That Can't Be!

I'm posting again!!

I'm also riding again because MY SADDLE IS BACK!

First though, some updates!

I'm now pretty much fully moved into my new apartment and I love it so much. Anything I was worried about hasn't been an issue, such as street parking, and there are so many amazing things that I hadn't planned on being able to take advantage of. It's also definitely my first adult apartment which is pretty cool.

A small piece of the city skyline

The dogs are adjusting pretty well with just a little separation anxiety from Veggie. Moshy is being a happy puppy superstar! We've even visited the local pet store who's sharing a picture of her on their instagram haha. She's going to be famous :)

Moshy had a fun time with moving in and enjoyed
using my Tipperary bag as a sleeping bag ;)

Pony updates wise there isn't much to report. I've had two lessons since I got my saddle back and both have been primarily about gettin Katai loosened up and moving forward off my legs. She's pretty determined to stew in all her excess energy and not listen and we're pretty determined that if she just moves forward and we can keep her loose and flexible she'll actually feel better.

Right now we're not exactly sure who's going to "win" the battle but I'm feeling pretty good about our progress so far ;)

Also, look at how much more full this tack room is!
I'm down to two saddle racks and a pile of stuff underneath haha
I also love how there are more pink saddle pads at the barn now.
Pretty sure we're driving Jane crazy ;)

Unfortunately the weather has not been cooperating. This past Monday we got a snow storm and now we're supposed to get 3-5" tonight and snow again on Saturday. In addition I'm still getting used to the rush hour traffic so between that and doing some chores on Wednesday I wasn't able to get out on Wednesday either. It's so frustrating and I hate the cold and snow anyway so I'm really sick and tired of winter especially this year. Luckily our weather is warming up and is going to be in the 30s consistently this next 10 days or so. Unfortunately that also likely means more snow. At least it's end of February so this is on it's way out and can't just last forever.

Not So Super

My parent's road after one of the recent snow storms

Whelp, the Super Bowl is happening in Minneapolis today and me and all of my friends have been whining about it for at least a month now. It's not only causing there to be crazy traffic and limiting the places that I want to, or am able to, go this weekend it's also caused my boyfriend to leave town for the weekend and it's delaying my move to my new apartment which is right in downtown Minneapolis not that far from the new stadium.

I'm going to try to go to the barn later but with the traffic, the snow that got dumped on us last night, and the worry about more drunk drivers on the roads I'm still feeling a little hesitant. Plus the high today is only 6* if you don't count the windchill.

Saddle on the way to VTO, I just want it back!!

I've been spending the weekend cleaning and packing for my move which will start on Tuesday. I've also been enjoying spending lots of time with Moshy who's gotten the short end of the stick recently as far as my time goes.

Riding wise I'm still failing at making any progress. My saddle did finally get to VTO last week but I haven't heard anything about paying to ship it back which means that it likely won't be on it's way back until mid week next week. In the meantime I've been doing my absolute best to get to the barn to do spa days and lunge Katai but it's just been one thing after another including spending time with Jame's family since his grandfather is dying, crazy snowy/cold weather (we have gotten SO MUCH SNOW recently), still dealing with some SAD emotional things (although thankfully it's been better for this past week or so), and apartment things. I'm also still doing puppy class with Moshy on Wednesday evenings which makes that night tough.

My little squirrel trying to hide her bone in her pile of toys.
Also, yes that is a huge avocado toy, we're true millennials over here.

I'm going to do better with that and with blogging soon I promise! It's February so the worst month of the year is over and now we just have one more really cold month but it's a short one :) I'll get my saddle back soon too and that will be really helpful and much more motivation to get to the barn. Our weather/personal situation enforced break is almost over and I'm getting so pumped to get back to this again!

Moving!

Walking around the third floor at work since it's way too cold to walk outside

I feel like I’ve really found the right barn for me and Katai but I’ve been very transient over the past several years. In fact, with the exception of a few months here or there, I’ve moved every year since 2011. Living six different places in seven years sucks and while it’s been fun to experience different things, and I’m an expert at moving, I’m really ready to find a place to settle in for a while. 

 I’ve known that my current living space was short term. I moved in November 2016 and knew that I would need to leave by April 2018 since I’m temporarily living in my Grandma’s house while my parents clean it out (with some help from me) and get ready to sell it. I’m paying very little for rent and it’s been great to be able to help take care of some of the chores and cleaning but it’s odd living in someone else’s space with someone’s furniture and treasures.

 Knowing that rent within my budget, in the right area, and with now two dogs would be tough to find I originally started looking last year. There were lots of options but nothing I liked which is sad because I have a fairly simple list that includes

Within budget
Hardwood floors
Dishwasher
Tub
Dog friendly for two small dogs
Area -within my “triangle” of work, relationship, barn
Decently safe

 Because I’m on a single income and have a horse (and nasty student loans) my budget isn’t that high so my list is short. I was willing to drive further for something under my budget but it needed to be worth it. I was also willing to give up the dishwasher if needed but I REALLY wanted hardwood floors.

I definitely have carpet ptsd after living at my grandma’s…

Katai was excited to see herself.
Also, it got cold again so I still haven't cleaned the mirrors

I had been looking in St. Paul , the better city #notbias, but even into the suburbs everything that was in my budget lacked almost every item on my list and with dog rent it was only JUST within my budget. We’re talking cheap looking apartments with nasty carpet, no amenities, in not-so-safe areas that were only just within my budget.

It was pretty depressing so I stopped looking for a month or so. Then I started looking again at the end of December. With a new relationship with someone (who I REALLY like) living in Minneapolis my triangle shifted a little and I was willing to check out places in that city. As soon as I started considering those apartments I knew that I was going to end up there.

There were MULTIPLE places that met everything on my list and were well enough below my budget to leave some space to still do fun things occasionally and potentially not survive on ramen (only partially kidding).

 In the end I found an AMAZING place that likely was still available because it’s a sublease for a few months. I met the owners (they’re really nice!), got the tour, applied the week of Christmas, and found out this week that I got it! The positives are that it checks everything on my list, also has a small but nice gym, and is within walking distance of a dog park. It’s also VERY close to downtown Minneapolis.

I’m sure that the traffic is going to be tough sometimes but since I was little I’ve wanted to live IN the city but haven’t had that opportunity so I’m really excited! It’s also a bit further from work (8-15 minutes depending on traffic) and a little further from the barn (6ish minutes depending on traffic) but MUCH closer (15 minutes) to the person I’m dating who I’m spending a lot of time with so it should even out. Also, for the cost, amenities, and opportunity to live in the city I’m willing to drive a bit further!

ASSFS Blog Hop: Location, location, location

I've been fascinated as I'm reading the blogs on this blog hop and decided that I needed to blog this one. What an amazing idea from Sara!

I'm located in St. Paul, MN and Katai is boarded at a barn that's about half an hour north of downtown.

From Rock the Garden this year

I've grown up in MN and lived here my whole life so although I grew up on a farm more than an hour north of the Twin Cities I'm very familiar with the MN horse community. As far as costs it's not bad. I actually think that based on some of the other blogs on this hop our board seems a little pricy in comparison to hay/farrier/vet prices but because it gets so cold here most of the "nice" boarding barns have heated indoor arenas and need to feed a lot of hay and grain to keep weight on horses along with more limited turnout in the middle of winter which means more shavings so I guess it makes sense.

Previous barn but it's a pretty picture

Trim-$35-$50
Shoes-$120+ for all four, the farrier I use would charge $80 for the fronts and $120 for all four
Average cost of a month of full time training- $500-$700 not including board
Average monthly pasture board- $250-$400
Average monthly stall board- $400-$1200 (I pay $350)
Round bale, mixed grass- $30-$60
Square bales, orchard grass- $3.75-$7.00 per bale

Yep, that road is actually glare ice

Weather: Is not good. In the winter we routinely, from about December - March, have sub zero temps. During January and February we can have a wind chills as low as -30* on the regular. Fall and spring are often rainy and stormy and we do get tornados although they are rare (very glad we don't need to deal with more of the big nasty storms). The summers are muggy and still get quite hot. In a normal summer we'll get above 100 for a week or two. Nothing compared to more southern climates but the jump between winter and summer is so large that you never really get a chance to get used to the heat. Plus the humidity makes it dangerous much more quickly than a more dry heat. We can't ride when it's above the mid to upper 80s, for the most part, because of this.

Most horses do pretty well in the cold especially with stalls overnight and smart blanketing. Mostly it's just miserable to get in your car in the dark, after work when it's -10*, drive the half hour to the barn, get groomed, tacked up and ready to ride in the heated barn (heated to 35-40*) and then ride in a heated arena (usually heated to 20-30*). It certainly makes motivation tough when you're basically operating in a freezer for 3 or so hours.

Twins Baseball Stadium from this summer

We don't have any really icky bugs or wildlife. There are rattlesnakes in places but they're rare. Near the barn there are black bears, wolves, coyotes etc but not much that's dangerous to the horses.

The riding demographic is primarily western, as reflected by our horse expo and most big horse shows. With that being said the twin cities has a decent dressage community as well as a eventing and hunter/jumper community. I'm more involved in the dressage community so it seems like more people do dressage than jumping but that might just be based on my slightly skewed perspective.

Large, fancy eventing facility complete with RV

We have several well attended rated shows in the twin cities area and also most people trailer to Mason City Iowa for the rated shows they hold there. We have some fairly big name clinicians that visit such as Janet Foy, and Jen Truett and I'm sure I'm missing some others as well. Our shows are usually well attended but we have a lack of true upper level riders. At most shows I've been to, everyone gathers to watch the 1-2 people showing above 3rd. The bigger rated shows are more well attended but even then, there really aren't many people at 3rd or above.

We have excellent vet care. There are three big vet clinics in the twin cities including the UofM vet clinic which is able to provide many diagnostic and emergency services. We also have several well known smaller clinics and vets that are very horse savvy.

We also have some great tack stores especially compared to some of the states that I've visited. One of my favorites is right near my barn and the other is near H's barn so I make the trek over there when  I want more shopping opportunities.

So much snow!

The most frustrating thing for me is the weather/bugs. In the summer between the sudden intense humid heat waves, horrible mosquitoes/horseflies, rain, storms, etc. it's tough to enjoy riding outside very much of the time. There are brief times in spring and fall when it's nice but otherwise it's tough.

I also wish that english riding styles were more well represented. It's frustrating to go to our horse expo and find maybe 1-2 booths out of over around 100 that actually have nice english type gear or to find more presenters/clinicians that cover english disciplines.

Other than that I like it here! I would say that since I don't deal with the heat well and there isn't such a thing as an air conditioned arena, I'd rather be someplace cold with heated arenas than someplace much further south.