7 Deadly Sins | Blog Hopping

Also, this Unicorn. Ermagherd.

I absolutely love this Blog Hop idea from Viva Carlos. The posts by everyone in the community have been so interesting to read. There's an awful lot of pre-show-season introspection going around, you guys.

Pride

Seven great things/strengths in your riding life

1. Putting in the time and effort to get better is easy to me.
2. Stickability, I has it.
3. I'm fit and able to ride without making physical compromises.
4.  My horse is a good mover, and able to succeed at our discipline.
5.  I have really good body awareness.
6.  I've learned how to get any horse to accept and understand contact. (Thanks, Guinness...)
7.  I don't suffer from fear or anxiety when it comes to riding.

My horse has mad ups, and I don't care who knows it! 

Envy

Seven things you lack or covet for you or your horse

1.  I envy girls with thin calves. I'm tired of trying to track down wide boots, and getting stuck in breeches. (It's hilarious. I fall down taking my pants off all the time.) There's lots of support for girls with body curves. What about leg curves?!
2.  A black sheepskin half pad, so I can stop getting my nice white one filthy.
3.  A nicer and more powerful truck for towing. The current truck is approaching the end of its useful life.
4.  A medium-weight blanket without any current holes. (I know rip-proof is impossible with my horse.)
5.  A younger horse to start bringing up the levels as Guinness and I advance.
6.  I envy those who keep their horses close enough to a trainer that they can lesson more than the once a month (or less!) I'm able to get.
7. Money so I can enjoy my horses without completely sacrificing everything else. (Hey, all I want is some beer money ...)

(I also envy people who own horses that don't get this nervous about getting in the trailer...)

Wrath

Seven things that make you angry

 

1.  Poor horsemanship, and a demonstrated lack of care for it.
2.  Instructors teaching obviously wrong information.
3.  Name-dropping. (Newsflash. No one thinks you're important.)
4.  Badly behaved dogs, especially if unattended (and especially if they're peeing on my things/attacking my dogs or horse/barking constantly).
5.  Riding a horse with mud caked on it.
6.  Bratty children.
7.  Loud children.

If your children are bad, they will be fed to the dogs ... you have been warned.

Sloth

Seven things you neglect to do or cut corners on 

1. Keeping Guinness' mane the right length. (Let's just say I wouldn't feel out of place in a reining competition right now.)
2. Cleaning my riding boots. 
3. Rinse my bit every day / wipe down my tack daily
4. Enforce proper standing behavior during mounting. (We are so bad about this ...)
5. Properly close/latch stall doors when dealing with Guinness. (Last month I left in him a stall with the door wide open, and went for a 4 mile run. Lucky for me, he rarely leaves a stall when left on his own.)
6.  I never thoroughly groom when my horse is wearing a blanket. (It may have been over a month since I've brushed anything but his legs...)
7. Wash polo wraps regularly. (They may get laundered ... every couple months?)

Hm, I've also never brushed his teeth...

Greed

Seven most expensive things you own for your horse/riding

1. Saddles ($500, $500 - provisionally sold, $1500 - for sale, $700)
2. Horse Trailer ($2500)
3. Tall boots ($250)
4. Board ($210)
5. Guinness ($3200 purchase price $8000 projected current value)
6. ECP fleece pad ($150, gifted)
7. Dressage show coat ($100, gifted)

Anybody wanna buy a saddle?

Gluttony

Seven guilty pleasures or favorite items

1. Long trail rides with varied terrain and views. 
2. The ability to do recognized shows.
3. Drinking wine at said horse shows. 
4. Jackets/coats/fleeces/zip ups for riding/working out 
5. Wearing sandals to and from the barn on hot days
6. Having my trainer able to come to my farm. (I used to drive 4 hours once a month for her. This is so much better.)
7. My tiny video camera, and people around who don't mind using it.

I'm so lucky to be able to access trails like this.

Lust

Seven things you love about horses and riding

1. A facility with 24/7 turnout.
2. The sound of a contented horse quietly eating in an otherwise silent barn.
3.  Doing my own horse's feet.
4.  The way a chestnut coat gleams in the summer.
5.  Seeing the world from between long red ears.
6.  Holding the end of my horse's leadrope and soaking in the feeling that he's mine to take wherever I go.
7.  Dat face, tho ... 

Love this guy ...