Lindsay 0:10

Today. We're gonna switch things up a little bit and bring in a guest into our studio. Ray Lombino. Hi Ray.

Rae 0:18

Hi. Hello everybody.

Lindsay 0:20

and Thanksgiving and maybe a little gift giving guide, uh, to help you and your horse. Crazy friends. So to get into things. We're just gonna do a little bit of housekeeping here. As always, the best thing you can do to help our, is to hit the like button, follow, subscribe, give us a review and rating. It really means the world to us. And then anything that we talk about today, I do do a detailed transcript with all things linky back to things so you can do quick lookups. But I Ray. and I got a chance to meet each other due to me needing a farm sitter one year. And she came highly recommended. And the rest is technically history because she never left. Um, Ray actually brought her horses over.

Rae 1:05

Couldn't get rid of me.

Lindsay 1:07

I got her introduced to Minis. Um, she brought a mini over their farm, got her into driving, and uh, I breed horses and she ended up purchasing one of, uh, my foals from me, miss Millie. So Ray, to meet you, your farm currently,

Rae 1:25

Yeah. Well, I wanna start off by just saying thank you for having me on today. This is gonna be so much fun. Um, but yeah, so I think you and I met back in what, 2019

Lindsay 1:39

I think so. It was definitely

Rae 1:41

like that? Or. Yes, pre, pre covid for sure. Um, and yeah, we did so much stuff together. Lindsay has taught me literally everything about, you know, keeping horses at home, farm care, farm maintenance, um, got to play with her stallion, Pete. Which was such an incredible experience getting to work with him. And like she said, I had my mini boarded with her, wound up stealing one of her minis when I moved my horses home. The wonderful little rain.

Lindsay 2:20

I miss

Rae 2:20

Um.

Lindsay 2:20

him.

Rae 2:23

I I know I miss him. Um, and then of course, miss Millie, which was not planned, it wasn't my original plan originally wanted to keep her mom. But Lindsay, literally, I'm giving you a shout out here on your own podcast if you need the gift of a fo ever breed to Pete because he literally makes the best babies. I mean, I, any opportunity I have to tell people that. Millie is just like, she got her daddy's brain and he has the best head on his shoulders. So, um, yeah. So I guess a little bit about me otherwise would be I. I have six horses now. Um, all kept at my home and I just do kind of a little bit of everything. I drive with my mini, hopefully going to drive with Millie as well. Um, I do, I. English Western lot of trail riding and most recently have gotten into riding in parades with my old man Tex, which has been so much fun. Um, but yeah, otherwise it's just a lot of farm care and poop picking and all that good stuff.

Lindsay 3:47

Oh gosh.

Rae 3:48

that's, yeah.

Lindsay 3:49

I gotta tell you, there is. If we're gonna be on the Topic at Thanksgiving, the one thing I am actually thankful for is having my own farm, and I'm sure you can Attest to that.

Rae 4:00

Yeah.

Lindsay 4:00

is something therapeutic about cleaning a stall and I don't know what it is,

Rae 4:05

Yes,

Lindsay 4:06

you bring everybody in at night, it's cold. You just listen. I sit and listen to him just chewing away and it's,

Rae 4:14

Yes, I, oh, it's, literally like ASR just listening to horses eating hay. It's so relaxing. And that's funny that you say that about like it being therapeutic. Mucking. It's, it genuinely is. And I even posted something on my farm page about it. I called it manure meditation because it literally, like, I don't know if you're like me, but when I'll be out, like cleaning stalls or cleaning a paddock or whatever, I just, that's when like I do my best thinking honestly. Like my mind just dreams and wanders and

Lindsay 4:49

It, it's,

Rae 4:50

it's, genuinely very relaxing.

Lindsay 4:52

Can't agree more. Can't agree more. Absolutely love it. And the, i i, with the exception of dumping and scrubbing water buckets, I hate that I dunno. It's, it's not

Rae 5:03

it's not, it's not my favorite.

Lindsay 5:05

bad if it wasn't for the fact that it's winter's coming and then you have to like, ugh. Just, it's not fun in the winter. I'm not my fan, but

Rae 5:15

I agree.

Lindsay 5:16

You know, to listen to a horse chew, unlike humans where I could half the time, punch em in the throat, uh, horses are very therapeutic. Listening to just them, it's very consistent and it's just, it's methodical and I love it.

Rae 5:31

Yes. That in like when I'm sitting out in the barn, I've got like the horses eating hay and then there's like the ticking of my fence charger.

Lindsay 5:40

It's Just

Rae 5:41

a metronome in the background. Yeah.

Lindsay 5:44

I love it. Hold on. Let's see if we can give it

Rae 5:46

I genuinely could fall asleep to

Lindsay 5:48

Oh, it doesn't do it on the live one. That's a bummer.

Rae 5:51

again?

Lindsay 5:52

I was so hoping for the little thumb bubble that would go up. No, we're just gonna look like idiots to just be like, earlier. It did something earlier. I promise.

Rae 6:03

It did. It did. I saw it too.

Lindsay 6:06

just crazy in our own world. Oh gosh.

Rae 6:08

That's okay.

Lindsay 6:09

This past year has been Crazy for me. Like new job, lost two hor, new job, lost no. Three horses, right? Yeah.

Rae 6:22

Oh, you got your thumbs up. It just appeared not to interrupt you. Your little thumbs up bubble appeared when you were just talking.

Lindsay 6:28

It just must have a delay. I don't know why I,

Rae 6:31

it must, and of course the people that are just listening and not

Lindsay 6:35

what is wrong with you guys?

Rae 6:37

are losing their minds right now.

Lindsay 6:39

just talking at a computer going, where's my thumbs up man? And then, you know, of course, you know, we're talking thumbs up. As I just said, I had, you know, three horses dead, you know, so that's helpful. But

Rae 6:52

Yeah, not, not the

Lindsay 6:54

no,

Rae 6:54

timing.

Lindsay 6:55

but you know what is good is the horse community because for everything that I went through this past year. The number of people that reached out and, you know, gave their sympathy came over, um, just to see if I was okay. Left flowers at the barn. Oh my gosh. I'm going to, I'm just gonna, like, I nobody should have that many horse losses that close together. It was

Rae 7:24

Right.

Lindsay 7:25

Just insane. And man, am I thankful for the local community in Rochester. You guys, you know who you are. You all rock, and you're my besties. And I hope in some way I can pay it forward again in the future because wow, you all stepped it up. Go Rochester.

Rae 7:44

Yeah, absolutely. And totally different situation, but I, I definitely feel the love in that respect too. I mean, I kind of went through, um, a fun little medical thing with my mare this year where she got diagnosed with a herpes virus infection in her eye, and everybody that was super helpful with us, you know, just Offering not only support, but like, Hey, here's recommendations for these special masks that she now has to wear. And oh well, have you tried this to help keep her more comfortable? And you know, just offering any sort of advice and just the support alone and everyone kind of being like. You're not alone in this. Even if we don't understand what's going on, like we're here for you. Feeling that love from fellow horse people, it just, it, it makes you feel so much better and definitely helps take some of the stress off of your shoulders when you've got crazy things like that going on.

Lindsay 8:52

I mean. Uh, we're, we're blessed to have such a great community around us. And, uh, do you know where, speaking of community, do you know Rochester Trail Riders is about to hit the 4,000, uh, member Mark?

Rae 9:07

I noticed that, which is so exciting.

Lindsay 9:11

wanna throw like a little 4,000 party, because that's crazy.

Rae 9:15

We.

Lindsay 9:16

Um, I think Western New York horse beats us. They're at the 7,000, but I don't know. I have a couple of naughty folks that if I have horse sale posts or anything where it looks like I have an animal for sale, we get flagged almost immediately to, uh, Facebook. I don't know what that's about, so I feel bad. I, I think the other groups get a little more because they can do the horse sales, but it is what it is.

Rae 9:45

It is what it is. I mean, there's definitely plenty of other places that folks can go to, you know, sell, do anything like that. And honestly not for nothing. I almost like that we don't have that in the group, just because I feel like it keeps a little bit of the drama that's associated with sales and things like that away because it can get, I mean, I'm sure any horse person gets it. Horse sales can be

Lindsay 10:15

Yeah. Well, and I've learned that by keeping the sales out, our group has gotten a little more We're a little more focused on helping each other with questions and problems and, hey, where can I do this? Or where can I get that?

Rae 10:31

It's more like a forum

Lindsay 10:32

Uh, so.

Rae 10:33

like a community that everybody can just, you know, converse and Yeah, I feel like especially lately, and I don't know if it's because like, you know, we're about to dip into winter and that's when either a lot of like newer horse owners or maybe folks that haven't experienced a Western New York. Rochester winter before, you know, that have like moved from the south or whatever, kind of like, hey, help. And everybody just is always jumping on those posts with comments of saying like, here's my blanket recommendations, or here's a recommendation for good heated buckets, or, you know, whatever it is. Like everybody's just been very

Lindsay 11:13

I think you're right. I mean, with how hot the South has been, I've noticed some folks are starting to move back north and you know, you have a lot of people that are from, you know, Aiken and South, South Carolina, and down to Florida. While we got some snowbirds that can afford to make those trips every single year, some folks are looking for a spot to move where it's a little more comfortable year round, where you only hide inside what.

Rae 11:40

Yeah.

Lindsay 11:41

I think we pre, I'm usually outside riding up until January when it starts to switch, so January, February is about the only time where I'm like, eh, throw out a round bale heated water. are fine. And I will,

Rae 11:55

Hey, it's winter

Lindsay 11:56

then I get back into things right around March. You know about the time the time comes back and, you know, it's late outside again.

Rae 12:04

Yes. That's what sucks. My motivation away is just losing so much daylight. That's the worst part of it.

Lindsay 12:13

I, I don't know what your hours for your job, but my day job, you know, I work 40 minute commute away from eight to four, and that little bit of time I have left is the commute that, so I'll go months without actually seeing the sun five days a week.

Rae 12:32

Yep.

Lindsay 12:32

it.

Rae 12:33

Hate

Lindsay 12:34

But you know, you mentioned recommendations and stuff about, you know, people asking, Hey, what is what? What are some items I can have, especially coming in the winter? I figured this is a great way to segue into things that we can talk about on what to get a horse person, because what is it that other horse people want? Maybe you got, maybe there's somebody listening to this podcast's like I'm listening because I have a son or daughter who's into this. What is it that they might appreciate as we come into these winter months? Or what's a little knickknack that I can, you know, put in that stocking stuffer, add big item under the under the Christmas tree this year.

Rae 13:13

Yeah,

Lindsay 13:13

I don't know.

Rae 13:15

absolutely

Lindsay 13:17

I had some props around here somewhere, but whatever

Rae 13:24

We'll have to use our imagination. It's okay.

Lindsay 13:26

one, one, thing that I got sitting over here is literally a bucket. It, it happens to be my foing and lambing bucket. But

Rae 13:36

Ah.

Lindsay 13:36

so if you're looking for maybe a, let me get closer over here. If you're looking for like a big idea, like something to have under a tree using a small two gallon bucket and filling it with goodies, even if they're not horse related goodies. Horse People love buckets, mainly because horses love to destroy them with amazing regularity.

Rae 14:00

Mm-Hmm that they do

Lindsay 14:03

but hit a, I mean, hit up tractor supply, fill a bucket with some goodies. Socks, you can never have enough socks in the winter.

Rae 14:10

All the socks.

Lindsay 14:11

that you can think of skinny ones, the, you know, nice kneehigh ones that can go up of your tights or nice thick wool ones, man. Socks are.

Rae 14:20

Yes.

Lindsay 14:21

I don't know. I have an obsession with them, like

Rae 14:25

Oh, me too.

Lindsay 14:26

but what, I don't know. What else would you fit in a a bucket if you were to use that as your stocking?

Rae 14:33

In a bucket Let's see. Yeah, right. The horse person's stocking. It's just a bucket. There

Lindsay 14:38

And if you wanna get really fancy, make it a heated bucket.

Rae 14:43

Yes, you cannot have too many heated buckets here in the Rochester winters, like I said before, because you ever have one of those go and you don't have a spare. It's like, oh, dear God, what do I do?

Lindsay 14:58

And like I broke ice

Rae 14:59

um.

Lindsay 15:00

it's not fun. I don't like it.

Rae 15:02

It is not fun. No, no. Especially like I remember last year when there was that huge storm that we had, I think it was like middle

Lindsay 15:12

It was in December. Is

Rae 15:15

Yeah, it was like in

Lindsay 15:16

It destroyed Buffalo

Rae 15:18

there were. It destroyed buffalo and we got like some of the side effects of it, I feel, and it was just like trees down everywhere. And as a result, there were power outages and it was cold enough to freeze water and we couldn't do anything about it because we can't plug buckets in. It's not, we have no power So dealing with the ice and just everything from that was such a nightmare. Um, but I would say. Nothing beats, especially in the winter. If you've got a shot horse in particular, a nice beefy hoof pick, like one of those really heavy duty like I know, I believe it's Noble Outfitters that makes these hoof picks that one side is your hoof pick and the other side is like a wine coor or something like the

Lindsay 16:13

I like this.

Rae 16:14

Yeah. It's super cute. I've seen them at Dover. Um, but like, yeah, just one of those really heavy duty ones because I know some of the cheaper ones, especially if you have a, a shot horse that gets ice balls in their feet. I've had hoof picks literally bend and break, trying to just like get the ice outta

Lindsay 16:36

kind of curious is, is, it actually for a wine like the Uncork, a bottle of wine because horses and drinking go together? I have I have adjustable.

Rae 16:44

I think that's like the joke

Lindsay 16:45

I have adjustable wrenches that are bottle openers on the other end.

Rae 16:50

right? You know what, I am gonna find a link for that, and that's gonna be in the

Lindsay 16:54

Oh, bring it

Rae 16:55

here for all of our, our, our horse and wine enthusiasts. I'm telling you that does exist and I

Lindsay 17:01

Yes, please.

Rae 17:03

but I would definitely say, you know, a really good quality, heavy duty hoof pick is going to be. Your best friend, and then I don't know about everybody else, but a ton of hand warmers. Just

Lindsay 17:20

You and I are thinking

Rae 17:21

out the wazoo.

Lindsay 17:22

thing, like I have that I'm looking around, oh, there's what I was looking for. This is for something later. But yeah, hand warmers, guess what I just discovered too, on top of hand warmers. They make these ones that are like these sticky patches, they're big and you can stick 'em, you don't stick 'em, on you, but you put 'em under your, the, the outermost layer.

Rae 17:44

Yes. Like the body warmers,

Lindsay 17:46

mean, they have the electric vests and stuff, but I don't know,

Rae 17:49

right?

Lindsay 17:50

I'm really bad at remembering to recharge things. So these, they last a

Rae 17:55

I get that.

Lindsay 17:55

like all day.

Rae 17:57

They do. Those are my best friends in the winter. As somebody who has poor circulation and also nerve damage, I need all the help I can get to keep my feet warm, keep my hands warm, and yeah, keeping, you know, you core warm as well. I'm like all bundled up, but those body warmers are amazing.

Lindsay 18:18

Speaking of hands warm, another gift that is simple and easy to put in your, your new bucket that you just got over here. Um, Exam, gloves, I mean, we're just coming outta the cova area. Those exam gloves, put them on underneath your gloves to help keep your hands warm. Or better yet that I've discovered, get a really thin pair of, um, fine wool or even cotton gloves. Just a really, really tiny, thin, bare, and put the exam gloves over that so it gives a little air layer.

Rae 18:49

Oh.

Lindsay 18:50

Now you got hands that don't get wet. Oh,

Rae 18:56

Yeah,

Lindsay 18:57

'em warm and the wind can't go through it. They're, they're cheap and easy and Holy cow. Do they make a difference in the winter?

Rae 19:04

they do. I've never tried it with the exam gloves over like a thin, like cotton glove.

Lindsay 19:10

like crazy.

Rae 19:11

I've done it. Just the exam gloves under

Lindsay 19:13

yeah, try them, getting 'em under a glove that just, you know, it, you're looking at going, there's no way this is gonna, you know, keep me warm. Like it's a. Liner glove. Yeah. Put 'em over that. They're, wow. Mind blowing.

Rae 19:27

Alright. Yeah. I'm gonna have to try that.

Lindsay 19:29

Just so you know, my one big ticket item that I'd like to share for the show, I don't know if you have this, 'cause I know you're big into videography and stuff and being able to do it, but

Rae 19:43

Is it, that obvious? A Pvo?

Lindsay 19:47

pivo. So for your horsey friend who wants to video themselves in any way, shape, or form, this sucker is awesome, because.

Rae 19:59

I agree. I don't have one personally, but I actually did. Um, my boss purchased one for my job, so for our dog training, we have a pvo so that we can take training videos.

Lindsay 20:12

it's a one man cameraman. It's awesome.

Rae 20:15

they're amazing.

Lindsay 20:16

About the only, the only thing you gotta remember is to put yourself in airplane mode when you use it. I've learned otherwise, any notifications, phone calls, anything, just because for those people that don't know what a pvo is, your phone actually controls this thing and you put it on a tripod and you, you connect your phone. I don't have the top on it 'cause I just brought it in for charging. But this little guy, your phone literally controls where it's looking and it will focus on you or your horse depending on how you set it up. And it will follow you in a ring and it literally will act as a cameraman. So I know during, um, the Covid years. The, we did a lot of virtual shows and you would mount your pvo at sea, like it was the judge, and it would follow you around the ring. So you could literally submit, um, virtual dressage tests. And I got a friend of mine up in Canada that that's what she does. Like she did all of her, um, English dressage and western dressage and holy cow racking up the ribbons because this thing follows her along.

Rae 21:18

Yeah. And even so, I don't know if we do have any like actual Pvo users or people that are like, whoa, that's super cool. Um, one thing that you can actually do with it as well, if you wanna kind of Take things up a step, so like if you're making say, like a sales video or you know, something like an advertisement, what you can do is if you're able to kind of rig things up a little bit fancy, I found that you can actually put a small camera, like physical camera on top of the pvo and if you can still attach your phone, somehow, rig it up so that your phone is doing the tracking, but you're recording on like the better quality camera. You can kind of do that as well. Um, you just have to obviously have your phone running the app for it to work, but the pvo is

Lindsay 22:10

Yeah, and they actually make that attachment, which will let you put like that GoPro or even a small DSLR, right on top of the thing.

Rae 22:17

That's what I thought. Yeah. They've got a lot of good accessories. And what's nice about the pvo too, not

Lindsay 22:23

not sponsored Yeah.

Rae 22:25

sponsored by Pvo, um,

Lindsay 22:26

sponsored. I just love it.

Rae 22:28

what's nice about, what's nice about them too, is that I've noticed they have like, you know, your kind of beginner friendly, like basic pvo, and then they have different levels of, I guess,

Lindsay 22:40

yeah, so this one,

Rae 22:41

advanced technology.

Lindsay 22:42

one's a silver 'cause it has a silver band. So that's the, this is the, silver model that I got and that one,

Rae 22:49

Yeah. And then I think they have

Lindsay 22:50

that's the step down.

Rae 22:52

something else. There's Oh,

Lindsay 22:54

It goes red and silver and it's been a while since I've been out there. Silver was the best they had at the time. I could get one. Now. They come in all these colors and

Rae 23:02

I wanna, yeah. Yeah. No, that is, that's a very, I'm glad you brought that up. That is definitely a good, and it'll fit in your bucket.

Lindsay 23:11

This would, it

Rae 23:12

stuffer.

Lindsay 23:12

fit in the bucket. You could do this. This is a high item. Bucket item.

Rae 23:16

Yeah. Um, I have a couple things that I can throw into the ring. Um, one that. Was a huge, huge godsend for me. Not so much gonna be helpful if you are traveling, like off your property to go ride, but a bit warmer. So I don't know if you've got cranky horses that are like, it's cold, it's icky out, and then you go to put a bit in their mouth that's cold and they're just like, are you kidding me? This is the stupidest thing ever.

Lindsay 23:49

Is the one that you have like, um, Is it polo? The polos are us one.

Rae 23:55

Yes,

Lindsay 23:55

I got, I got one. of those because I saw purple plaid and I had to have it. But yeah, you just like throw it in the microwave for two minutes, wrap your bit and totally got one.

Rae 24:05

and it lasts a while. Like it will stay warm for quite some time. So if you heat it up

Lindsay 24:12

Once you're done warming your bit and you're riding, just put it like, if you're wearing a, um, a hoodie or something, put it in your hoodie and it keeps you warm too. because they do last forever.

Rae 24:23

are a genius. I do. They definitely retain the heat for quite some time. Um, but yeah, so that would fit in your, uh, your bucket as well. But

Lindsay 24:35

we can have a link for that one too, I think. 'cause I think that's.

Rae 24:38

yes, yes. Yep. She's got tons of different, uh, patterns and all kinds of fun things for the

Lindsay 24:46

I think you and I

Rae 24:46

and they're not terribly

Lindsay 24:48

you and I were, talking beforehand how I'm like your practical side and you're my crazy side with my artistic stuff. Right. You're, you're the one that in, let me realize that you can put polos on your horse and have, um, unicorns eating tacos as a design, so.

Rae 25:05

Heck yeah. You can. If you can imagine it, it can exist for you and your horse

Lindsay 25:10

Yeah, I, I was never a big matchy-matchy person until you came into my life And now I'm like, oh my gosh, what color polo? Should I do two different color polos on this one? What design should I have on top? Yeah. And it turns out purple plaid is my favorite. purple and yellow plaid,

Rae 25:27

Yeah. Yes. I think that was the first set. I wanna say I got those for you guys when it was my first Echo show.

Lindsay 25:37

Yeah.

Rae 25:38

I think that's when we got

Lindsay 25:39

was when we were out in Geneva or Skinny Atlas.

Rae 25:42

Yes.

Lindsay 25:44

It was a Skinny Atlas show. We were

Rae 25:45

Yeah.

Lindsay 25:46

for that one with our fancy everything.

Rae 25:49

were super

Lindsay 25:51

And then you, I loved the little, um, you know, Harley Davidson polos for your, your little mini Harley there.

Rae 25:58

Yeah, he kind of needed those Um, so one kind of slightly bigger ticket item, but it's not horribly expensive. It's just bigger in size. Um, and I got this for myself last year from Etsy, and that is a waterproof riding skirt.

Lindsay 26:16

Oh,

Rae 26:17

So it is waterproof and insulated. It's kind of like the same material as like snow pants. And that thing is amazing. It, like I said earlier, as somebody with poor circulation and nerve damage, I need everything I can to keep me warm. And if I'm gonna go ride, I gotta be as bundled up as possible. Um, and I love that riding skirt because if you, you know, decide to go out for like a snowy trail ride. It's going to keep you dry and because it's gonna drape over the back of your horse, it's going to keep them a little

Lindsay 26:55

a rump rug. Yeah.

Rae 26:57

And Yeah. so it's just kind of like having a quarter sheet, but you're wearing it instead of them. Um, and not for nothing. There is something so fun about wearing a riding skirt. It just kind of like makes me, at least, I just, I feel so cool when I'm wearing it.

Lindsay 27:13

medieval thing going on. You're like, oh, look, look, I'm all Outlander over

Rae 27:16

right.

Lindsay 27:19

Except, you

Rae 27:20

Um, so I got mine from Etsy. I know there's. Yeah, right. Did that was not included with my package, unfortunately.

Lindsay 27:29

All right.

Rae 27:30

So I got mine from Etsy. I know there's tons of people out there that make them though. And there are like wool versions and other materials too. I just personally wanted the insulated waterproof version. Or it may be water resistant is a better

Lindsay 27:45

Usually those make it. wind

Rae 27:47

know, swimming in it yes. Oh, definitely.

Lindsay 27:53

Oh man.

Rae 27:54

So I could, I could find where I found that, um,

Lindsay 27:58

Then, you know, you gotta put your,

Rae 28:00

that would be,

Lindsay 28:00

you gotta put your, uh, riding tights. Was it? I'm obsessed with the carrots. Winter. Was it sit tight and warm? They're a game changer. Like your

Rae 28:10

those are my go-to,

Lindsay 28:11

is totally, I can't not wear them all winter long. I even wear 'em under my pants. Work

Rae 28:16

yeah.

Lindsay 28:18

So

Rae 28:18

Oh yeah. No, me too. The carrots, tights are incredible. Easily the best winter like riding tights that I have ever

Lindsay 28:27

I stalk Amazon for those, I'm not gonna lie. Um, because if you find them outta season, 'cause they're expensive, they're not a cheap item. And by any stretch of imagination I. I've, I've usually picked mine up for 50 bucks or less when it's wicked outta season. Yeah. So if you're willing to, you know, not buy now and wait for everything to go on sale, just stock Amazon for those. 'cause they're, I've, I've got a whole army of them now.

Rae 28:54

I wouldn't be surprised if they maybe even have like a Black Friday type deal for something like that too. I don't really know what anybody's got going on for sales so far this year. I haven't seen much advertised for that, so I guess we'll all be surprised.

Lindsay 29:09

we're a little early too. 'cause this is just beginning of November-ish. Well, November 12th I think is when we're re recording this. So maybe we're halfway through now.

Rae 29:18

Yeah, you're right. Good Lord. Where is the time going?

Lindsay 29:22

know. I wonder what our thanksgiving's gonna be like.

Rae 29:25

Um,

Lindsay 29:25

Like is it gonna be warm or

Rae 29:28

Who knows?

Lindsay 29:30

Just to sidetrack into a little Thanksgiving story here for you, so.

Rae 29:35

Yeah. Hit me with it.

Lindsay 29:37

my mom lives at the end of our driveway, as you know, and it's a quarter long mile trip, and we actually make the Turkey for Thanksgiving and we have to bring it to the house. Well, depending on the weather, every year we change up how we bring the Turkey to the Thanksgiving table, and one year it snowed. So I dug out the horse and sleigh and we delivered the Turkey via horse and sleigh.

Rae 30:01

that is iconic.

Lindsay 30:03

I mean.

Rae 30:03

Oh my gosh.

Lindsay 30:04

about the perfection of, you know, the holiday theme and Christmas and everything, and the leaves were still on the trees. So you had this beautiful fall foliage with this two or three inches of big, white, fluffy snow and a horse and slay in the middle of it. And of course, you can't not put a bow on your horse when you're delivering a Turkey, so we added it all up.

Rae 30:28

Absolutely. You have to

Lindsay 30:30

You guys do anything

Rae 30:31

that

Lindsay 30:32

for your Thanksgiving traditions or attempts?

Rae 30:36

Uh, well, we don't really have any like, well, I guess that's a lie. So my latest thing that I've liked to try to do is I always, because I'm very sentimental and sappy, I always like to just kind share something on, like my Instagram, my Facebook, just kind of talking about the past year things I'm thankful for and As of last year, I'm dubbing this, I guess, a tradition of trying to take a group photo with all of the horses and I roped my boyfriend into doing it with me and let's just say trying to mangle it was five horses at the time. It was

Lindsay 31:21

so you're gonna one up it this year?

Rae 31:23

Um, Yeah, we're, well, so we were trying to do it with the five, and my mom's Shetland Pony Karma, she's a bit of a sass ball. She's kind of your typical Shetland, I guess

Lindsay 31:36

Hey, I'm okay with using that term.

Rae 31:38

Um, so she was just. Not having it. She did not wanna be caught. She was like, I want no part of whatever shenanigans you guys have going on. So I said, all right, fine. We'll just take a group picture with my four. Um, so that is my mini Harley, the baby Millie, and then my original duo, bug and Jazz. So. I roped my boyfriend into taking this picture with me. I was like, yeah, we're gonna get a, we'll get a nice little family photo that I can share. It's gonna be great. So I tried to give him like Who I thought would be the two best behaved, which was jazz and the baby, because you put the two girls together, they're usually like super chill. They're very sweet with each other. And I was like, I'll mangle the boys. Um, and Harley is a little spitfire. Bug, depending on the day, is either like, I wanna eat the camera because it's so exciting. Or he's just like, I'm bored. Let me go eat my hay. And oh my gosh. The process of trying to get, I. All four of them to stand still and all look at the camera. Everybody like, put your ears up. My poor mother is behind. You know, she's just taking pictures of my phone and she's behind the, the phone, just like smooching at 'em, clucking to 'em. She's trying to like throw leaves in the air, throw rocks in the air, anything she can to get their attention. And it was like we'd have one looking and the other ones are like, yeah, we don't care or. You know, Harley's trying to bite bug for some reason. And then, um, Josh, my boyfriend is standing there, you know, with the two girls who are just both like, this is this an absolute waste of our time. Like, why are

Lindsay 33:28

Stupid humans.

Rae 33:28

And he's just like, he's not, he's a, he's a, uh, beginner horseman. Kind of got roped into that when he met me. So he's, he is learning and he's doing great, but he was just kinda like, what am I supposed to do here? I've got the baby in one hand who's just like, ah, oh my God, everything's exciting today. And then jazz is just standing there like. Uh, if she could roll her eyes, she,

Lindsay 33:53

Oh, mayor totally can.

Rae 33:54

Honestly, she's just so done with everybody. But it was just like, it was literally, it felt like an SNL sketch, honestly, of just all of us. It was so chaotic. And long story short, we did get the picture that I was hoping for where everybody, we were, both me and Josh were smiling. The horses were all somewhat looking in the right direction, somewhat all had their ears

Lindsay 34:18

you are gonna.

Rae 34:19

I think about like 40, 40 pictures

Lindsay 34:21

you're gonna have to send me that photo so I can add it to the show notes

Rae 34:25

I will. Yes. I'll

Lindsay 34:27

I gotta see how that one turned out. 'cause that's crazy

Rae 34:31

Yes. No, I will, I will. It's, it's a good one. I was happy with how it turned out,

Lindsay 34:36

so. how, how was your riding this year? I know my, my year this year when I was out, I didn't even start to get into the saddle and ride or drive, with the exception of competitions until August

Rae 34:48

Yeah. Yeah. So I would say it's kind of funny, my, I didn't do as much trail riding specifically as I was hoping to this year. Um, the one thing that I did get out and do quite a bit of, um, I got into cattle sorting this year.

Lindsay 35:08

I saw photos

Rae 35:09

Um, and I.

Lindsay 35:10

awesome.

Rae 35:12

Yeah, it's been such a blast. And most of what I got to do was with, um, my trainer Brooke and her horses, um, because none of mine know how to sort cattle. They, I mean, jazz especially like she. She's Poco bread. She's got the cow lines, but she doesn't know how to do that. Um, so I started with my trainer's, horses who are seasoned, they're very beginner friendly. They, they know the game and figured it. It was better for me to learn on a horse that like knew how to play the game. Then having both me and Jazz come in being like, uh,

Lindsay 35:53

especially since I know you and I, we both come from the English hunter jumper kind of background and, and training up. So making that switch to a working stock is, it's crazy

Rae 36:05

yes. It is so different, but it is such a blast. Oh my gosh. I have had so much fun with that this year. Um, it's, you know, I went to mostly just a lot of like small practice type. Events where you know, you pay $5 for a practice run and you just get to, it doesn't matter if you mess up, you're just learning the game. And everybody was so welcoming and so helpful. You know, I have no idea what I'm doing. Like I kind of have a rough idea. But once you like actually get in the pen and you're surrounded by the cattle, you kind of like, at least for me, like the first time my brain was just like, bye. Like, figure it out.

Lindsay 36:52

I don't know. I, just get, I'm gonna wait until somebody tells me to do something

Rae 36:55

I'm like,

Lindsay 36:56

trust my horse. At that point,

Rae 36:58

And, but genuinely like the horse, obviously they know their job, but everybody that was there was just like, you know, they, so with cattle sorting, for anybody that doesn't know, um, how it works is you go in the pen, there are 10 cows, they're numbered One through or technically zero through nine, and you have to sort them starting from whatever number is called out first. So if they say cattle number four, you're gonna start with four, work up to nine, and then go back to zero through three.

Lindsay 37:35

Oh wow. Okay.

Rae 37:36

you wanna get all those cows sorted in the right order

Lindsay 37:40

Do you have to put 'em in a pen or how's that?

Rae 37:44

Yeah, so it's like two round pens basically with an opening in the middle and they all start on one side and you have to sort them all in the correct order onto the other pen. Um, and it, depending, some of the cattle that you get to work with are either super chill or they're absolutely insane. And it's very interesting, you know. All of us, as equestrians already have decided to pursue a sport and a hobby that involves another living, being that with a brain of their own that

Lindsay 38:18

Tell you at any moment in time, the one that you're on and the one that you're working with,

Rae 38:23

Yep, absolutely. And so to take up a discipline that now throws another being with their own

Lindsay 38:33

Opinions.

Rae 38:34

thoughts and opinions into the ring is very wild, but so fun. And at least for me, I loved the challenge of it. Just, it's not easy. And there, there were times where I got, I feel like I got a little bit of beginner's luck and had, you know, a pretty quiet group of cows that clearly have kind of done this a time or two before. And they're like, okay, we know the game. Like, we'll, we'll go this way. And then other ones that just, they show you no mercy. And what I learned this year is Cows will keep you humble. If you think you're getting good, no you're not, because they will show you. You still have so much to learn.

Lindsay 39:17

it makes you appreciate the, well, heck it, it's still true today. The Cowboys, I mean, I.

Rae 39:25

yes.

Lindsay 39:25

Being able to be one with a horse to be able to move livestock from point A to point B is still something that's done today despite all the other technologies available like UTVs and ATVs, and heck, I've even watched 'em do it with drones and helicopters. But you still at the end point, you know, rider and a horse still is your buddy and a good dog at that point too.

Rae 39:47

Yes. Oh God. Yeah. There's nothing, nothing better than a good cattle dog that knows their job too.

Lindsay 39:53

that, uh, my, my beasts are useless

Rae 39:56

that, was kind of my That's okay. So remind they they have no idea how to act around things like that.

Lindsay 40:02

are good Couch potatoes, they are useless on a farm. They're very good at keeping

Rae 40:06

yes, unfortunately.

Lindsay 40:07

of straw warm. It's

Rae 40:10

Mm-Hmm. Yeah. And they'll keep you company, but that's, yep, that's it. Maybe eat some poop off the floor, you know, get into things they're not supposed to.

Lindsay 40:18

So tasty. I mean, I've never indulged personally, but I can only imagine the flavor compilation from that.

Rae 40:24

Yeah. Yeah, I personally am not gonna, I'm, I'm not interested. It's okay. They can keep that delicacy to themselves,

Lindsay 40:32

Well, apparently we're missing out on something good.

Rae 40:35

So

Lindsay 40:36

Um,

Rae 40:37

what are some things you got to do though with like your riding, your driving this year?

Lindsay 40:41

I went nuts with Volunteering, believe it or not, with uh, US wankers as you know, Western New York, combined Carriage Association. 'cause can't figure out how to pronounce it. So wankers it is. And, uh. I've done, I think I only missed one of their shows and that was physically 'cause I was out of town. But you know, from

Rae 41:03

Right.

Lindsay 41:04

to all of the Echoes to actually volunteering the big driving show that they now host and Avon, I put all my time and effort into that club this year. And then, um, it wasn't until August when I got this silly idea to do this podcast and then part of the reason, you know, I'm like. I wanna go and do all the trails, like all of them. And I started putting the mileage together and we're like talking close to 300 miles of trails within an hour drive of Rochester

Rae 41:38

Oh yeah.

Lindsay 41:39

specific.

Rae 41:40

Yeah.

Lindsay 41:41

So.

Rae 41:42

Mm-Hmm.

Lindsay 41:43

Like, well, if I am interested in this, maybe somebody else's, and I'll just document everything, give my opinions on, you know, what you can do, can you ride, can you drive? You know, what are the conditions like, uh, parking, all that? And I'll just throw it together as a podcast, either for myself or for anybody else who really caress. So

Rae 42:03

Yeah, absolutely.

Lindsay 42:05

been a little little crazy on that aspect of things, but yeah.

Rae 42:09

And you've done a phenomenal job with the podcast. I have loved every episode that I have listened to.

Lindsay 42:16

Oh good. I'm so glad. I had fun with the little ghost story that I made up too.

Rae 42:22

Yes, and not for nothing. And for anybody that is listening to us now that maybe hasn't gotten all up to date on Lindsay's other episodes, go listen to them as soon as you're done listening to this, um, .But you are just a, you're a phenomenal storyteller. Like I literally just. I pop the podcast on while I'm doing whatever. Or just, you know, sitting down. 'cause they're, they're a perfect length just for, it's like having a quick chat with a

Lindsay 42:50

I try

Rae 42:50

That's what it

Lindsay 42:51

My goal is to keep them between 15 and 30 minutes. Obviously this podcast is gonna go much longer 'cause we're having a conversation, but

Rae 42:58

Yes,

Lindsay 42:58

'for story time, I feel like 15 to 30 minutes and I do,

Rae 43:02

It's

Lindsay 43:03

I have 'em parsed out. You know, I got my little intro tell you about the parks and trails and. You know, go into, you know, my little journey for it. And then I tried to do a little statistics. I, I got a couple some feedback from, uh, other podcasters and family members on adding, I think I do at the four hoof, you know, at the end of each one you're like, okay, what's your port, you know, parking score, trail maintenance, maps and signage, that kinda stuff. So.

Rae 43:30

And I love that

Lindsay 43:31

Evolving as I go, I'm gonna keep all my mistakes at the beginning. A lot of people go back and they'll fix, you know, their intros and outros and like, I'll let this thing grow organically as I figure, but

Rae 43:43

absolutely.

Lindsay 43:44

I don't wanna let this one go too long. We've got a couple little things I wanna do, which is a community spotlight and you know, being able to shout out to, you know, all other things that are in the area, especially either You know, stores or shops that are local, give a little shout out to business. Another big one I wanna do is, you know, your local, um, what am I trying to say? Like your lollipop farm and your, your, um. Begin again. Horse rescues. The folks that you know actually will help. cause I know they helped me rehome, one of my minis that was just not fitting in and find him the perfect home. So, you know, they especially begin again, has a massive tack shops. So if you're looking for a good deal on items, especially, especially blankets, holy cow. Or.

Rae 44:35

I know that they do sales come like the holiday season. They definitely do have some fun sales for, but they, yeah, their shop is absolutely massive. It is literally in a house. It's two levels of tack for everybody. There's everything you can

Lindsay 44:54

What English Western

Rae 44:56

Saddles.

Lindsay 44:57

riding, driving

Rae 44:58

Literally, yes. They have, you know, show clothes and breaches and jeans, boots, literally ev

Lindsay 45:07

especially good for like

Rae 45:08

it's, it's all donations.

Lindsay 45:10

Yeah. Like if your kids are growing up through the, the levels definitely a spot to checkout and Yeah, you're right. Donations. I mean, everything goes to, um, helping the organization out. I know they just built a big barn attachment so they could actually

Rae 45:25

Yes, they did.

Lindsay 45:26

arena as an arena. So

Rae 45:29

Yeah.

Lindsay 45:30

causes over there. But what do you got? Like those are, those are my little.

Rae 45:34

absolutely. So if we're talking local, um, some places also out in the same, uh, neck of the woods as Begin again, but in Hemlock instead of Lima, we've got the Hemlock Feed store. Um, I believe it's technically called Hemlock Farm and Garden. But they have obviously primarily a feed store, so they carry all your main feeds. Uh, I'm sure it's just livestock feed, pet feed, all of that in general. But they do have a wonderful selection, I've noticed of like muck, boots, dry shot boots, you know, kind of your Your, your, all your, I guess like human needs too, you know, for like the things that we need to replace pretty regularly. So like, gloves, boots, all of that kind of stuff. And the owner's super, super friendly. They've got good prices, you know, just another good small store to support.

Lindsay 46:37

the Aon Farm and Feed store here in Aon is like that two massive, um, supply of quality boots and, and they do dry shot, not the muck, but

Rae 46:48

Yeah. Avon's.

Lindsay 46:49

which is fantastic 'cause

Rae 46:50

Yeah, Aon store is wonderful too.

Lindsay 46:53

Cheese. They have really good

Rae 46:54

Um, I'm trying to, oh, I did not know that they had cheese.

Lindsay 46:59

Highly

Rae 47:00

That's good to know. For my next, that's, uh. That's actually where I go for my horse's feed. Um, it's the closest one to me at least, so that's where I pop in for all of my, my horse feed needs. But maybe next time I'll have to get some of that Aon feed store cheese,

Lindsay 47:16

River rat cheese. It's very good. Highly recommend.

Rae 47:19

All right.

Lindsay 47:20

All right. I know you're the queen of shopping. What else you got for me?

Rae 47:25

So my other recommendations are actually online small businesses that I wrote down.

Lindsay 47:32

Those are easy to link to. Go for it.

Rae 47:35

yeah. Yeah. So my personal favorite as we kind of, well as you know, is my friend Kaitlyn with Polos are us,

Lindsay 47:46

She might have gotten a few shout outs.

Rae 47:47

She has.

Lindsay 47:49

Just a couple. yeah, she definitely has. she deserves it

Rae 47:53

yes. That is the, the quintessential polo, especially for you, of course, Um, but polos are us, is. More than just polo wraps. Um, so obviously you can get horse-sized, pony sized, mini sized. If you need something custom sized, she can do that too. She's got every color under the sun and literally any pattern, ribbon trim that you can possibly imagine. And if you don't see it. Just ask her and I'm sure she can make it work. Um, but she also has the bit warmers like we talked about before. Um, she has these wonderful drawstring helmet bags that I am obsessed with. So it's just like a drawstring bag that is fleece lined. So it's not scratching your helmet, anything like that. Um, she's got fleece dog toys and dog collars. And so there's some things there for the dog lover in your life. And I'm sure as most of us probably have us horse girls usually have our dogs as

Lindsay 49:04

totally.

Rae 49:06

Oh yeah, .So I, of course gonna shout out Polos are us. And then a, another business that actually collaborates with Polo us quite a bit is reigns for rescues. Um, somewhat local, I guess I would say, if you're willing to take a drive right over the border into Pennsylvania. Um, in the little town called Smith Port, um, is Rains for rescues and Triple Dream Farm. Is their rescue there. So all of the profit from Rains for Rescues goes towards their rescue

Lindsay 49:40

Oh, I love it.

Rae 49:42

they have Yeah, and Christina owns reins for rescues and primarily, of course, as the name entails, it's all paracord and leather, um, horse reins in all different lengths, different styles. So especially for like our Western people are like barrel racers and those of us that like to have the super bright tack, she's got Literally, I think like 500 different color and pattern options of

Lindsay 50:14

What I like about those kind of reigns is, especially in the winter months, I like a big fat rain because if you're wearing big, thick gloves, the English reigns, I don't know. I just don't know they exist and I love having a big

Rae 50:27

Yeah.

Lindsay 50:28

for your winter gloves. They're easier to, you know, pick up and grip. So.

Rae 50:33

Absolutely. and one thing I especially like about that style of rain too is that they always stay flexible. So I don't know if anybody else has experienced this, but I feel like leather especially gets super stiff in the

Lindsay 50:48

beta or Biothane does too..

Rae 50:50

Yeah, so those paracord reins for me are just, they're a lot easier to hold. They're really flexible and they're so easy to keep clean. You can literally throw them in the washing machine. That's how I clean all of mine, just right in the wash. Or you can, you know, hose 'em off, whatever, if you wanna do it by hand. Um, but Christina has a great selection of rains, but she also has like dog leashes and, um, neck ropes basically, if it can be made with paracord, she makes it. And her stuff is very high quality. And just another, another wonderful business that I can't say enough good about.

Lindsay 51:31

Well, awesome. I'm just gonna turn this one over to our listeners for a little bit here, that if you guys have any recommendations, especially of local equestrian techs or shops or you know, anybody that works for, you know, horses kind of stuff, and especially anything that supports a

Rae 51:46

Yeah.

Lindsay 51:47

you know, leave us a comment, you know, hit us up. Hit us up on, you know, the r. The RTR Facebook page, anything. We'd love to hear it and happy to give them shout outs in future episodes.

Rae 51:59

Yeah, and I don't know about you, Lindsay, but I am always down for getting some recommendations for my shopping that I need to do

Lindsay 52:06

totally.

Rae 52:07

So I'm more than happy to hear what everybody else has to say that maybe I would be like, oh, I didn't even think of that for a potential gift for the horse lover in my life besides myself.

Lindsay 52:21

Well, I think I'm gonna wrap this one up. I'm looking at our time and I don't want this one to go too much longer for our folks. 'cause

Rae 52:27

Yeah,

Lindsay 52:27

said, I usually kept my episodes at, you know, 15 to 30 minutes and this one's definitely gonna tax their, uh, mental abilities At the moment. At least I know it would mind.

Rae 52:37

that's fair.

Lindsay 52:37

uh, I wanted to wrap this one up here. Say, thank you Ray. This is really exciting. Um,

Rae 52:44

Of course.

Lindsay 52:45

what you guys.

Rae 52:46

Thank you for having me. This was so fun.

Lindsay 52:48

guys. probably don't know is Ray and I are working on a separate podcast coming up. Um, we hope to have this one going probably within the next year called Work for Horses, and we're gonna focus on different jobs that you can have to work with and for horse communities. So keep and

Rae 53:08

Yeah,

Lindsay 53:09

keep, uh, listening for that one, but good old Rochester Trail riders.

Rae 53:13

here to give you.

Lindsay 53:15

Thank you guys. You are a fantastic community. And just a little wrap up here to let you know that our next episode that'll be coming up will be for Letchworth State Park. Um, that one should be coming out in about two weeks, and the one after that that I have in the pipeline is the starting of the Genessee Valley Greenway, the first 18 miles of it.

Rae 53:38

Ah,

Lindsay 53:39

So we do have a couple

Rae 53:40

awesome.

Lindsay 53:41

episodes in the pipeline for that co coming up here shortly. Well, by Christmas you should have two more and then we might intersperse, you know, in between those story times something with Ray here. So if you liked her I do.

Rae 53:55

I would love to.

Lindsay 53:56

fun to chat with. I'm so excited to be able to have this opportunity to do do it with

Rae 54:01

Well, the only downside of having me is I don't shut up. So that's why we're sitting here at almost an hour long

Lindsay 54:09

It's okay.

Rae 54:10

and I could I could keep going, honestly. I could sit here for hours more and give you guys

Lindsay 54:16

time we're gonna do it, but you know, we'll have to have like a cocktail in a hand or something. Really make it a good time.

Rae 54:22

oh boy, I would definitely love that.

Lindsay 54:26

you know what? I probably could do an entire episode on drinking stories on horseback

Rae 54:35

Oh, you should definitely do that

Lindsay 54:39

the number of stories

Rae 54:40

like I've heard a couple things, you know, just kind of throughout our time knowing each other, I have heard many a story from you and there are some very good ones that should be

Lindsay 54:51

There, there's something to be had about how being older in my life where I get to teach, uh, you younger guys what not to do or what to try because it was worth the mistake.

Rae 55:03

Absolutely. And what better way to, you know, just have a little extra fun than you know, I'm sure from your hunt days, especially galloping along on a horse with a flask in your pocket and adventure to be had

Lindsay 55:19

it's all about the, uh, Oreo cookies and, um, oh God, what did I keep? Uh, my, my Irish cream, by the way, there's a full bar sitting right over here to my side. like it's right there. I can

Rae 55:33

You are just ready to go at all times,

Lindsay 55:39

All right guys,

Rae 55:40

I love

Lindsay 55:41

I'm gonna wrap this one up. Thank you for listening to Rochester Trail Riders and as always, respect the trail. Wear a helmet and clean up at the trailer site. Take care. Happy trails.

Rae 55:55

Happy trails everyone.