What is your "thing"?

Riding, for hours, fast.

I love going to new places.
This is the best time of year, the trees are changing, the weather is perfect and the bugs have vanished.

Who wouldn't enjoy a good ride with friends with views like this -

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So many "things..." Boots is one, I ride western and live in my Ariat or Twisted X boots. Long solitary hacks off road, a good long canter at every oportunity. A recent "thing" is discovering the joy of weekends away now I have my lorry. All tucked up at night, and peeping out of the window to see my horse happily munching his hay in the coral I've made for him right next to the lorry. Up at first light and there he is waiting for breakfast, looking in at me. Just fab.
 
I love turning out on a winters morning when the sun is just rising & they just look so happy to be out :)

I also love blowing into their noses & them blowing back, relaxes them so much & just so cute !!

I also having a mucking out OCD, I don't like my OCD but a love a gorgeous smart bed, then I get heartbroken in the morning when its trashed ! haha
 
Feet... I love the look of a good barefoot trim, with a nice roll and short toes. (I love the look of correctly shod feet too, with a neat line of nails in the right place and a short toe, but we do't see them in my yard any more). I do my own trims so it's just as well I find them satisfying.
I also love that moment when a baby horse works out what it you are asking for and grows about two inches because they are so pleased with themselves. Maybe it's just Arabs but they thrive on getting things right and being praised for it.
 
I love the smell of horses, tangled tail to sleek & shiny, a neat and tidy bed with squared off banks.

Actually, I really love cleaning bridles, the smell of saddle soap and that sticky feeling of clean after :D
 
So many! I love power washing the stables and rubber mats. It always amazes me how the dirt just disappears. I also love putting that first bed of the winter down, before a horse has a chance to get it dirty.

As much as I hate getting up at stupid o' clock, I love turning them out in the mornings. As my car arrives I get a little good morning whicker which has been scientifically proven to makes all stresses disappear and watching them wander away from the gate with their warm breath steaming up the air and usually saying good morning to each other with a bit of a play or a groom is just wonderful. Their little herd is so settled and happy they seem really pleased to see each other every morning. By the end of summer though I think they're glad to come in for some 'me' time!

I also love tack cleaning. I don't do it as much as I should, but when I do I always think "I really enjoy this I should do it more often." I always have a tack cleaning routine. I bring it all home and sit in front of the telly watching rugby and cleaning tack. I can't do it if the match is really important though as I get too excited, so the rest of the World Cup while Wales is still involved is a definite no go.
 
I'm another one for tucking up ponies in bed :) I love winter. I love seeing their breath in the cold and heads over stable doors when I arrive, the nickers when they see me. I love bundling them up in their rugs and turning them out. Mixing up feed, though i've had to stop this because my mare has got quite big now she's not in work, I still get to feed my other but he doesn't love his food like she does.
Lotions and potions. I've pretty much run out of space now but whenever I see a pretty bottle or something I havn't tried before I end up with new ones, love hoof creams and shampoos...my boy has cracked heels atm and i'm loving all the pampering I get to do :P
 
Interesting thread!

I love taking a knackered old horse that everyone thinks is good for the dog food can and giving it a lovely retirement! I'm on my third oldie now. All three were really shut down, thin, and generally poorly. I just love seeing them gradually start to realise that not all humans are cruel, and that all they have to do is chill out and enjoy their retirement. I wish I could afford the time and money to take on a few oldies at once.

I also really love turning crap feet into decent, usable feet!
 
Penny Less said:
Im quite sad, I love seeing a horse walk away with a perfectly squared off tail after Ive spent ages practically using a spirit level !
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Ooh, let me do you a favour - you can come do my horses tail - no matter how long I spend I can never get it to hang straight...
 
I've a new thing that tops my other things :p

When my 17h horse drops his hip and lowers one side of his back right down (not just resting a leg, actually lowering himself!) So I can reach the top bits of his back when grooming :D
 
Penny Less said:
Im quite sad, I love seeing a horse walk away with a perfectly squared off tail after Ive spent ages practically using a spirit level !
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I could do with someone like you, I have three mares, one who flags her tail and two with J tails, square cuts at rest just don't come into the equation with them :D
 
Going through vits and mins and sussing what suits best.
ARG at rugging and overfeeding (seen some ponies with over 2kg of feed in one feed). Don't mind if horse NEEDS the rug/feed but so many are to make owner feel better. I did tell a friend to slap my wrist if she wanted but I removed her horses rugs (she was grateful due to it being a hot day and she was unable to get to yard).

My thing is clips. They MUST face away from the horses body. Leadropes clipped on and facing chin are a no-no. (Remember being told at Riding School health and safety in case catch chin, etc). Friends now luahg when I re-adjust theirs. I am OCD about it.
 
Smells. I could spend all day sniffing the ginger lad: the smell of his feet when I've done them with Stockholm tar, the smell of his muzzle when he's been at his net of steamed hay and the smell of warm leather and horse sweat when I untack him after a brisk hack.

I also love being the last one on the yard in Winter when everyone's in overnight and all you can hear is the sound of 30-ish horses all munching their hay.
 
My thing... horses, really! I LOVE comp prep, I adore having a perfectly clean horse day in, day out. I spend my weekends grooming thoroughly, handpicking his tail, oiling hooves, and dressing him in matching tack before hopping on for a schooling session. I love setting stables at comps. Tack cleaning is another blissful way to spend the afternoon. I love setting up at home and working through a pile of tack, leaving it soft, supple and gleaming. I love to look into new feeds (despite my horse being fed only straights!). Also his feet, he's barefoot and I get a kick out of seeing his perfectly shaped, strong, shiny hooves. I even enjoy trimming them!
 
I love it it when you get that moment of clarity when you've been working on something with your horse for ages and suddenly it clicks, that thing that was difficult is now easy and you get that amazing feeling of time vanishing and being a proper partnership with your horse :)

I think psychologists call it Flow when that happens, awesome feeling!
 
Show schedules.....I love reading them! Beautifully turned out ponies and riders, turning ponies out in the morning and watching them enjoy the freedom and sunshine!
 
horsemadmum1 said:
Show schedules.....I love reading them! Beautifully turned out ponies and riders, turning ponies out in the morning and watching them enjoy the freedom and sunshine!
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I love show schedules too! My favourite bit is filling the entry form in all neatly :)

I think my main thing is mucking out, I just love it. Can't beat a nice clean, neat bed with lovely big banks. And I love a good old muck heap tidy up, can't bear a messy muck heap :P
 
My thing is banking the bed in the stable. I hate mucking out straw but my big boy has a lovely straw bed with big banks that help stop him getting cast as he likes to lay down (in his own poo, and he's a grey I might add) but I have to get his banks perfectly level.
But then I'm the weirdo that has to have the cushions on the sofa placed in order and a certain way up...
 
Apres Hunting. Coming in from a long cold day, all horses washed and in bed, tack at least stripped, if not cleaned, and everything in the wash, hot bath, dinner on the go, or curry takeaway, glass of wine and Strictly with children and husband. Heaven. Even better even if you've had a fabulous day with many tales to tell.
 
I like a tidy yard. Love the wide sweeping brushes that catch everything. I scoot about the small yard getting every last piece of stray straw, chicken deposit and leaf.
It never lasts, the hens like to kick the straw beds all over the place, but it means I get to do it all over again. :D
 
Agree with tootsie too re: Apres Hunting. In fact any Apres horsey day out. Enjoying a great day out with my horse, whether hunting/hunter trial/beach ride. Leaving my horse tucked up in his stable munching away whilst I go home to a hot shower whilst my husband cooks dinner. Perfect end to a perfect day.

I also have a thing about pulling the green stringy weed out of field water tanks. I find it strangely satisfying. :)
 
I have a "thing", but it's more of a love-hate kind of thing: proper electric fencing. I'm very particular about building the fence right, not having tape touching stuff, not having it knotted up or wrapped all over the stakes. But I don't actually enjoy sorting it all out. On the other hand, I love it when the horses stay where I've put them!
 
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