Ruby Gets a Truck

"I bought a show pony and can't get to shows!"

There are 7 horse trailers at my barn (last time I counted)...and I still have not been able to get Ruby a ride to a show. I have one friend who would take me but I hate asking her to go to a hunter show when she rides dressage.

So...

I bought a truck (which has been dubbed 'Hedwig'). Step one in getting pony to shows!

I did a TON of research on trucks for towing horses. That was the easy part- shopping was its own terrible beast. Some tips:

1. Do your research: know what you will and will not accept in a vehicle- towing capacity, engine size, 2wd or 4wd, cab size, mileage, etc.
2. Make sure the title is clean! My truck had a lien on the title and it has been a nightmare getting the auto loan and registration paperwork done.
3. PRE-PURCHASE INSPECTION (PPI)! This will cost you about $100. If the dealer is uncomfortable with you taking the vehicle off-site for inspection, walk away. I took mine in, and it ended up needing about $2,000 of work- which the dealer agreed to pay.
4. I had multiple dealers flat out lie to me about towing capacity. If you don't know, check the manufacturer's specifications (usually online). The easiest way is to pull the manual out of the glove compartment and look yourself. 
5. Online tools include: AutoTrader, Kbb, TrueCar, and RepairPal
6. If you can, look for a vehicle sale that comes with a warranty. My truck was an auction purchase which meant I saved a lot of money, but it was sold "as is" (making that PPI even more important).
7. Always test drive. Listen and feel for any abnormalities and make sure you are comfortable driving the vehicle. 
8. Never pay full value for a truck. Many dealers set prices high knowing the buyer will want to haggle. Look up the vehicle's trade-in value; the closer you can get to this price, the better! Holidays are always a good time to buy, as many dealerships run specials. Also consider how long the vehicle has been on the lot, as well as the vehicle condition.

A lot to think about, but a vehicle is an important piece of equipment. The last thing you want is to purchase a vehicle that ends up not working for you!

First Ruby Injury

"My finger kinda hurts..."

My last lesson started like most of my other ones: warm up walk, trot, canter; bending, getting on the bit, etc. Debi has had me warm up over a 'circle jump' for the past few rides:
                 
               .        .
       .                        .
    .                                .
____                          ____
   .                                  .
       .                        .
               .          .

Nothing too fancy; Ruby and I have done this same exercise with 4 jumps (back with Connie before we moved to AL).

I'm actually not entirely sure what happened; we had been going around the circle a few times working on looking for the next jump and picking up the correct lead. We were going clockwise. When we came up to the left jump (probably the third time over it) we got a really terrible distance. Basically, I jumped up her neck thinking she would take the long spot, she went 'what the hell woman'...and we just fell apart. I landed on her neck in front of the saddle and kind-of figured there was no point trying to save it and toppled off her left side. The fall wasn't bad since I knew it was happening, but I landed still holding my reins while she was trying to run for her life (lol).

I did get back on and rode the exercise a few more times to make sure Ruby (or I) didn't have any issues going over it again, but decided my fingers weren't quite right shortly after and headed home for a nice hot shower (which is my happy place). A few more hours past that, my finger had swollen significantly so Dan got dragged out to the hospital with me.

After 4 hours in the ER, I did finally get confirmation of the break (and this picture). It looks like the pull from the reins twisted my finger until it snapped- note to self: let go and let your idiot horse run into the road...

Honestly, I am a little proud of Ruby and I- we have been together for 7 years and this was our first injury in that time, and our fist fall in AL (we were past due- it had been about 2 years since I popped off her).

My check up appointment is on the 24th, where I will get another x-ray to make sure everything is healing straight and whatnot. It might just be the swelling, but even now it does look a bit more crooked than my left hand finger- uh oh!

So the moral of the story? If you ride horses, you will get hurt at some point. "Occupational Hazard," you know? Fortunately, Ruby and I have been able to stay out of real trouble *knock on wood.* For now, all I will say it that there are definitely certain tasks that are exceptionally challenging to accomplish with your non-dominant hand...

Stay safe, and keep riding y'all!