New Barn Feels

First I just want to put a note that I've been trying to comment on everyone's blogs but for some reason google isn't allowing me to submit comments. I thought it was just a temporary thing one day but I'm still not able to at this point. I'm going to reach out to support to get it figured out but in the meantime just know that I'm still reading them all!

Mostly I’m loving the new barn. I adore the arena which is the perfect combination of cozy, cute, and had pretty decent footing. It’s not spacious by any means but two people can ride fairly comfortably in it and, let’s face it, Katai is tiny so if I can’t maneuver her around a space this size I don’t have any hope of getting any geometry correct in any test at this point ;)

Katai has a nice sized stall, the hay is amazing, I love having a nice low key trail just outside her paddock, there’s a grazing pen for horses that are in dry lots just so that they can have a mini graze while their people hang out, 99% of the people are great (just like any barn), there are a ton of very long term boarders, the barn manger is FANTASTIC, and I really like my new instructor.

The only drawback so far has been that 1% of people here (let’s be honest, that’s one person) haven’t been very nice but I can handle myself and I’m hoping that with time that will calm down (side note, it's already gotten better between when I typed up this post and when I posted it). It’s never been an issue for me before since I’m good at making friends, I work hard, I’ve been around horses since I was 7 so I know a few things, I have good communication skills, and I tend to get along with everyone but for some reason there’s one person here who I apparently rub the wrong way. Oh well, we can’t all be friends with everyone.

The other main drawback is that the two larger, outdoor arenas are fairly rocky. They’re fine for most horses but Katai is barefoot and we’re rehabbing her hooves right now so she’s still a little tender. The last thing I want is for her to not trust her footing so we’ve just avoided both arenas for the most part. With winter coming it isn’t worth worrying about but we have a couple of ideas for how to combat it next year if her hooves still aren’t at the gravel crushing phase.

The best thing is that Katai has been calm, happy, relaxed, and just seems really content at this barn. She was happy at Janes but still had more anxious energy than she does here and it’s a huge improvement from the last barn where she constantly seemed to be in flight or fight mode for some reason. I’m also loving the cost and the much, much shorter commute.

In addition, K (my new instructor) is nicely low key and relaxed about things while still having great suggestions and I love how she explains theory. She’s also already talking about bringing me to shows next year which would be amazing. I’m excited to keep taking lessons with her and see how far we can go together! I also have plans with one of the amazing barn people who invited me to go to a hunter pace with her! With weather and other things we aren't going to be able to do the hunter pace this year but hopefully next year and we already have plans for a trail ride in a couple weeks!

Best Night

Old picture from my first spring with Katai

All of my nights at the barn are wonderful so when I tell you that Thursday night at the barn was the best night I've had in a long time you should know that it was pretty epic.

I've mentioned in the past that one of the big things I was worried about with this barn was that I'd miss the camaraderie of being around other horse people. I really like the people at this barn, it's just that our schedules don't work out often and there aren't as many people there so it's rare that I actually get to ride with anyone else. The person I'd most like to spend time with (K) is the other rider who works with Jane and rides Dressage but she works a very different schedule so is out often during the day when I'm at work. While it hasn't been that big of an issue for me, and I possibly actually get more done since I need to just concentrate on riding my pony, I do miss having more people around when I'm at the barn.

However, I finally got to spend some time with K on Thursday.

Also not from Thursday but from my first real trailride with Katai
This would have been late 2013 or early 2014

When I got there my plan was to first get Katai outside for a bit to practice trailer loading and hand walk her down the road. Since she's mainly indoors I wanted to make sure that she spent some more time outside to prepare her for the show. Both trailer loading and walking down the road went really, really well and she was as calm and relaxed as she's ever been. Plus, it was an amazingly warm and sunny spring day so it was very nice to spend the time outside.

After that I brought her back to the barn to tack her up for riding and with perfect timing K showed up just as I started grooming. We were able to talk a bit and Jane came out to feed so we all talked about show plans (K is my ride to shows this year). It was so much fun to get to hang out and talk. Even better, as we were getting ready to head into the arena Jane suggested that we ride down the road together. I'll admit that I probably wouldn't have been brave enough to ask but K agreed that it sounded like fun so we headed out and with some help from Jane (to hold Katai for a minute) we mounted up and headed off.

Since this seems to be the post for #TBT pictures this one is just so cute!

Katai was HOT but settled pretty quick and we proceeded to have a really nice ride. She was pretty up and it's a road that gets a bit of traffic so I didn't ride on the buckle until we got back to Jane's driveway but it still was able to be a relaxed ride with a bit of trot and mainly lots of walk. I was SOO happy with that!

Then, once we got back to the barn K and I rode together in the arena for awhile. K is showing 3rd level and hoping to get the last scores for her bronze this year. When she was taking a break she was my eyes on the ground and gave me some amazing suggestions for my transitions. We also commiserated on how hard this dressage thing is (but how much we love it) and how we have lots of the same crookedness's so we make Jane's job easier haha.

Last one ;)
"Does it look like I'm wearing my mom's clothes?"

After we finished up we untacked together, talking horses the whole time of course, and left in the dark. It was so, so, so nice to be able to talk with someone else that's on the same path. K loves dressage like I do, cares deeply for her horse, and rides an "untraditional" (small grey arab) horse in dressage but thanks to Jane has worked her way up the levels. I always enjoy talking and spending time with horse people but those similarities that put us on the same page make it even more fun.

It was an amazing night and I'm even more excited for shows this year and to get to spend more time with K.

Working With What I've Got

I'm starting to feel like such an adult in fact I think this post is a good example of my adultness even if the week didn't start out that way!

Yep, I'm playing it too

We're having a bad heat wave right now. Of course some of you would probably laugh because you're used to much worse heat but for us it's pretty bad. Yesterday we had 97* with 75% humidity which meant a heat index of something like 110. Today we had 96* with a slightly lower humidity so a heat index closer to 101, and tomorrow we're supposed to have very similar temps. I, unfortunately, didn't plan well and wasn't able to make it out to the barn Monday or Tuesday when the temperatures were better so that meant that I needed to try to fit in some pony time yesterday.

Sort of wishing for this right now

I ended up getting to the barn at 8:00 and planned a nice short ride, mainly at a walk, outside because there was a slight breeze. I planned to use the heat to help me out and work on getting Katai to listen when riding around the arena. Recently I've been hopping on Katai in the arena and after working her in there for awhile we go for a trail ride. It's my fault that I've been making the arena work, and outside of the arena fun but Katai has been full of herself trying to get out of the arena, very gate sour, and is not at all willing to even turn towards the arena once we leave it.

I worked her around the gate of the arena while inside, then around the gate of the arena while outside, and then rode her away from the arena and turned her around and rode her back to the arena. Despite that fact that I knew it was partially from the heat I was extremely proud because she did really, really well. We only "worked" for about 20 minutes and all at the walk other than one 1-2 minute trot that we did when she was really reluctant to go forward.

The sweat she had from being in the barn (no moving air and humid but far better than standing outside in the sun) dried and she didn't sweat at all while we worked. It was much more mental than physical. Once I was done I hosed her off and scrapped her and then she got turned out since they're going out overnight.

Tonight it wasn't even going to cool down that much so I decided to skip it. I want so much to be prepared for my lesson tomorrow but I also won't risk making her sick so Katai gets another day off. Hopefully she won't be too nuts for tomorrow.

Summertime vegan feast

Regarding other things that I'm working with, I had mentioned previously that I'd determined one of the things that is making it tough for me to be motivated. That thing is my budget. I am able to "afford" everything that I have and do right now including my biggest "splurge" which is having Katai and boarding her at a great barn. I think that I've very naively been thinking that at some point soon there would be a second income in my life. It feels silly now but I was in a longer term relationship for awhile and I was sort of thinking he was going to stick around.

I've realized recently that I don't want to add that pressure to date. I started looking at my budget and what I could adjust. There are a few things but none of them were nearly as helpful as considering cutting my boarding budget back. I ADORE my barn and I've never minded splurging on Katai and having a really strict budget with everything else. For the past few months though it's been tougher to feel that way. I've had to turn down going out to do some things with friends, skip a road trip that I'd been planning, and give up plans to find a bike. What really made the decision for me was when I felt crabby when some of my work friends invited me out because I knew it wasn't in my budget to go out until next month.

I know I've moved barns a lot but I feel like there have been a couple of "eras" in my boarding barn experience. First, my options were very limited because I was living in a rural area and was making very little so there was basically one or two options that fit into my budget and were within the area. All I've wanted ever since I got into dressage (nearly 15 years ago) was a good, dressage show barn with an indoor/outdoor arena and people with a similar passion to ride and talk with.

Miss this place

When I finally had the budget I found that barn. It was perfect, it was literally my favorite place that I've been. For example, there were three indoor grooming stalls and one space outdoors. More often than not they were all full and there were people waiting in line to tie up and groom. I loved the bustle and talking to the other dressage riders. People rode very regularly and everyone took weekly lessons plus they were all just so knowledgeable about dressage. Unfortunately this place was J's and she was way too horrible for me to stay. I did learn a lot from her and while I'm so glad that I got out when I did, I still really miss the place and the other people that boarded and trained there.

Ever since I left there I've been trying to get that back. I've found every "dressage" barn that I can in the area that fits in my budget and that I haven't been warned away from. They've all had positives but none of them have been like J's place. H found an even better place with a similar atmosphere but it's very much outside of my budget and would be a really tough commute for me.

In my search to find that place I've increased exponentially what I'm spending at each place. It's always been, and still is, "in my budget" but as mentioned above that's only if I don't have any fun outside the barn. I think what I'm getting at is that I would be more willing to make these sacrifices if I were at a barn like that but, even though my barn is spectacular it's just not the same, for anything less I just can't make myself do it anymore.

At first I was thinking of moving Katai to pasture board at my current barn but I just can't have her on grass without risking founder so that was out. I've done some looking and I have a couple of options planned. Both nearly cut my horse expenses in half but one, my favorite, would also include weekly lessons which is really important to me. The other includes a huge trail system and a few different trainers that I could work with on things like trailer loading.

I want to be clear that the only reason I'm moving is financial. I'm so, so, so excited to actually have a normal amount of money to spend on things like getting a couple of new items of clothing or going out to eat with friends :-) Obviously Katai's welfare is still my primary concern so I'm choosing the right place for her even if I lose some of the amenities that I enjoy I'll just deal with it.

I'll share more information soon.

Name Change

So as you can see I finally changed the name of my blog!! I’ve been thinking about it and wanting to for quite awhile now especially since Katai, although a normal pony, hasn’t proven to be a particularly stubborn one.

I also want to reflect the upcoming change of moving to a barn and, sort of, handing off the total responsibility of training Katai myself since now I have qualified help. Because of that, this blog will be less of a training journal and more of a blog about me and Katai as a partnership and cover both of our experiences in this new journey of dressage lessons, showing, and experiencing the atmosphere of an active barn.

Finally, many of my more recent posts were about how I can finally have fun shopping for stuff for my pony and also for myself. I’ve always loved trends and clothes but just wasn’t able to afford the stuff I really wanted. Now I’m starting to be able to afford those things not just for Katai but for myself as well. I’ve worked extremely hard and saved for those nice things that I do have and I’ve got a list of things that I’m working towards. It’s just so nice to be able to feel like a cute and reasonably well dressed adult at the barn I want to continue to share that on my blog!

My posts going forward will continue to document Katai’s journey but I will be adding more about myself now that I will have feedback on my riding and horse handling skillz.

Also, Yay!! for the pony/devil reference tehe.