In which I don't throw almost everything I own into the trailer

When faced with a list of tasks, it's always best to check "go riding" off first.  So I did.

Dean and Dory precede me up the Hill O'Death

When we got home, I had to face the largest task of the year:  cleaning the trailer out so I could fill it back up again.

I'll be hauling Rosemary and her horse (and her gear)
to the Mount Adams Ride next weekend, so I gotta make room!

I've pretty much recovered from my early days in endurance, when I felt a need to carry a spare or two of everything (which is nice for making new friends by loaning out stuff, but a little burdensome after a while).

Yet, somehow over the winter, my trailer managed to fill itself--without my assistance!--with four raincoats, five extra girths (not counting the one girth I actually use), two extra bridles, seven extra saddle pads, five extra helmets and three extra hay bags.

All y'all, offa da bus!

I admit:  I retained the extra helmets, one additional saddle pad, and two extra girths. And all the raingear. One never knows....

My trailer's tack area is sufficiently spacious, but not huge.  I've come up with some weird space-saving ideas over the years.

extra bucket (filled with sponges, soap, and a scraper)
hangs from an extra trailer tie, and thus
doesn't take up valuable floor space.

I also routinely carry some non-traditional gear.

The first aid bag hangs on top of a bunch of trail tools,
although I use the tools more often--I figure, when I need the
first aid box, it's urgent.  Trail clearing is rarely an emergency.

Santa and the floofs helped with the packing up.

I fixed the leak in the tack compartment, and then promptly accidentally opened
the water tank hose, which leaked all over the tack room floor.  Oops.
It's mostly dry, but we wrapped up the hay in a tarp anyhow.

The floofs know that we can't do these tasks without their help.

Thinking at a ride isn't what I do best, so I try to do as much thinking in advance as possible.

Roo does not think the vitamin bucket smells much like yummy.

That includes pre-measuring out all meals for the weekend into ziploc bags.  Fee doesn't get much grain, so it's easy to bundle up a little scoop of her grain, a tiny scoop of oats, and a teeny-tiny scoop of vitamins for each meal.

These ziploc bags are at least three years old.  I only throw them out if they
get yukky or blow holes!

Electrolyte syringes and mixing containers go into a plastic box.
Everything I have is transported to rides inside waterproof containers
--ask me how I learned that.

My "out-check" bag.  I don't think there's an out-check at Mount Adams, but it's good to have all my stuff in a single place.  This stuff lives in the bag always:

power bars, (human first aid kit, including pain killers, benedryl and bandaids)
sunscreen, vet wrap, duct tape, a mash pan, and some extra electrolytes I won in a raffle.

A lot of us have similar crew bags--they are so handy!  So I make mine easy to find in the crowd.

distinctively labelled

Buckets.  You can never have too many of these suckers.

again, distinctive labels

When I pitch everything into the tack room, there's still plenty of room for Rosemary and Griffin's stuff.

An entire bag of beetpulp hides between the tarp-wrapped hay
and the back wall.  The empty bucket at 5 o'clock contains beet pulp--
I'll add water to it before we leave home on Thursday morning.

There's still a ton of empty space under the buckets (which are under the barrow), and along the front wall.

It looks more full when I toss in the black wheelbarrow,
but that dang thing is so useful I can't leave it at home.

That's all the horse stuff.  I guess I'll pack the human stuff tomorrow!

And soon:  we leave for camp!!!!!