Adjusting

Blurry but beastie pony :)

There has been so much to adjust to over this past year and I have to say that for the first time in quite a while I feel like I have a really sustainable routine. The main thing was moving Katai so much closer and changing from going home after work and then going to the barn after dinner to going directly to the barn after work. That’s possible thanks to having a partner able to help with puppy duty

My current routine Sunday-Saturday goes like this.

Sunday: No barn time. We’ve had two different DnD groups that meet on alternate weekends from about 1-7 so that pretty much takes up the majority of the day. We’ve now started leaving the morning open for my bf and I to do things together often involving house work and prepping for playing DnD the rest of the day

Monday: I wear clothes to work that are useable at the barn such as a sports bra and tops that are layered and will be ok to ride in. I bring breeches and socks and have my winter boots in the car. I carry my new grooming kit with me into work (everyone already thinks I’m weird so I’m over it) so that none of my stuff freezes. After work I change into breeches and tall socks in the public work restroom and then when I get to my car I put on my winter boots. I also bring with both lunch and dinner so that I can eat both at work and not starve. Most days I’m leaving work around 4:15-4:30 all ready for the barn. I typically get to the barn between 4:30-5:00 depending on when I left and how bad traffic was. On quiet days it’s less than 20 minutes and on bad traffic days it’s closer to 30 so not bad at all! Normally by then Katai is in her stall eating so I groom and tack up with her loose in her stall so that she can eat some of her dinner before I ride. I spend around 40-50 minutes in the arena between warmup, riding, and cool down, and then put her back in her stall to keep eating while I untack and groom. I typically give her more alfalfa pellets when I get back (since I purchase them for the barn to feed) and I like to help keep her calories up during the winter. I typically leave the barn between 6:00 and 6:30 and am home by 7 but often closer to 6:30-6:45.

Tuesday: Same as Monday only e/o week I have my lesson from 5:00-5:30 so I leave work slightly early and rush to get there and get ready on time to be in the arena just before 5 to warm up.

Wednesday: Typically this is the only week day that I don’t go to the barn. That means that I have an awful, rush hour drive home and spend about 45 minutes in the car in stop and go traffic.

Thursday: Same as Monday

Friday: Same as Monday

Saturday: I typically ride in the morning and head to the barn from home. I was always going to the barn both weekend days but since my drive is actually longer from home than work and it’s now easier to go after work Saturday is typically the only weekend day I go out. My drive is typically about 30 minutes depending on how silly all the weekend drivers are being. This is now pretty much the only day where I’m not tacking Katai up in her stall while she eats. I was a little worried that she’d forget how to come into the barn on her own and stand nicely in the cross ties but, knock on wood, she’s been a really good lady and remember all of her manners. I groom, tack up, and normally ride in the arena by myself which is nice. I typically take a little more time on Saturday unless we have plans so I’m able to do more grooming, trim her mane, work on her feet etc.

The only other thing that varies during the week is that my trainer typically teaches lessons M-W so Mondays and Tuesday (especially when I don’t have a lesson on Tuesday) are typically pretty busy. I’ve started to plan ahead for that and not plan to do anything too intense or that is too disruptive such as ground poles on those days. Thursday- Saturday I typically have the arena to myself so I do those things on one of those days.

Recently the weather has been really nice so that hasn’t altered this at all and I’ve got my fingers crossed that maybe we’ll continue to have the mild winter that we’re supposed to have!

Full Barn

I sort of feel like I just need some catchy theme music and a shot of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Maybe something like this?

Back to the updates though, my friends moved in!! There are now nine horses in the barn with 5 of those being people who will be riding and taking lessons, 2 that belong to Jane, and 2 retirees.

First though I want to back up a little.

Since my last post I gave Katai Friday off and then lunged on Saturday. It was apparent when I lunged that pony had a very tired hind end, especially her right hind. I'm fairly certain that's what started the argument on Thursday and if I'd known I would have just given her the day off but hindsight is always perfect I guess.

Instead, at least I know now and after that I decided to try a redo on the easy stretchy ride this morning. I got to the barn fairly early so that I could ride and get everything closed up and put away before three new horses (all mares) and a bunch of people showed up. Long story short, it worked! She was definitely not completely thrilled about the idea of working and definitely felt a little tired but unlike Thursday she was willing to at least try to do what I was asking.

I kept it really simple with lots of straight lines and big circles. I worked a lot at the walk, did a little trot, and finally just a tiny bit of canter in each direction. I didn't even try the lateral work since I didn't want to push her at all and I was really trying to repair human/pony relations.  After the ride I worked on her hooves a bit and then cuddled her back up in her blanket and turned her out.

Neither one of us is thrilled with this weather

It was right around lunch time at that point so I headed in to town, got some taco bell and a coffee to try to warm up and then headed back. I had just gotten back into the barn and started cleaning my tack when Jane showed up and shortly after that we heard the truck pull up outside.

It was so much fun to help them find their stalls and hang out while they got the official barn tour and started to move their stuff in. This is such a fun group and we were having a great time just hanging out getting the horses used to the arena :) Jane also figured out the lesson schedule and it worked out great! I've been trying out a schedule of Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday rides. That way I'm still riding 5 times a week without it all being back to back and I don't need to drive on Friday night and risk all the drunk drivers. All three are planning to have their lessons on Wednesday evening which means I won't need to change my schedule in order to not interfere with their lessons since that's already a night off.

Tomorrow my hope is to do a bit more work and at least do some leg yields and a bit more canter. What's really exciting is that there will be OTHER PEOPLE there! At least two of my friends, now identified as C and J2, will be there as well. It's so much easier to be motivated to go to the barn knowing that there will be other people there.