Alright, I don't ask y'all for much.  Other than unconditional love, to flatter the Archer with your internet throes of affection, and to never comment on the chub in the saddle flailing around.  Yeah, I love you guys.  :)

Sooooo.  I didn't mention this because I totally respect her and it wasn't my story.

OR fell off at the last show.

And it was epic.

And it was caught on video!  (I might ask nicely if we can watch it!)

She did the Amoeba class with me and then added the Tadpole (2'-2'3").  And... Bu didn't like the way the logs looked, I guess.

This is so stinking appropriate because I've just spent a lot of time reorganizing my stuff.  What with Archie's little mishap last week, I realized that there were some organizational flaws in my system.  And so I bought stuff.  And tried again.

Warning:  this is a novel. Tl;dr?  Shit.  I have a lot of shit.

Trunk:

First up, the containment system:


I mean, really.  Is there a better term for it?

Both trunks are by Husky.  Thanks to Hillary, who informed me of these magical things' existence.  I went to Home Depot, weighed the pro et contra, the cost, and rolled out with the Husky 37 inch Mobile Job Box.  $59.  I got it back when I knew I was going to be moving barns, because I needed a place to store my shit in the "pasture boarder area".  I loves it.  It's got the two metal tabs, an internal locking system, places for additional external locks, sturdy wheels, and a foamed metal handle.  The spiders love it, too.


I've since gotten rid of the inner tray and acquired the smaller container that is sitting on top of the trunk.  But this is what it kinda sorta looks like.  On the right side:  miscellaneous saddle pads and cooler-esque blankets (most of which I've forgotten all about.. I can tell you that they are all, in some way, blue).  The things I don't normally use are wrapped in bags:  surcingle, cavesson and side reins are all together, dressage bridle and running martingale is together, and bits are all together.  I'd like a better system than grocery bags, but at least it saves on space.  Everything bathing related is piled in or on my blue bathing bucket.

Also crammed into the tack trunk (more space, since I removed that inner tray):

Medical:

The color isn't exactly spot on in the photo, but it's a purple 15 quart Sterilite.  It's also freshly cleaned and repacked, also due to last week's snafu.

Upon opening:

Towels and gloves are immediately accessible. Three years of ER vet med.

Scrap towels.

Gloves.

Okay, so everything else is encapsulated into its own little ziploc baggy.  I've had too many things leak and explode.  I'd also like the clean things to remain clean, the medicated things to remain intentionally medicated, and the sterile things super fucking sterile.

Human-medicine grade antiseptic, in individual little pouches.

For those hard-to-reach places.

The lube is in a baggy... inside a baggy with the thermometer.  Just makes sense, right?

Stethoscope.  For gut sounds.

Mini Wound Care Kit.  $16 from SmartPak.  ...Or you could just make your own.

Okay, to expound on this kit.  The one I purchased is the "serious wound treatment" and boasts enough crap to do two wounds.  It's now $19.  It contains: 4 medical towels, 1 tourniquet (it's a long piece of rubber, think drug addict), 2 alcohol pads, 2 hand towels, 1 iodine swabstick, 10 non-sterile gauze, 3 non-adherent gauze, 4 long-handled swabs, 2 wood applicators, 4 antibiotic packets, 1 adhesive tape roll, 2 small sterile gauze, 1 iodine scrub, 2 med gauze, 1 3M vetrap, 2 saline wipes, 2 exam gloves.

I don't really need it, but I'm glad I have it.  If you don't have your own horsie first aid kid assembled, I'd recommend acquiring one.  Better to have and not need than to need and not have.

Bute paste.

Extra needle-less syringes.

DMSO.. never used.

SWAT, also never used.

Alright, I love this shit.  I also can't find it.  It's like Fuze, but minus the carcinogens.

And the real shit.  This was gifted to me, I've never used it, but.. better safe than sorry.

I just can't get behind MTG.

Vetrap.

Sheath cleaner.

Because sometimes you don't want to smell like latex gloves and sheath cleaner.

Leg Kit

It's unfortunate that I even have to have this, but the Kid occasionally gets soft tissue inflammation.  It makes sense to me to have all of this in one place.

Blue 19 quart Rubbermaid container.

I don't remember where I got these pillow wraps, but I love them.

Okay, homemade quilted wraps.  There was a time when I did not have sufficient wraps, but Archie needed to be wrapped 24 hours.  So, I made these.  I would take the blue wraps with me to my job at the vet's, wash them, and apply these with standing wraps during the day.  They are still my go-to for daytime wraps because I feel the thinner material traps less heat.

The finishing.  Master seamstress.

From top:  plastic wrap for the poultice, scrap towels, a "dirty laundry" bag, standing wraps, and the giant, heavy tub of poultice.  Under the plastic wrap are some polo wraps.

Shoved in there somewhere are more latex gloves.

Shout out.

Tractor Supply find.  I love this stuff.

I've since acquired more pillow wraps, but I need to trim them down.  They're about three inches too tall.

Grooming Box

I just bought this last weekend.  I went back and forth between whether I really needed it, and, if so, which one I actually wanted.  D got very frustrated with the time it took me to go back and forth looking at the various boxes Husky makes and comparing the online reviews.  I settled on this on because the locking feature is fabulous.  And I can stand on it.

It's the Husky 22 inch Wide Body Tool Box.  $17.

Bottom compartment.  Clockwise from top:  Dover front boots, Roma hind boots, trial-size Showsheen spray that I won (thanks, TFS!), Marigold trial spray, Chlorhexadine spray, Ponytail's Show Pony Shine that I won (thanks, Hillary!), various combs, sweat scrape, mane bands, weight tape, tail brush, human bug spray, mini whisker clippers, and rubber curry.  Also normally tossed on top is my shoulder's back harness.

Top compartment, the placement of which allows room for my trail bottles to stand upright: soft curry, treats, kid-sized dandy, the knife I stole from an ex, a face brush, schooling gloves, and a a hoofpick under the gloves.

So, my soft curry is actually too tall to comfortably fit in the top tray, so I wedge the handle into the little box grooves at the top.  It works.