Perks of Google, Facebook, and Horses

Chimi a couple months after I got him

I am in the process of updating my blog so it is more informative than it currently is. Well in the process of filling out basic profiles for my ponies I realized I'd never googled Chimi's sire and dam. I don't know a lot about breeding, tracing bloodlines and pedigrees, but I do think it's kind of fun to look around and see what is out there! So with endless possibilities in mind I headed to Google started my search for Chimi's parents- Coromino x Liza's Lady Jane (Our Home Port).

Coromino

First up- Chimi's sire- Coromino. This was easy! As soon as I typed Coromino in the Google search a list of options to search popped up! On just the first page I found a YouTube video of his 100 Day Stallion Test, his very own COTH Post, and a Facebook page!!!! After spending way to much time looking at pictures of Coromino and his babies I sent them a message letting them know I had a 2003 baby out of Cory and sent them a few pictures of Chimi. The lady who manages the page replied and unfortunately she didn't know anything about any baby pre 2005 because that was when his current owner bought him. But I've been really enjoying reading about other Cory babies. There are a few babies that are eventing, some are Dressage stars, and others show jumpers. So basically Coromino babies can do it all!!!!

Everything I've read about Coromino babies seems to follow a trend of nice movers, great jumpers, and fabulous brains. (Chimi checks out in those three categories!) I'm kind of excited to find out that Chimi has such a fancy dad. I never thought I'd own a horse with fancy parents!

As for Chimi's dam- Liza's Lady Jane- all I could find was her TB pedigree. This bodes well for Chimi's potential eventing career :) That's about all I know or can find about her. I'm not a very skilled Google searcher so someone with better skills might be able to find out more about her but for now I'm quite content with knowing she's a TB.

It was a fun night of googling ponies and seeing other Coromino babies out there doing some fun stuff. Just hope that I can add Chimi to the list of accomplished Cory babies!

Ponies in the Fog

Arrow's nose

The weather has been incredibly gross lately. I think everyone is complaining about all the cold and wetness that is plaguing the entire country. Any motivation to ride in the freezing cold or bone chilling dampness is quickly lost when I head out to the barn just to feed my ponies! Plus I don't have an arena at my house and most of my riding is done in Deer Field or on the side of the hill of my front pasture so I have to be careful not to tear up my pasture and someone else's property! (Deer Field is located on the trail system my house is connected to so I have access to ride in it)

Ponies in the fog

But trying to look on the positive side of the less than ideal weather we've had- yesterday was foggy which meant pretty foggy picturesque views from my front porch! Of course horses being horses, they moved from the perfect silhouette shot as soon as I grabbed my camera and turned it on. Then as I was snapping a few pictures I realized my bigger zoom lens wasn't on my camera so I couldn't really snug up the shot to edit out dead space. Oh wells! It ended up working out just fine because all the ponies met me at the fence looking for treats! Sadly all my treats are at the barn and they would of followed me there thus canceling out the fun impromptu photo shoot! I might have to bring some cookies up here for a future photo shoot! Next time ponies, next time!

Finn poses for the camera

Ponies wish you all warm snuggles and a short winter (HA! We can only hope) I know my guys are waiting for the grass to grow back because hay only tastes so good for so long... and I'm tired of finding blankets pulled into the stall and peed on (Thanks Finn) because I forgot to move it from curious teeth... naughty pony :P

The Princess likes pictures too

Chimi the goofball!

2015- The Year of Doing

headed home from Deer Field

I have self proclaimed this year to be the Year of DOING!!!!! I have been trying to compete successfully since graduating college but job, money, horse, life, seems to get in the way. I know I'm very fortunate to have a horse because many of my horse friends growing up don't ride anymore due to babies, money, grad school, job, living location, etc. I started to get back into the swing of things with Gus but the past 2-ish years have totally thrown any competition dreams for a loop with new additions to my family (I got married in November!), general horse problems that seemed never ending, moving, changing jobs, new job having ZERO flexibility, planning the wedding, buying a house, moving again, and millions more excuses that just find a way to pile up and before you know it- it's been 2 years.

NO EXCUSES! DO IT!!!! That is the motto for My Year of Doing! My friend Em is going to be joining me in the YoD and hopefully getting some rides on Gus and helping me keep all the beasties at my farm in riding condition.

Em on Finn during the New Years Ride

So GOALS for this year (like all the other blogs out there- but it's a good thing to do!)

• go Beginner Novice with Chimi
• Fingers crossed we'll shoot out of the starting gate in April at this level. Chimi has felt great these past couple of weeks that I really feel we have a shot at BN this spring. But horses are horses.... we'll see where we are come April...
• Compete in some of the local hunter/jumper shows
• There are lots of fun local shows in this area. PSJ, BRHJA, and a great little series of schooling shows that are perfect for getting some experience under your belt. Also hoping to find myself at Tryon International  for some of the shows there. We'll just have to see how that goes- schooling shows are much more budget friendly but potentially for winning money at TIEC??? We'll see :)
• Get Marley going again
• Marley's had a string of bad luck since fall of 2013 and I have given her some time off, made some changes, and will hopefully get her up and going again sometime this year. 
• Become fitter and stronger
• joined Curves end of November (closest gym to my house- Jillian Michaels workouts there kick my a$$!!!!)
• Blog More
• I think I average about 3-4 posts a year? My internet is crappy so uploading pictures takes forever to Blogger and I flip around the internet while waiting and then I get distracted and don't have time to finish the post. I probably have more drafts than completed blog posts- whoops! Going to work on this....
• Go Fox hunting
• I grew up hunting and there are 2 fabulous hunts in this area. I need to make it a priority and actually go hunting!!! 
• Go Novice with Chimi
• This would be a fall goal vs. the spring season. Chimi just needs experience because height is no biggie for him. The main difference between BN and Novice really is the height of the jump and if he feels confident I really think we could make our Novice debut this fall. I don't know what/if any show experience he's had in the past, but I don't think it was much. But he's a clever guy and I know just getting him out will help with his show nerves :)
• Go on a lot of Hunter Paces
• I want a year end ribbon! I love ribbons!! But starting this quest when half a season has gone by... even if the ribbon doesn't happen these are great ways to get out and about and see things. Plus major fitness points! 1.5-2 hours, 6-9 miles of walk, trot and cantering- Heck yeah.
• LESSONS LESSONS LESSONS
• have started back with weekly lessons. There's a covered arena so even if the weather is crappy I know my lesson will still be on!! (unless it's super cold- I don't do super cold- like below freezing super cold. I live in the south- I don't do major cold!)

Who? Me?

Here's to the YEAR OF DOING!!!!!! May my Ponies be sound and happy, excess weight disappear, and all of my goals met/kept up! DOING IT!!!!

a winter ride

SFTS Blog Hop- The Horse that Made Me

I've always wanted to participate in a blog hop and just haven't gotten around to it. So here goes- this one sounded fun and who doesn't like to talk about their horses???? Thanks to Stories from the Saddle for this Blog Hop!

I've been blessed with a lot of great horses in my life that have shaped my riding and made me who I am today as a rider. Every horse/pony from Joker to my current guys, Chimi and Marley, have had an influence in propelling me forward in my horsemanship, riding ability, and love of all things horse. But the horse that stands out as the most influential is Johnny, hooves down.

Johnny at Up and Over

I was 14 when Johnny and I started our relationship. I remember it was the summer of 1999- he was a green 5 year old and I was ready to step up to a horse that could take me to my upper level Pony Club ratings and one that I could learn, train and compete on. Even though he had been in training for just about a year, his personality was such that we could learn together and he would forgive me for my mistakes and I could learn from his.

Johnny at FENCE- Fall 1999

Johnny and I had a short show career together all considering, but in those 2 years I learned so much and my riding really took off. Our first season of Eventing was Fall 1999 and our last event was at Farewell- Fall of 2001. It was almost fitting that out last event was called Farewell! Between those events we went from bumbling our way around a BN course, to qualifying for Pony Club Nationals in Show Jumping (2000) and Combined Training (Training- 2001), achieving my C-3 rating, and moving up to Training level. We were looking at Prelim when everything started to fall apart.

Last show at Farewell- 2001

 The story of Johnny is long- and if you're interested you can read it here. Eventually a pinched spinal cord prevented Johnny from continuing on and now he is happily retired. He has a girlfriend named Ellie and the two are like peas in a pod. He's probably been a pasture ornament longer than he was under saddle but he deserves to enjoy his retirement. 

Johnny and Gus snoozing

Johnny and his lady friend Ellie

When it comes to my development as a rider, Johnny gave me the confidence I needed at that point in my riding. I went from being scared to jump 2'9" to jumping 3'6" courses. I went from thinking I was going fast at BN and coming in with slow penalties to getting speed faults at Training level. I learned what success felt like and I learned what defeat felt like. And I learned how to pick up the pieces and move forward. Cheers to Johnny for making me the rider I am today!

BN at Hopeland

Dressage warm-up at CT Rally- FENCE 2001

Some Pretty Pictures of Horse Country

I am so lucky to live in one of the most gorgeous pockets of Horse Country. I know there are different areas spread throughout the States that can claim to be Horse Country- but few have the scenery to go with the horses! The ones that come to mind (at least in my general area) are Southern Pines, Fla, Aiken, and VA. All of those are located in flat boring places. I hope you love pine trees if you're in SP or Aiken. I do agree that they have pretty spots within those communities, but I can't help but love the views I see every day while driving around Tryon Horse Country. So here are a few non professional pictures taken of the area. These pictures were taken with my iPhone so the quality and sharpness isn't near what a skilled photographer could catch with a really nice camera.

I hope you enjoy just scrolling through a couple of these pictures- I have more but have had difficulty with remembering to load them onto my computer. I also hope to write a separate post about the NEW very sexy Tryon International Equestrian Center that has just been built!!!! I took pictures from the 1st Grand Prix and plan to take pictures of the 3rd Grand Prix and hopefully more of the facility on Sunday. It is a gorgeous facility and I hope it is successful but doesn't take away the Tryon Charm with to many fancy rich people that buy up all the land and turn this area into another Wellington. I love what the facility could do for our community but I also worry what it could take away. Only time will tell! And back to the purpose of this post... pretty (ish) pictures!!!

Here we go....

This is the view from my parent's house. I randomly found it when searching through my pictures and thought it was quite a fun shot. I can't help but love the mountain views that are a part of my every day life. I don't have a mountain view from my house but every time I leave my neighborhood I get to enjoy a panoramic view of the mountains. What could be better than living in Horse Country with pretty scenery????

Continuing on the sun setting and picture taken looking at the sun theme... I snapped this one with my phone while waiting for jog outs at Eventing Rally in May. 31 and 32 in the picture were 2 of my girls that I was "chaperoning" for rally- aka they wrote my name on their stall card and I if I was needed I had to be on the grounds. It was such a fun shot and the girls were walking their ponies around before heading into the covered arena to jog for the vet.

This is a pretty sunrise taken as I was driving down the road I live on. I can't remember when I took this picture exactly- but it obviously was a day I was doing something with horses b/c that's about the only reason I'll get up super early and see a sunrise. Ok there might be other reasons but they're so few and far between that they don't count- horses are the main reason I see sunrises!!!

An ear photo of the big guy Chimi. Fun fact- during this picture taking session (b/c I tend to take 1million photos and then delete the bad ones) I was bitten/stung by a flying ant and my finger swelled to most annoying proportions! Also this was the trail ride with quite a lot of wildlife viewings- we saw a hawk on the way to this field, a turkey in the field, a flying ant that bit me (grrr) probably some deer (it's normal to see 20-60 deer at sunset in my neighborhood) and then a white creature lurking in the woods. This white creature turned out to be none other than my dog Jello who had wiggled her way through the dog proof fence and followed our scent (I guess?) and met us on the trail. I'm sure she would like you to believe she was worried about us but I guarantee she was out hunting and then tried to look all innocent when we found her! Bad dog :)

Another Ear photo of Chimi. Here we took a stroll down to the river and had a nice hack. There are mowed paths through the tall grass that criss cross back on each other- you can easily create figure 8's and have a nice trot and canter on soft, flat ground. It's also fun b/c if you go at the right time of day (dusk to be more specific) you can work on despooking your horse! The last time I took Chimi down to the river we saw 10ish deer jumping out of the tall grass as we approached. The grass is so tall right now (not when this picture was taken) that you don't see there deer until they leap up in the air and take off. As state before- great lessons in despooking!!!!

That is it for now- until the next post!!!!

From Bay to Grey

Last year I was making plans with my little bay Connemara/TB cross. I was going to event him beginner novice, try to qualify for the Eventing Championships, and generally have fun with my cute little guy. But since change is inevitable, and plans don't always go accordingly, I find myself a year later with a exuberant grey OTTB mare that I'm trying to keep inside a dressage arena and not go advance speed around a BN cross country course!

schooling Gus through the water- April 2013

The grey ghost herself, Miss Marley- May 2013

I competed Gus at the FENCE HT in April, and we finished 4th overall. We would of been 2nd had Gus not been so in love with his friend Finn and looking everywhere but at the first jump on course, plus I wasn't riding him the way I needed to towards that jump, especially with him being an air head about his buddy. Even if the rail had stayed up and we did finish 2nd, I knew in my heart that Gus just wasn't all that jazzed up about jumping. He can jump, and is a cute little jumper, but his heart just isn't in it, and when the jumps get bigger it could become pretty dangerous. I've taken my share of falls from Gus because he wouldn't pick his feet up going over the jump. As my coach Annie says, he just doesn't have any self preservation and that can be very dangerous over bigger jumps. So I put some feelers out for Gus and ended up finding the perfect home for him. He is now trail riding and fox hunting with my mom's good friend Cyndi. She is a great rider who just wants to have fun and puts up with Gus's silly moments. Plus I get to see him every time I head to my parents' because he's boarding at their place! 

Gus is a cute jumper when he wants to be!!!

 With Gus now enjoying his life as a fat, happy, trail/fox hunting pony, the grey mare that I've been riding on and off for a while had a chance to step into the lime light and become my main focus. Previously I wrote a post about taking her XC schooling for her first time last fall, and then I took her to a Ralph Hill clinic back in January. She's such a cool OTTB with so much heart, but trying to keep her relaxed while riding her is like holding a ticking time bomb. If you "cut" the wrong wire you've got pieces flying everywhere, but there is very little difference between the right and wrong wire. To be fair to her, she's only been in consistent work for 3 months, and even that is a bit questionable b/c we've had sooooo much rain this summer!!!! Either way, Marley has been getting a lot of work and really is progressing, even if at times it feels like at a snail's pace.

This past weekend I decided to take her to her first event. We headed off to the Tryon Riding and Hunt Club Sizzling Summer Schooling Horse Trails (non recognized) for our first outing at Beginner Novice. Last year I won the event with Gus, but this year my goal was to stay in the dressage arena (no joke- this was real goal, not just a laugh!) and to stay in a controlled trot/canter in stadium and XC. I wasn't worried about time or jumping faults, or even what the final Dressage score would be. I just wanted to complete and not scare the living daylights out of the jump judges!

The end result- SUCCESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We stayed in the dressage ring, had a terrible score, but again considering I was worried about elimination, I could care less about the score.

Marley being calm...

submission- what?

ok, back to being good...ish

 Had a very green rail in stadium (not listening to a half halt to the 3rd jump on course which was a vertical with a downhill approach will do that to ya). We started to find our rhythm towards the end of the course, but we need to work on keeping a steady pace and not letting the momentum keep building jump after jump- gymnastics are going to be our life for a while!

weeeee!!!!! 

And to seal the deal, we had an amazing, mostly controlled, cross country round! She calmly cantered most of the jumps, and we came in closer to the optimum time instead of the speed time!

making the warmup jump look like a piece of cake

Overall we ended up in 6th place, I think out of 10 or 12, and I couldn't of been prouder! Technically we were last of everyone that completed, but that is not something I cared about at this event. Marley is still quite green, and is still learning the basics. We were nailed on submission and impulsion in the dressage which showed up in our stadium. But this horse has so much heart that I know I must take my time and do it right with her. There are no short cuts with this girl!!!!

Marley in her new pasture

she's such a pretty girl

Marley and her "gang"- Finn, Arrow, and Chimi

Under all that Hair...

It finally happened! Gus is now one super cute CLIPPED over grown pony!!!!

After much pondering and consideration to the future weather forecast, available "free" time, and future ride plans, I made the decision to bathe Gus on Sunday and then clip him on Monday (the day of the monsoon!!!) because those were the last of the really warm days before fall (and an inkling of winter) decided to set in.

So on Sunday- out came the shampoo and scrub brush! I'm not going to bore you quite yet with tips and tricks to get your horse so squeaky clean that you can pass a HA Formal Inspection at a Pony Club Rally (or rating for that matter!) That'll be for another post on another day! (Just for those that might not know- H.A. is the highest level of Horse Management in the Pony Club Rating system- check out ponyclub.org)

Just some of the "tools" needed to be "HA" clean!!!

Now it was Monday- clipping time!!! I opted to give Gus a little Ace to keep him from being bothered by the tickling from the vibrations of the clippers. I wasn't worried about Gus not letting me clip him, but I know he is very sensitive and I have to use the softest curry combs and brushes because he's so ticklish. I waited about 20 minutes after giving Gus some Ace and into the cross ties he went! 

Clipping a horse is kinda of like walking in the snow. Taking that first row of hair off with the clippers is like the first step into a completely unmarked area of snow. You can't help but look at it and think- I hope I don't mess this up!!! But at the same time I love it! Just like hearing the snow crunch under your boots and seeing your footprints follow behind you, there is something satisfying and thrilling watching the blades cut little paths into the coat. There is something exciting about transforming a shaggy pony into a work of art! I guess it's the same feeling that artist get when they start a new project? Taking a canvas and seeing it transform beneath the paint? When you reach the end you hope it's something that you can be proud of! 

Ok so remember in the last post where I was talking about Quarter marks? After some Google searching I came up with a fun little design that I was going to attempt to put on Gus's butt. Typing in "Augustus" (because that is his show name) I found a lot of marble faces staring back at me. Along with these stone faces were random pictures of faces on coins. So I thought, all coins have a tails side so maybe there will be an easy design on the back of an "Augustus coin"? Sure enough, there was!

Augustus Coin

So here's a little history lesson- Caesar Augustus is considered the first Roman Emporer. He was Julius Caesar's nephew/adopted son. Approximately four months after Julius Caesar was assassinated, a comet appeared in the sky. (Can't you hear it now? Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears...oh a comet!) Augustus declared that this was Julius Caesar ascending into the heavens. Apparently this comet was so bright that it could be seen during the day and was visible for 7 days. The comet became a symbol for Augustus and was printed on the back of these Augustus Coins. So there is your history lesson for the day! Thanks to Wikipedia's Caesar's Comet and other websites that I will not link to because they tended to be discussions about the religious context of the star and since this blog is not about religion, I've opted for you to search for yourself if you are interested. (Google image search "Augustus Coin" and click on any coin that looks like/similar the one above and it'll probably take you to the right page)

The "Practice" Side- eventually was shaved off

Well I am NOT that skilled with a fast moving blade to write out words or create the tail of the comet, so I opted for a little artistic rendition for Gus pony's quarter mark. Taking masking tape and a bottle with a round bottom, I traced the bottom of the bottle onto Gus's bum and then used the masking tape to make the rays of the comet. Originally I was trying to cut around the masking tape with small clippers, but that ended quickly because the blades were to close together and was cutting the hair sooo close to the skin that I was going to have a bald pony if I wasn't careful! Since I hadn't clipped the other side of his bum yet, I took masking tape and made a quick small version of the comet. Then taking the big clippers I buzzed over the masking tape and cut the exposed hairs. It ended up looking decent enough so I thought, might as well try it on the other side! Anything would look better than a bald booty!!!

As for the rest of Gus's body, I ended up doing a trace clip combo with a hunter clip. I shaved off all the hair on his body, but left the legs and a saddle pad (like the hunter clip) and only clipped off the hair from the bottom side of his neck (like the trace clip). The reasoning behind my motives is simple. Gus has plenty of blankets to keep his back warm this winter, but this doesn't help his neck out (even though all his blankets/sheets are high neck) So by leaving some hair on his neck he can stay warmer while he's hanging outside in his pasture pigging out on the dying grass and eventually hay (when the grass finally sleeps for winter). The underside has been clipped to keep him cooler when riding because that is where he (and all horses) sweat the most on their necks, henceforth why you clip that part of the neck!

Now it's time for the drum roll..... The end results of Gus's new haircut!!! After hours of scratching and itching from the hair finding it's way into my shirt, and straining my eyes to make sure I wasn't leaving clipper lines, I present to you, Prairie Augustus, ready for winter riding!!!!!

The Right Side

The Left Side (note Comet on hind end)

Closer view of Gus's Quarter Mark!

And on that note I leave you with a joke-

What is the difference between a good clip job and a bad one?

2 weeks!!! Grow hair grow!!!

To Clip or Not to Clip...

Fall is here, winter is coming, and yet today the temperature reached a blazing 75 degrees F. It was way to gorgeous of a day to not ride so off I went to my NEW barn!!! Ok so I might also add that I've moved!!! Not just moved barns, but completely moved cities!!!!! I am soooooo much happier in this new place, even though I haven't been here very long, but it's always a good thing when you find yourself smiling as you drive down the road right? Yes... a very good thing!!!!

So back to the barn... The past week of riding I have been challenged by the amount of hair that Gus has. When it was cold I didn't want to work him to hard because I wouldn't be able to dry him out before the sun set, and today poor Gus was sooo hot that I had to cut our ride short because he was having difficulties cooling down. He's decently fit (for the amount of work I put him through) and today he didn't stop puffing until I was able to douse him with cold water- so this brings up the age old question- to clip or not, and if clip, what kind of clip?

http://horsegroomingadvice.com/

Pros of Clipping:
   Easier to clean after riding!
   Cooler for horse in work (especially where I live- see today's weather temp!!)
   Can do fun designs (though coming up with the "perfect" design can be tricky...)
   What shedding season???

http://vichorse.com/forum/index.php?t=msg&goto=2290902&S=b2128383612a289c2d70134370bf5e23

Cons of Clipping
  More blanketing required
  Horse might look ugly (bad clip job, or not pretty color after clipping-usually bays!)
  costs $ or hours of your day (depending on how fast you are!)


If I do end up clipping a horse I always try to wait till after Thanksgiving. This way I only have to clip once! If you clip to early they grow their winter coat back and you either have to clip again, or deal with shedding season. Also if you clip to late (after they start to shed) it could mess up summer coat growth.

Some people leave lights on to prevent their horse from growing a coat (since it's daylight hours that tells a horse when to start growing/shedding). Personally I hate this, it probably costs more in extra electrical usage than just clipping the horse! One person I know leaves the lights on all winter and then her horses start to grow winter coats in March/April when they should be shedding! Then she has to clip the horses because they're to hot for the summer...(where is the logic in this? She ends up clipping anyways!!!) I know some breeds standards (show quarter horses come to mind) tend to favor this system but it's not my favorite way to keep a horse's coat short, but if you're showing your horse in those type of breed classes through the winter then I guess it's what you have to do? Good thing eventers don't care!!!

So after much deciding, ok not really- Gus is getting clipped!!! It's time to figure out what type of clip to use. Depending on work load/ blanketing abilities/shelter options this can be more difficult to figure out. The four main types of clips you see are: Hunter clip, Trace clip, Body clip, and Blanket clip.

 

Peasridge Clipper Advice

Personally I would never body clip my horse, but that is mainly because of the type of weather my horse tends to see in the winter. Body clipping is fine for the horse down in Florida/warm climates or have access to warm blankets, leg wraps, and a warm stable for the cold days. If my horse is in serious work I tend to do a Hunter clip so that the legs can stay warm because I can't always go out to the barn to wrap legs (think road closing weather conditions) plus the hair on the legs gives them protection from sticks and brambles and things that you might run across when trail riding or fox hunting (hence it being called a "Hunter" clip- ah ha!) I also find the so called Blanket clip a bit backwards. Why take all the hair off the neck but leave the back? I guess if you don't have adequate blankets and need to keep their back warm then this makes sense, but I'd rather do a reverse blanket clip and leave the top part of the neck hairy (like the neck on a trace clip) and clip off the hair under the blanket (but leave a patch under the saddle- for protection). This way when horse is standing outside he can keep his neck warm and stay snuggly under a nice thick blanket.

The best part (in my opinion) about clipping is the quarter marks!!! You can add some fun and flair to any horse or pony by stenciling a design onto their bums! There are some really neat ones out there, and also the typical fun ones (hearts, stars, etc) But clipper beware! If you are clipping into the coat you better be an artist!!! Your design can only get bigger if you make a mistake!!! If you're clipping around the design you can always shave it off if it looks bad, but alas your "easel" is a one time use (until next year or another horse!)

Cornell Polo Ponies

Body Clip Art

And now I need to go think about what Gus's design is going to be...and hope that I'm skilled enough to do it!!! I'll try to post pictures after Gus's clip job- which will hopefully be done in the next week or so!!!! Goodbye hair!!!