbial dog with the nastiest upper respiratory infection I have had in years. I've had no voice for coming up on 72 hours now, my phlegm is neon & rainbow-colored, and I can't really be vertical for long periods of time. THANKS, UNIVERSE.

Anyway.

Quick post to say VOTE in the Horse Movie March Madness poll. The top 15 vote-getters will be seeded in their bracket in a post tomorrow, and then we'll start the elimination polls. Are you psyched?

(I would be, but I'd probably pass out.)

VOTE VOTE VOTE

Horse Movie March Madness: Seeding

It's heeeeere!

This is the poll that will be used to seed the top 16 tournament bracket.

Please vote for FIVE (5) horse movies that you would like to send to the sweet 16.

The top 16 vote-getters will head to the bracket, and the results will determine their ranking.

If you believe there is a movie missing from this list, please add it in comments. It will automatically get one vote.

VOTE EARLY, VOTE OFTEN.

(NOT REALLY, PLEASE JUST VOTE ONCE.)

Farm Hunters: The Conclusion

I feel like I got everyone's hopes up with promises of an endless search for the perfect farm. So I feel mildly bad, from a blogging POV, to write this post.

We are officially under contract on the city house I wrote about before!

It's pending inspection, obviously, so nothing is set in stone, but we're really happy about it, and feeling good about the inspection.

So now, a very important question: do you want renovation blogging? I'm not talking about anything more than once a week, probably, as I have not a ton of interest in being That House Blogger, but it's about to become an important and time-consuming part of my life. It might do me some good to vent via blog.

Let me know!

Product Review: Toklat Coolback Bareback Pad

Toklat Coolback Bareback Pad
$74.95 at Smartpak

I posted, oh, a very long time ago now about riding Tristan occasionally in a bareback pad, and thinking about finding my own. I liked the idea, and did some cursory research, and then lost interest as other things took financial precedence.

Then my friend C. posted on Facebook that she was doing some cleaning out of horse supplies in preparation for moving, and did anyone want a bareback pad? I jumped at the chance. She mailed it up, and both the puppy and the cat approved immediately.

Last week, I finally got the chance to use it at the barn.

First impressions: it's a pretty straightforward thing. You toss it on and girth it up. The barn manager immediately commented on how soft it looked, and liked that it came with its own padded girth. Said girth is really straightforward. It's also really small: any horse in cob or pony range would absolutely have to punch quite a few extra holes. Tristan wears a cob size in surcingle and is on the small side of the horse range for girths.

The fleece is not exactly natural fleece - it's pretty clearly synthetic. It's not terribly bad synthetic, though, and the pile really is quite dense and thick. It feels softer and more durable than synthetic fleece usually does.

I was a little concerned at how little wither clearance there seemed to be - wither rubbing was why I didn't use the barn's bareback pad as much as I would've wanted. I figured, though, that the fleece was thick enough and the whole thing was flexible enough that I might as well ride in it and see how it went.

When I mounted up, I immediately felt comfortable and cushioned. Tris does not have a terribly uncomfortable back to sit on bareback, but wow, this was COZY. Is this why endurance riders put that fleece on their saddles? Drool.

I have no idea why the pad is labeled "Coolback" but can report that it warmed up nicely with movement. I rode for about 35 minutes walk and a bit of trot, and it never felt less cozy. Warmth from his back gradually came up to my legs, which is honestly my #1 reason for riding bareback in the winter. I had been worried that the pad would obscure that - the other one I used did. I actually think it was transferring the heat from his back up through to me. Win-win. I'm curious how it would feel in the summer, though.

The fleece was surprisingly grippy, and plush. One complaint might be that my leg naturally fell at the girth, because of the way it pushed down the fleece when cinched tight. That tended to encourage a bit of a chair seat in me - but then again, bareback does that generally anyway, so not the end of the world. Another problem is that the oh shit strap on the front was kind of useless...it was so close to my crotch it wasn't exactly an intuitive place to grab. I'd really have to be sliding off to reach for it naturally.

At the end of the ride, I was pleased to see that the pad hadn't moved too much at all. The fleece on the girth served to help keep it in place. It slipped back a little bit but it wasn't exactly a problem - not like slipping back would be on a saddle, for sure! It hadn't rubbed his withers at all.

In short: I really like it. It was quick and convenient, and more grippy and comfortable than bareback. I didn't feel any true loss of feeling through my seat, like I was worried about. Nothing like a saddle. I'll definitely be using it more and more!