All The Changes - Mindset

This is less a post about mindset and more of a post just listing some of the really positive things going on in my life right now since so many of my recent posts have been pretty overwhelmingly negative.

The BF

Not too surprisingly he's one of the shining beacons in my life right now. Being with him is everything I hoped a relationship would be (both the amazing and the tough) and more. He's supportive while also pushing me to be the best version of myself and he appreciates when I do the same for him as well.

Stopped at a light today I took this picture
of the place where we had our third date <3

New Barn

Not necessarily excited about the move but I am so, so, so excited to be closer which will help improve my motivation, and therefore how often I make it out there, and therefore how positive I feel about life :)

The Puppy

I've always loved and always will love Veggie but there's just something different about Moshy who's my little puppy soulmate. She is everything that I've ever wanted in a pet. She's just chill about everything and very calm, dainty, and sweet in a way that none of my other pets have been. I am all about rescuing animals and all of my other animals have always been rescues and I will absolutely rescue again but picking out the exact puppy, and breed I wanted means that she is just perfect for me.

Cleaning her tiny paws

 Media

I've still been watching through the Robert Dover clinics for tidbits to work on but in addition I discovered Oliva Tower's Dressage Youtube Channel. She's humble, funny, down to earth, and shares both the good and bad. She struggles/struggled with mindset so it's really enjoyable and motivating to watch her work to improve. I highly recommend all of her videos but the two below are some of my favorites.

Work Right Now

Work certainly wasn't one of the things on this list for a long time but thanks to an amazing manager who honestly asked for my feedback which gave my the ability to share how I was feeling some changes have been made which resulted in a promotion for me as well as a change in workflow. That has removed one of the most repetitive parts of my job and freed up time for me and my coworkers to actually get all of our work done and work on improving projects vs. just constantly struggling to keep our heads above water.

She also really heard me on not wanting to travel as much with some of the stuff I have going on in my life right now which means I haven't traveled since early this year which has been a nice break. I enjoy the travel and am looking forward to getting out to WA again but it's been really nice having a quieter year this year.

All The Changes - New Barn

We are finally getting nice summer weather!

This is going to be one of a series of catch up posts that I’ve written already and will post over the next week or so. Previously I’d been working on multiple updates but by the time I got back to working on the drafts they were always out of date. This way that won’t happen!

Where to start. I think where I automatically want to start is by explaining why I’m moving again since I’m embarrassed by the number of barns I’ve been at. However, every move has been for a good reason and I haven’t burned any bridges or had issues at any of the barns, I’ve just had really good, really different reasons for leaving each time and most of those were because of non-horse life changes that caused a ripple effect.

As mentioned in my last post the main reasons for this move were cost and location. These wouldn’t have been factors if it hadn’t been for all of the other things I have going on in my life right now and, while some of them I maybe could have planned for better, for the most part it took me being at my current barn to decide that it wasn’t going to work out.

The puppies playing/cuddling for T.
I'll have to do a whole post on them at some point :)

Cost and location are pretty clear reasons for a move, however, in addition there is also the fact that while moving to a barn that trailered to shows sounded ideal in practice it’s not necessarily working out for where Katai and I are right now. For one thing they only trailer to a very limited (3-4) number of rated shows per year. No schooling shows, and all of these are out of town, and require a full weekend and a hotel. That is not only costly but tough to make my current schedule align. Plus, right now I really need at least a few schooling shows to help Katai build confidence in being off property at that type of environment. I know, I know, beggars can’t be choosers but based on the shows they selected this year I haven’t been able to attend even one show and I’m concerned about my ability to next year as well. Since that was one of the primary reasons I moved here it was one of the things that caused me to re-evaluate.

When I did decide to re-evaluate I went back to the options I had listed prior to moving to this barn which were:

-Moving to an expensive show type barn that trailers to shows where I don’t need a trailer

-Moving to a cheaper, more bare bones barn that met my basic requirements where I could save some money and hopefully afford a trailer, and therefore more flexibility, in the future.

I tried the first and the only other options for barns like this would cost approx. $1000-$2600 per month (or even $3200 if I wanted them to groom and tack up Katai for me [which I very much do not just so we’re clear]) which is money I certainly don’t have. Plus, in those cases I’d likely be facing very similar problems to what I am right now except that they would be closer to my current location. 

The fairy princess looking like a princess

The second was tough mainly because the barns that I was looking at were very bare bones and were either just pasture board with no supplements fed which would be really tough, really far away which would be tough, or were so bare bones that they didn’t even have an indoor which basically would mean not riding for 4-5 months out of the year in MN.

I sat on this for a long time and had started contacting barns for tours since I knew that would help me make the decision. However, in the meantime I sent a completely unrelated message to a local dressage rider on Instagram commenting on a story she had posted about the gorgeous new rose gold OneK that I’ve been coveting. She actually responded and then I randomly asked her where she boarded since I didn’t recognize the location from the pictures. It turns out that she is the dressage trainer at a unadvertised local barn that met pretty much all of the requirements. Even better she sent me the contact info for the barn manager and when I wrote to the BM I found out that while they almost never have openings they happened to have a couple and were interviewing people that week. I managed to fit in an appointment and for the first time ever interviewed to get into a barn. 

and not looking quite as much like a fairy princess

It felt pretty intense especially since she gave me an idea of the “competition” I was up against but luckily it was determined that Katai and I would fit in well and so we got a spot for move in around mid-August.

This barn is much more in line with Jane’s on a sliding scale of small bare bones barns to fancy huge show barns which is perfect because Jane’s is still my favorite place I’ve boarded at. I may have even gone back to Jane’s except, something I never mentioned is that, it was for sale and sold shortly after I moved out. However, one big improvement is that this barn has two outdoor arenas and trails right on the property. Right down the road there are also additional trails and it’s pretty close to another dressage barn that also has a dressage instructor (because options are nice). There is a dressage instructor/trainer on site as well who I’m hoping to work with (the person I messaged) and I think that she and I will get along just based on following her Instagram for awhile J

Proof that sometimes we have a string of good days :)

There are other dressage people that board there who go to a decent number of local, rated shows and I know that the trainer is willing to haul so fingers crossed this will work out to be the best of both worlds. The indoor is quite small and not heated and the barn is also not heated which is going to be the worst part of the move but with how much closer it is and the other amenities I think it will balance out.

Overall I’d say I’m optimistic about the new barn. I’m not excited about it only because I’m dreading another move and the upheaval it causes and I’m wanting some stability in my life since I’m really over the gypsy lifestyle at this point. However, I’m already feeling motivated to work with Katai when I have a 25 minute drive vs. a 50 minute drive to the barn. I’m also excited about being able to work with another dressage instructor since I learn so much from each person I work with.

What a Summer

Alternate title could be All the AirBnBs since I'll have stayed at 6-7 by the end of the year 4 of which are for this trip.

This has been a crazy year for me travel-wise. In the past going to Lexington for the Pony Cup and doing a couple of work trips (of one week or less) to WA were about all I did. This year that has not been the case.

Certainly can't argue about the accommodations

 First there were a couple of long work trips to Seattle early in the year. I went out in January and again in March for a week. Then I went to Omaha for World Cup which was amazing! After that, I ended up with another trip (this time stressful) to Seattle in June. I had a chance to recover from that and then got to travel to Lexington for Pony Cup again :)

And of course got to hang out with Jen and Connor!!! Photo credit: Jen's mom

I've known that I'd have a longer trip at the end of July for work (mildly stressful) but then that turned into a longer and more stressful trip that was going to be 8-9 days. However, plans changed and it's now going to be 12 days. Yikes...

Puget Sound outside my bedroom

I do get to go to Portland which is a trip that I'd previously wanted to do this year but decided not to do for financial reasons. However, work is paying for the hotel and since I can drive down there from Seattle I don't need to pay for a flight so I'll have 2-3 days in Portland this weekend (for the cost of a rental car) and then back to Seattle for the following week.

The day before I left I was feeling the stress and didn't want to get
into an argument with her so we just cuddled and played in the arena.
She did think I was unfair not getting her Starbucks

I'm also in Seattle long enough that I'm getting to do more exploring than I have in the past which is awesome but... I really miss my pony and I miss Veggie. I'm probably going to go slightly crazy between not being able to see them for 12 days. Not getting to ride means that I'll need to remember what I'm doing when I get back along with likely being sore. All of that with just about 3 weeks to prep for our show at the end of August.

Opportunities like this just don't come around that often and even though it's stressful it's fun to explore and get to spend more time on the west coast. I haven't seen the ocean since I was 18 and I'm SOOO excited to get to go back in a couple of days. I've also had Portland, or OR in general, on my list of places I'd like to live so it will be nice to get to spend more time there so that I can decide if it stays on my list.

Missing this nose soooo much right now

I do have two more trips planned this year. One at the end of August to Rochester, NY (can't wait to hang out with my sister and BIL and meet Bobby!!) and one more for work in October/November but hopefully that will be it. I'm also really hoping that next year there will be less travel. I'm really a homebody but I haven't been able to travel that much in the past and I don't think next year will have as many opportunities for travel so I'm going to enjoy this while I can and pray that I don't fall off or completely forget what I'm doing when I get to ride my pony again.

T minus 8 days and counting until I get to fly back home.

Can of Worms: Lesson Recap 7/11

I'm calling this next couple of weeks #summerbootcamp since we have two (now more like 1.5) weeks to really work on things before I'm out of town for 6-11 days for work. Very appropriately we had another lesson on Tuesday.

The previous Sunday we'd had our makeup lesson from the 4th of July Tuesday and then this was my regular lesson. I hadn't ridden on Monday because I needed to do #adult things such as laundry and grocery shopping. Plus it was hot and Katai had a tough ride the day before for my lesson and was going to have a tough ride the next day for another lesson so a day off didn't seem like a bad idea.

My cell phone photo library tells a
story of what I've been doing recently ;)

I always deal with a lot of rush hour traffic and since I'm driving directly North I spend it sitting directly in the hot sun in a car that doesn't have strong enough ac to deal with it. In addition, this week I got to the barn a bit late since I'd forgotten that my normal way to the barn was right through a road closure for construction #summerinMN. Then the detour had a bad car accident that had the road down to one lane and meant more time sitting in the hot sun in my car. By the time I got to the barn I was already hot and crabby and I hate being late so was feeling a bit stressed as well.

After tacking up in record time we got to the arena the bugs were HORRIBLE. I was being eaten alive and I couldn't get more than a few steps of walk from Katai before she was stamping and bitting at them. We didn't walk for too long before we went to trot since that keeps the bugs at bay.

At least better than the fly spray that I'd coated both of us in...

Again we started with getting her moving out around the full arena. After she was moving well Jane had me ask for a lengthening down the long side. At first we just got rushy steps and then Jane asked me to get her more round. 

Most of the time pony goes around like this.

Blurry but you can kind of see

She's soft through the poll, has good contact, and is very ridable but not especially round. Typically we're happy with this but on Tuesday at least she was faking the contact and not really through or using her back.

Jane had me get her way more round and get her neck lower (not overbent, just rounder than she was going). She said it may look too round from above since it's not what I'm used to but she wanted her there and for me to keep her there while I did the lengthening. The next long side I started to figure it out and then the second time I tried it that way it felt like magic. She was really pushing, her back was up and she was really carrying me along. We gave her a break and Jane said "well that really opened a can of worms". I looked up at her wondering what the heck I'd missed and she explained that now that we know she can move that way, she needs to do this more of the time. 

Veggie had a great time at the doggy daycare lady's house this past weekend.

He's good at supervising the big dogs...

I had a huge smile on my face. Apparently this pony can really move now that she's getting stronger and Jane really didn't expect it. I didn't either haha.

We switched sides and did the same thing. A bit of trial and error later we had a very similar trot on that side and then Jane had us move on to 3 loop serpentines and try to keep/get the same sort of movement. Honestly it was a hot mess. It was a lot for me to keep track of and Katai was trying to just rush through it rather than doing it appropriately. It's new for me to feel that much power from her and to push her appropriately without just making her run. In the end I was at least getting my serpentines right, the bending right, and not letting her rush with bigger movement than normal but we weren't really getting enough trot still. It's going on the list of things to practice.

My 4th of July project was trying to recreate my favorite cookies in vegan form
They turned out better than the original and after this picture was taken I added chocolate frosting on top of the marshmallows. 

By that point I was quite hot and getting tired myself and Katai was also feeling pretty done. Because of how much we'd asked at the trot, and how much we'd asked at the canter on Sunday Jane just had us do a bit of easy canter using the full arena and doing some 20 meter circles. We continued to work on getting a nice, slow, steady rhythm and also on trying to get her rounder at the canter. For this Jane had me focus on lifting the inside rein rather than pulling back. It was tricky for me to get the right feel but I started to get it towards the end. By then Katai was DUN done so we did just a tiny bit more stretchy trot and then called it a day.

She got hosed, I got splashed on and drank some water and then got my stuff put away and headed home for the air-conditioning and lots more water. In the end it felt like another amazing lesson even if my evening didn't start out that way. This tiny mare just continues to amaze me and Jane and I just can't wait to see where we go together.

NDPC Recap Part: 2

On Saturday I had three people to watch ride and those rides spanned the entire day from 9:50ish am to 5:30ish pm. For a horse show, though, that didn't feel too early and since I'd planned to spend all of Saturday at the horse park those ride times actually worked out.

10 years! It sounds like it was so big this year that next year they may need additional space.
That says a lot since they were using at least four of the
five rings in the KYHP dressage complex the whole time.

I got to the horse park just a bit before the first ride, which was Jen's, after stopping for Starbucks. I'm getting spoiled with  my trips to Seattle where there's literally a Starbucks on every corner and it took me a bit longer to get coffee than I expected so I didn't get there quite as early as I'd hoped. At any rate I had a bit of time to chat with Jen's mom and Connor's breeder before Jen went in for her ride.

I don't want to give away any spoilers but their ride was fantastic! I ended up video taping the ride on Jen's mom's video camera plus I don't like to share pictures of people riding unless they approve them first so I don't have any media but I'm sure Jen will have some to share.

After her ride we talked a bit and then Jen headed back to the barn with Connor while I waited with the other two for a golf cart because #ourfeethurt.



We got back, got Connor hosed off and helped with a scary loose horse situation (everyone was fine as far as we could tell). We grabbed some food and then headed over to the Mustang Makeover to see what was going on over there.

Helping with Connor's bath. He clearly wasn't too fussed by the loose horse.

Unfortunately we would have needed to buy tickets to see any of the demonstrations and we weren't quite dedicated enough to do that but we did check out some of the horses and burros that were up for adoption and walked through the barns.

I got another golf cart ride back and made it just in time for H's ride! I took video again for her and this time the GRP pony filly did really, really well and they snagged a placing for their training level class. I spent some time hanging out with H and the women from her barn again after and then went to do more shopping!

I did a really good job of budgeting this weekend and didn't splurge much other than on coffee. For shopping I just ended up with a set of appropriately pony sized, navy blue polos (no pictures but I'll get some of them on her soon). They were a good price and it's so tough to find polos that fit Katai's dainty legs so I couldn't say no. I also got an NDPC logo grey polo shirt that will work great for schooling shows and clinics. They had a lot of really cute NDPC merchandise this year but the polo was the most useful so that's what I decided to go with. That was the extent of my shopping which is both disappointing and makes me happy haha.

By that point it was around 3:00pm and I was dragging a bit. The weather was cooler than I had thought it might be but still quite hot and humid and it had been a long day in the sun so I decided to head to the Starbucks for some coffee and air-conditioning. I got back around 4:30ish and headed over to watch Emilie ride!

Busy warm up ring

By that point I just couldn't be in the sun anymore so I found some shade that put me a ways away from the ring Emilie was in but where I could see her warm up and ride. She and Crumble looked really, really good and the judge must have thought so as well since, from Facebook, it looks like they made out pretty darn well ;) Emilie is an amazing rider and it was really great to see her warm up and ride her test, it certainly gives me something to aspire to!

After that I pretty much packed up and headed back to the Airbnb. It was great to be back in the air-conditioning and I spent the evening watching Friends on cable (I don't have cable so it was a treat) and spending some time on my computer.

The person taking care of Veggie (I booked through Wag)
took this picture of him modeling the bandana.
I think it may be a bit too big and he clearly doesn't think it's his color.

My flight back on Sunday morning was uneventful and I got home around 2:00. I quickly got an Uber home, drove to Minneapolis to pick up Veggie, and then headed to the barn for my lesson! It was a really great lesson but I'm going to make you wait until the next post to read about it ;)

I had such a great time at NDPC this year and really hope that I can spectate again next year and that in the next few years I can go to compete!!

Rhythm: Lesson Recap 6/18

My favorite view :)

First, as I was typing in the title to this I realized that we're nearly half way through the year. Where has it gone?!? It seems like just yesterday that it was December.

Anyway, back to the lesson recap. My lesson yesterday (which was rescheduled from last Tuesday because of the heat) was amazing! It was another one where all the hard work we've been doing paid off.

To start off we were unsure what Katai's mood would be like since apparently she'd been horrid for Jane that morning. Because of that we started off with an extended warmup with a few laps of the ring at the trot in either direction (after lots of walk) and then circles before we added in serpentines. It paid off and Katai's stride length was great and I was able to keep her really pushing from behind for the most part.

For this lesson Jane was talking about getting and keeping her "soft at the poll" rather than talking specifically about round or bend and it really helped me. I can feel when she get's tight but sometimes I don't do anything about it because everything else is going well. This lesson, by focusing on that feeling rather than some of the pieces that come from it I was able to keep her much softer and more through over her back. We even had some really nice transitions!

I think the tough thing is that I know it's leg before hand and that I need to always push her forward into the contact. The problem is that being a greenie myself when it comes to dressage means that sometimes I'm trying to do that when Katai is so tight through the poll that it doesn't do anything productive and that's when she starts to rush. Being tight through the poll is something that is so normal for Katai that I almost always need to get her to give first and then push her forward with MANY reminders to give along the way. It's not that I can't do that, it's that I didn't always know I was supposed to since to me that's hand/rein first and then pushing forward and that's certainly not what the books/clinicians/experts tell you. At least not in the black and white way that I was thinking about it :)

Next we worked on shoulder in again. It's been awhile since we tackled this (shows and back to basics) so I was pretty rusty. However, the skills I've gained in the meantime were extremely helpful and with some coaching from Jane I was able to much more effectively control the rhythm and be more correct with my rein aids. Well, at least to the right. To the left it was a hot mess that only got slightly better before we quit but we did identify some of what I was doing wrong which means that I know what to work on.

Hanging out with the Vegetable in the backyard
enjoying our now beautiful weather :)

Finally we went to canter. To the right Katai did fairly well and had a decently slow rhythm with long strides (this was her tougher side a month ago) but she was struggling to the left. In that direction it was all quick footfalls and rushing. She even got bolty on me once, then broke, and when I asked for canter again all I could get was a trot. Jane got really quiet and I thought I'd really messed up (typically she doesn't get quiet) but once we took a walk break (after I finally got some canter) we talked and apparently it was an AMAZING trot. Jane said that she couldn't believe that Katai could produce that with her tiny body and now if we could only get half that trot for her lengthenings :) At least we know it's in there somewhere!

It was great timing since one of my goals is to continue to practice the shoulder in (and other lateral work) and now I have more things to work on. It was also encouraging that Jane was really happy with my position (overall) and how effective I was with my seat. It wasn't that long ago that I would have been unable to control Katai's rhythm at the trot or canter and this lesson it felt easier and Jane said it looked much better and that she was happy with it. High praise coming from Jane!

Time for Trailer Practice

Random pictures today, sorry for the lack of media!

This empty room is becoming the man cave
he even had his rawhide in there for awhile

My plan for Sunday was to take it a little easier from a dressage work perspective and to work Katai outside and lunge her. However, it ended up being a cold dreary and windy day so Katai was pretty amped up and I decided to ride instead.

My parent's barn has been steadily falling down over the past few years

 I had a great, if short, ride and the resident trainer (not Jane but the person who rides her young horse) was there and riding one of the training horses so it was great practice for Katai. At the last barn there were routinely other horses in the arena with us but here there aren’t so she was a little excited about it. I was able to keep her attention though with my new riding skills and she was really a good girl and didn’t have any tantrums to speak of.

You can still see a cross tie hanging there :)

Then Monday ended up being beautifully warm and sunny with temperatures in the upper 50s. It was SO NICE!! I decided to use it to my advantage and took Katai for a walk around the trailers. It’s pretty muddy out and the trailer wasn’t hooked up or in a particularly good place so I didn’t even open the door the full way, just got Katai walking around outside.

 We had some hairy moments.

Katai is much fitter than she was so between the passage, rearing, and (this is new) striking out it was like trying to handle a very fuzzy white dragon but I was really proud of how I handled it. I was able to stay really calm and soft and gentle with her but was very firm about keeping her out of my space and not letting her just barge ahead. We had a couple of discussions but they were “quieter” than they would have been in the past. I also stuck with it longer and walked her around a few times and stuck it out by the trailers for a while. We ended with a pony that was stilled amped but quieter and listening.

My amazing fellow boarder printed out this
calendar and marked the shows she's thinking about on it!

Frankly, it’s the first time she’s been out there since December so I don’t blame her for being feisty about it. My goal for the next month or so is just to get her lots of exposure to the outdoors as well as to the trailer. Before I even start working on loading again I want her to be calm near the back of the trailer with the doors open as normally that’s been getting her so freaked out that even thinking about trying to get her loaded is silly. If we can at least get there then I’m not as worried about actually getting her loaded.

Of Monsters and Retail Therapy

Yeeeaaaahhhh...

So I probably didn't need to buy anything else horse related for maybe at least a year but when I was so sick I did end up doing some shopping and bought a set of these beauties!

aaaaaannnnnnddd a set of these...

But really I'm just  counting it as improvement that I didn't buy a set of these gorgeous things...

Things like this are why everyone should own a pony

I did actually "need" another set of dressage boots. Polos don't work because of the small size of Katai's legs and the fact that I'm incapable of putting them on well, even though I know how. Also since I only have one set of boots it's been tough to keep them clean and means going for a week at a time without leg protection. It's hardly the end of the world but I'd really rather have a different set to swap out when I'm washing them.

I LOVE the pastel pink set of boots that I have (and I'm sure you're all familiar with) which are from People on Horses. I've had them since just after I got Katai, so about four years, and they still look nearly like new. However, unfortunately at nearly $200 for a set (including shipping) I just haven't been able to stomach the thought of buying more even though I really wanted them in navy patent

First time in her boots, crazy to think this was only about 4 years ago!

Instead I found Hufglocken through Instagram and once I found out that they had free worldwide shipping on orders over $150 I decided to order some stuff. It just so happens that two full sets of boots from them cost about $180 with the difference in exchange rate so I went for it. They shipped today and I'll share more once I get them. I'm really looking forward to trying them out and excited that I'll have full matching sets of navy blue, brown, and pink tack now. It's the little things :)

Also, while I was sick this adorable jacket showed up that I bought for Veggie over Christmas. Watching him play with his tennis ball as a little monster certainly did a lot to make me feel better and I'm almost back to 100%. I should have a lesson recap soon!

Scratchies: Lesson Recap 10/11

I seriously have the cutest little nugget
In other news, winter is coming and it was time for a clip!

Exciting things are still in progress but I should be able to start blogging a bit more again so it's time to catch up with another lesson recap! This lesson was action packed enough that I don't have anything really specific, just more of the same but I still want to have these notes for myself.

I still can't believe how much consistent improvement we've still been making. I feel like I've sort of hit a small wall with my improvement from a position standpoint but Jane is not to be deterred. She is   still making improvements and won't let anything go, thank goodness!

She's still trying to get me to turn my torso but I'm on the struggle bus there. I'm working on it but until I can get there she's having me adjust my rein length a bit more to correct for it. We've uncovered some issues with my right leg since I have to pull in with the back of my calf to be strong enough to get Katai to do something rather than the side of my leg. I'm dropping my right shoulder, giving too much with my right hand, when I put my leg's back I get a donald duck butt, I post ahead of the movement...

I LOVE dressage!

Thank goodness that Jane has the patience of a saint. Plus I'm getting way more consistent with my posting, relaxation, not leaning forward, not rushing Katai, and my canter seat is way better other than the fact that I can not turn enough to the right.

I brought veggie to a doggie playdate
and someone got some great photos of him!

I'm so excited to have these things identified for me. I can't even tell you how empowering it is that she can tell me this stuff, help me figure out what's correct and then allow me to figure it out myself while never letting up or giving me the impression that it is until it's actually right. Seriously the best feeling ever.

For this lesson we got the consistent trot, went to work on leg yield (which is coming along!!!) and then worked on canter again. I was so so proud of my pony! There was very minimal fussing and when she got tense as we changed directions Jane had me give her a little scratch on her neck and she relaxed and went right back to work. That night it was seriously like a magic button.

Now we just need to find my magic button, if only a scratch on the neck would fix my position issues!

A Very Busy Weekend

When your owner gets out of bed and you're not ready yet
I would have liked to join him

I've been quiet because I've been feeling a little like crap all weekend. I think it's partially the weather and I'm wondering if with the recent colder temperatures I might be fighting off a cold.

On Friday I still had some energy and after a couple of days off I made it out to the barn to ride. Katai was sassy but pretty good and her canter transitions were continuing to improve. I had a friend at the barn with me and we tried to get some pictures but the lighting is just too dark so the only pictures we got were really blurry.

On Saturday I did a 5K with my work colleagues. They're amazing and we all just walked, solidarity for those who aren't runners, but it was a great albeit cold way to start the day. Since it was near the barn I had decided to go there next but the walk took a little longer than I expected and I had an apartment viewing scheduled, more on that later, so I was short on time at the barn.

Caught this picture on the way home from getting sushi
'Merica...

I pulled out all of my tack and went to get the pony. Just like what you would expect, she was lit up and didn't want to play along. I tried to put her in the crossties and groom her but she was having none of it so instead of fighting with her I decided to just lunge. She was doing all sort of crazy out of character things so I was really glad I didn't ride. She kicked out multiple times at the line, spooked and bolted twice (which she NEVER does), and did lots of head tossing and porpoising.

I had her do lots of, on cue, trot/canter transitions going in each direction. I didn't have her work that long, just until she was able to settle a little. I walked her for awhile, let her eat some grass and then left.

Don't worry, I was stopped. This is why I've been tired recently,
this picture was taken during the day.

I'm looking at apartments with one of my three roommates. In our current situation our landlord has all of the decision making power as far as who roommates are and this last one isn't someone I'd chose to live with. Since I now know someone in this area that I'd like to live with we're looking at 2 bedroom apartments where hopefully we can save some money and not have random people cycling through without our say. Unfortunately on Saturday the owner didn't show to give us a tour. However, that roommate and I went out for sushi and only got slightly sidetracked at an amazing local farmers market that I'd never been to!

I got tons of cucumbers, tomatoes, kale, and baby bok choi for only $9!!! After putting our amazing groceries away at home we went back out for sushi at our favorite sushi place. It was amazing! My favorite is their sweet potato role but I always love cucumber/avocado roles. Finally we went for groceries and got some coffee. I cleaned and did laundry when I got home so by the time I sat down to watch a movie it was almost time for bed.

Sunday I rode in the morning and although I didn't feel the need to lunge before I rode she was even more sassy than normal. She was full of herself and determined that she gets to make the call on when she's going to canter. I was really proud of how I handled that ride and we ended with some really nice, slow, stretchy trot but it took awhile to get there. Im thinking that she is also struggling with the new, colder, darker weather just like I am.

She got today off and I'm hoping that she feels more like cooperating at my lesson tomorrow!

Motivation

I think that motivation is a really interesting thing. We used to talk about it more as inspiration when I was growing up as a musician in a family of musicians but it's pretty much the same thing in this case.

As I was growing up I had constantly changing interests, like most kids I'm sure, and from one day to the next the thing that I was motivated to do could really change. I had a bunch of different hobbies and interests, had different pets, learned different things like sculpture and basically would be really, really into something for a few weeks to a few years off and on before moving on to something else. The only thing that really stuck around through all of that was horses but I never really got to do all of the things that I wanted to until recently and I think I filled in some of that want with other hobbies.

Over the last few years it's been all about horses, Katai in particular. I haven't taken on any new hobbies and have really focused on dressage and Katai as well as other important things in my life like being vegan (food, recipes, learning to make new things like brewing Kombucha etc), blogging,  spending time with friends, getting more fit, doing stuff with Veggie, focusing on my new job etc. It's been nice! It's nice to focus on one thing, its nice to not be spending money on picking up, and then dropping, a whole bunch of new things and it's all I really wanted.

So far my motivation hasn't really gone down. I've had small peaks and valleys and times where I'm just less motivated to ride but mainly it seems to be more about just laziness than anything else. However recently I just haven't been as motivated as I was and knew that something was nothing me but wasn't quite sure what it was. It's been a couple of months since I was motivated but at first I thought that the break when I was in WA for a week might help, then when I got back and got so sick of course I wasn't going to be motivated. The problem is that I just haven't been feeling like I'm really motivated and back into it even now that I'm feeling better.

In my musician family we used to talk about doing other things that would help with our motivation such as reading a good book, going to an art museum, spending time at a national park, going for a hike etc. Sometimes though it's just immersing yourself into the thing that you aren't feeling motivated to do even more that help increase your motivation. The problem is that it's tough to know which will help.

I think I finally figured out why I haven't been as motivated but I'm going to share more about that later. For now, the break last week and watching all of those talented ponies at the National Dressage Pony Cup was really good for my motivation.

Life in the City

I love my new home so much! I’ve wanted to live in the twin cities for such a long time and I’m glad that so far it’s been everything I thought it would be and more even if I do feel a bit like I’ve stumbled into an episode of New Girl.

 

Sans model this looks pretty much like us

 

 Yes, I have three male roommates and one of them could easily take the place of Schmidt.

Yep, pretty much exactly like my roommate

 

We’ve even considered implementing a Douchebag Jar but so far I have been unsuccessful in my attempts to actually make it happen.

 

Veggie looking cool on his way to the dog park.

Wedge, who quickly changed to Wedgie and now Veggie (hey, it’s funny cause I’m vegan), has been slowly adjusting to life in our new place. He was a little nervous about the roommate situation at first and was constantly asking me “Why are they here in our house lady?”. Now though he’s pretty comfortable and adores N (the Schmidt character in our lives) because N naps with him and feeds him. Really, how could life get any better for a little dog.

 

My life is slowly settling into more of a routine and, to get back to pony related topics, I’ve been slowly able to work my way up to riding 4 days per week. The goal over the next month is to get to 5 days per week on a consistent basis. The drive to the current barn take me just about 30 minutes each way and the new barn will be just about 33 minutes each way. In order to miss most of rush hour traffic, and to take care of myself and the Veggie, I go home after work have dinner and take Veg for a walk and leave home around 6:30-7:00ish. This gives me enough time to get there, go through my riding routine, and leave by barn close at 9:00 I’m looking forward to the move to the new barn partially because barn close will be at 9:30 which just give me a little more flexibility.

 

New Tack Room

 

New Indoor

 

New Oversized Outdoor

The barn move is schedule for Saturday in the afternoon and other than being a little nervous about getting Katai to load into a two horse straight load, when she’s only ever ridden in a larger slant, I’m feeling excited and happy about getting to the new place. I’m planning on riding on Friday and Saturday before the move. Hopefully she’ll adjust well enough that I’ll be able to do our regularly scheduled ride on Sunday. I’m posting my goal schedule here for accountability.

 

Sunday -Morning Lesson

Monday – Pony Vacation Day

Tuesday – Late Evening Ride

Wednesday – Late Evening Ride

Thursday – either Off or Late Evening Ride 

Friday - either Off or Late Evening Ride 

Saturday – Early Morning Ride

 

With the above schedule I’ll be riding five days and never giving her two days off back to back. I had thought that I wanted to always ride on Thursday and never on Friday but I think choosing to ride one and not the other gives me some needed flexibility and based on how she’s going and if she feels tired I could give her both days off which would still put me at four rides in a week which I think is decent. I’ve also thought about more clearly defining what I’m working on each day, for example Tuesday – Cavalletti, Wednesday – Hillwork etc but I just think that’s too much at this point and that leaving it open to work on what’s most needed is going to be enough structure.

 

I have been proud that I’ve varied our work outs more than I used to. I’ve added in cavalletti on a regular basis as well as riding outside and I try not to ride in either arena (indoor or outdoor) more than two days in a row unless there’s a good reason such as weather or an event. I think it’s working to keep her more fresh in her job and also good for her to get used to riding other places.

 

Tonight I have a lesson with L and H is coming to watch and hopefully take some video. For some reason all I want to do today is go home and nap so hopefully we’re able to make it through our lesson and still be productive especially since, with the move, it will be more than a week until I have another lesson.