Dancing in the Shit Show

*To preface this post, Katai's abscess burst!!!! Now onto your regularly(?) scheduled programing*

Back in August I wrote a post that I called Dancing in the Rain about how I was continuing to try despite lots of chaos in my life. Now in December I feel like the chaos and stress has increased but I’ve managed to keep dancing. You can find the August post here if you’re wondering what I’m talking about.

The end of this year has not been kind to Katai and myself. After the move Katai clearly wasn’t herself and I think that the significance of the change just affected her more than I ever thought it would. It showed up in sensitive feet, then ulcers, then thrush, and then an abscess (the first she’s ever had). Some of these are probably directly related to the move and the change in her living situation but some of them probably were random occurrences that just happened at the wrong time. I’ve complained on here quite a bit about it but outside of the blog I’ve been really proud of the way that I’ve just dug in and worked hard to find fixes despite these things happening.

Some days I feel like she just loves messing with me

When I figured out Katai had ulcers for example I dropped everything else in my personal life and started going to the barn every day, rain or shine, despite if I was exhausted, stressed, anxious, or had other things going on. I made it out 35 days in a row with no break before missing 2 days due to a snow storm and Thanksgiving. I’m still going out every day but at this point I’ve missed a couple more days because of dangerous roads (even with snow tires my Smartcar isn’t great on the freeway if the roads are slippery).

That 35 days in a row taught me a lot about what I’m actually capable of and it was so helpful for my motivation. Things were getting done on a regular basis including getting Katai her supplements, treating her feet for thrush, grooming her and cleaning up her back legs when she was in heat, and of course getting her meds. Then, during this, when she had her abscess I was out every day to give her bute, check on her, make sure she was safe and get a feeling for if she was improving or not. There have also been other things like asking other people to help give meds during snowy days and sticking with poulticing and wrapping her hind left foot despite the fact that she likes to try to kick me with that leg and didn’t like being doctored.

In other news, I rescued this young lady from being tangled in her blanket.
She was down and thrashing when I got to the barn and I was able to rescue her

While this isn’t how I’ve wanted to spend the last few months I have learned a lot about myself, a lot about Katai, and have continued to build strong relationships with the other people at the barn because I’m seeing them all the time. Hopefully this will all pay off and now, over the next few weeks, I’ll be able to get back to a regular riding schedule. This ability to make it out every day has helped me figure out how to prioritize with a partner and has taught me the importance of going out when I can, even if I don’t want to, so that when I can’t go out it isn’t as big of impact.

Sunday:

Puppy is not a morning person

Of all of the days this is the one that most deserves a post of its own so this worked out well.

Sunday is Adventure Day! and it’s the plan for me to start trying to fill in the hole I dug myself with Katai not feeling confident outside of the indoor arena. Everything started well with me putting on the first dozen or so rides outside, mostly all in big open pastures. She was slightly terrifying to start for the same reason that she can still be slightly terrifying to ride. She’d get all bunched up, completely ignore my leg, and any pressure would make her explode up or sideways or backwards or forwards or down or whatever direction she felt like at the moment. She’s small enough and quick enough that it could be tough to ride and since I didn’t want to teach her that bolting or rearing or bucking would get her free I was pretty particular about how and where and when I rode but all I had at the time was outside so that’s where we rode.

Then we moved to our first barn that had an indoor. I was still taking her out on trail rides but the arena allowed me to keep her going through the winter which was key. Of course once the winter hit we couldn’t ride outside. That barn didn’t have an outdoor and the only place to ride outside was along a road so as soon as the plows made a snow wall along the road that option was out.

Then I moved her to our first dressage barn. This is where I started to dig myself a hole. There was an outdoor but the footing wasn’t great and it was right near a swamp so the bugs were really bad so I avoided it. I was still occasionally going out on trail rides and she was doing well and was still a good trail partner but I just didn’t focus on it enough since we were learning dressage and I was LOVING that work. Then I moved several a few more times and sometimes had some opportunities to work outside and sometimes no opportunities.

Proof that sometimes we have our act together outside

I think it really fell apart for the first time when I was at the place prior to Jane’s. For some reason both of us HATED that arena. Katai, who was a firecracker on a good day at that barn, turned into a fire breathing dragon and it was tough to get ANYTHING accomplished. She would also bolt on the lunge in that outdoor and tore her boots off one time she was bolting so bad. I’m still not sure why but she hated the outdoors at that place. I did try to take her on the mini trail around the pastures but she’d start rearing and couldn’t be convinced to stop. Trust me, I tried. Then I moved to Jane’s where there was almost no space to ride outside. At S2s I really did try to take her outside.

There was a regulation sized, outdoor dressage arena with great footing and I made it a priority to work on the yucky outdoor behavior. I think, though, that I didn’t realize just how much time it was going to take and so I was pretty casual about it. We did start to make some progress but she was certainly never relaxed or easy outside like she is indoors. Now at the current barn we moved in the fall which quickly changed to winter (funny how that happens) so we didn’t spend really any outdoor time, and then when the snow melted I realized just how bad the footing in the outdoor arenas was for a barefoot horse. I have figured out that she’s ok with boots on her front feet but she was such a pill when I started working with her out there that I quickly realized that I needed a different tactic.

I really think that she just lacks confidence and since horses don’t contextualize the same way we do I think she just, basically, reverts to being a green baby when she’s outside since she’s only been trained not to be a green baby indoors. Of course she has more skills, as do I, and I have more tools to use when she’s being like that but ultimately we need to sort of go back to the beginning to help her build her confidence that riding happens outdoors and it’s ok. Right now this is my priority for improving our scores more than anything else. Of course she’ll still get tight and nervous at shows but if I can reduce that at all by making sure she’s at least relaxed and confident outdoors at home that will be a huge win. We have the riding skills, we just need the relaxation and confidence outside.

Therefore adventure day is my way of doing just that. I’m basically going to be doing stuff with her outdoors as though she’s a green baby. We’re going to hand walk and look at things, we’re going to lunge, we’re going to play with me standing on the mounting block, etc. I want to get her comfortable with playing around outside and by focusing on these things it will help me keep my mindset positive and light hearted vs. more serious and When I do ride we’re going to toodle and I’m not going to ask much. Since our riding isway further along than that I’m fairly confident that we won’t be stuck back at the basic basics for too long.

What’s encouraging is that at Janes even if I led her outside (since her pen basically went right into the barn/arena) she would get very hot and spicy and start trying to rear and strike and other similar behaviors. Now, because I need to take her from the barn to the indoor (which is a bit of a hike) she’s really relaxed on our regular route as well as behind the barn where I hand graze her sometimes. If, through repetition, I can get her comfortable with increasingly larger sections of the outdoors (including the arena) I have hope that we’ll be replicating our indoor rides outside sooner rather than later.

Friday and Saturday:

Can you spot the pony?
I took this partially because it's very much a case of which if these is not like the other lol

(Posting a second since I was so late in getting these up and want to get through them so that I can post more current stuff)
I was going to do these separate but I don’t have much to say about spa day so these are getting combined as well.

On Fridays I have chores planned which I’m calling Spa Day because it sounds like more fun.. This could be anything from trimming Katai’s bridle path or tail, clipping her (once it’s that season), or trimming her feet to picking up supplements or other necessary horse items. This will eventually likely be planned with lunging day just because lunging is less work intensive so I’ll do that and then take care of these items.

Saturday is currently the only riding “work” day I have planned. This could be anything from working on collection, to building endurance. As Katai gains more confidence outside I may even do canter sets or something outside and then adventure day can be a low key trail ride.

Sorry for the Instagram repeats. I figured repeat photos are better than none.

This past Saturday I did some collected work just because she was really into that on that particular day. I started out with some stretching and walk work and then I moved to rebalancing her through half halts and working on longitudinal and lateral flexibility. Once she was really in front of my leg we did some SI and I started asking for smaller, but still active, steps within the same rhythm. For the first time she really got it and did a few really cool, in rhythm, small but very active and bouncy steps. Once she did that I stopped the trot work and just did a bit more walk work.

Next time I’ll probably do some turn on the haunches and potentially HI at the walk. I also want to work on canter but right now we’re focusing on canter on the lunge since it was causing some blow ups under saddle. The other thing I’m avoiding right now is sitting trot so even though it’s not “proper” I’ve been posting the SI. Once we’ve both built back up some fitness and my core workouts have started to pay off more I’ll bring that back in as well.

Wednesday and Thursday:

(Oops, didn't mean to wait that long. I was hoping to get more media but was only partially successful)
I’m writing about both together because Wednesday is also a planned day off so we’ll go through it quick!

Wednesdays are planned to be a chores/food prep/grocery shopping/house cleaning evening together for me and my boyfriend. We do shift this day around sometimes if one of us has set plans on a Wednesday but we try to be really consistent with it. We used to do this on the weekend but we’d keep putting it off until it was Monday morning and having a mid-week check in is pretty nice. My boyfriend climbs and is more of an extrovert than me so does after work happy hours or hangs out with friends in the evenings. I go to the barn 3 evenings a week so it’s nice to actually see each other between the weekend :)

Thursday is currently planned to be a lunge day. There are a few reasons for it to be scheduled this way right now, one of which is that we’re both gaining fitness so a planned lunge day means that Katai is still working but not needing to deal with me on her back. Because she isn’t also trying to balance me or carry me I’ve been focusing on helping her with her balance and endurance. I rotate right now between a lunge work day and a PT lunge. For the work day I’ve been working her with the Vienna reins to make sure she isn’t just locking up through her back and then we do patterns, at least as much as you can do on the lunge. These patterns include spiraling in and out, 10, 15, and 20 meter circles, going down the long side, and just lots of transitions. For all of these things I’m focusing on how she’s using her body and if she drops down into a transition on the forehand we redo it. Sometimes I put down ground poles and walk/trot/canter her over those as well.

On PT lunge days I lunge her in a halter and focus on really getting her stretching out and down and on really making sure she’s bending. I also usually do a bunch of in hand work before lunging including front leg stretches, carrot stretches, backing with her head lowered, etc. Right now this is a decent amount of the time we’re working together but will continue to be a smaller percentage of the work over the next few weeks. Sometimes I’ll even go back to the in hand work in the middle of when I'm lunging her for a bit if I notice that she’s especially tight somewhere.

The plan is that within the next month or so this will switch to a riding day and it will likely be more of a work day. I need to figure out what exactly I’ll have scheduled that day once I get closer but I will be changing this to a riding day. I will still be doing lunging and stretches etc. but will be moving it to Friday and doing both spa stuff and lunging stuff that day. This will most likely be more of a halter lunge and less of a work lunge at least until she gains a lot more fitness.

Mondays and Tuesdays

Hand walks for the mare bear to cool down plus I get in more steps this way!

Officially Monday is off but I thought I’d mention why and then move on to Tuesday.

 A few years ago when I was taking lessons on a Sunday it made sense to give Katai off the day after the lesson since that was definitely when she was working the hardest. I started to really love that routine because, let’s be honest, Mondays suck. Even if you love your job if you typically have the weekends off it sucks to lose your freedom and go to work on a Monday.

Not that going to the barn is a bad or negative thing but knowing that I can just go home and lay on the couch after my work day on Monday is really motivating.

 On to Tuesdays!

 The plan for Tuesdays is that I do a “PT” ride. PT for Physical Therapy and this comes from Jane’s perspective of dressage rides being all about helping the horse address any discomfort in their body first and foremost. Right now these consist of doing a bunch of walk and feeling for anything that feels stiff or uncomfortable in Katai. Then I make a plan to fix it.

This past Tuesday, for example, she was falling in when going to the right and really struggling to get off the right leg while sort of struggling to bend through the ribcage going to the left. From that I diagnosed that she felt tight through the right side of her body and sore or weak especially on her right hind. I did a bunch of lateral work, especially spirals in and out and some 10 meter circles in each direction. After spiraling in and out at the trot she felt loads looser and we had some really nice trot work. She’s feeling flat and sort of scrambly because she’s weak right now but she was striding out and looser in her body which was awesome.

Overall the ride was about 25 minutes and much of that was at the walk. We didn’t even get to the canter but that’s ok. Because she’s been feeling weak and tight she’s been really resistant to canter recently. I’d rather build her strength at the canter on the lunge and build my strength out of the saddle before I address it under saddle. Plus hopefully that will avoid any arguments.

 More on what we’re doing with our lunge work next!

Routine

In true pony style she took off a bunch of skin
and never was off and didn't swell at all

One of the things I’ve really struggled with over the past year+ is finding a routine that works. In some ways my relationship with my bf is my first “real” relationship which makes me sort of think of the high school aged girls who first start dating and then drop riding and horses because boys are taking up all their time.

Luckily we’re not teenagers and horses will always be a major component of my life but with that it was still important for me to take a step back with horse things this year to figure out relationship and boyfriend things. However, it’s time to get back to it more fully. Just as a disclaimer, my bf has never asked me to step away from horse things. He’s continued his hobbies and encouraged me to continue mine. He’s made sacrifices so that I can go to the barn and routinely encourages me to go if I’m having a day where I don’t feel like it. The step back was entirely prompted by me.

With that it’s the routine that I need to tackle first. When it was just me I had tons of flexibility and if I skipped one evening, because I just didn’t feel like it for example, I could go the next. Now I have more plans and commitments so just swapping days around doesn’t work. I also have less down time just on my own to lay on the couch and recuperate (because of previously mentioned additional commitments) so I needed to be more thoughtful about giving myself easy down time.

I’ve been putting a lot of thought into it and came up with a solid schedule for the next 1-2 months to ease back into things and to help build Katai and my strength.

Our barn is right under a flight path. This military plane was 

making a weird sound to me but clearly she's not surprised 

Monday – Off
Tuesday – Ride or Lunge – Riding preferred but if I’m just not feeling it I still need to go to the barn and lunge Katai.
Wednesday – Off – my bf and I do chores like food prep and cleaning on Wednesday.
Thursday – Lunge or Ride – Lunging preferred for now since we’re working to build strength. This will eventually likely be an additional riding day.
Friday – pony spa day – For now this is more of a chore day than spa day but I like calling it spa day better.
Saturday – Riding Day – This is a true “work” day.
Sunday – this has been dubbed Adventure Day! – This will be a day where we trail ride, work on trailer loading, go for hand walks outside, and basically address training holes in a fun way.

This plan means that for now the toughest evening day is Tuesday just because riding takes some additional work beyond lunging etc. Otherwise everything is really low key and stress free on the weekdays and I can flex them all around as needed if I end up with plans on a night other than a Monday or Wednesday. My main work days are Saturday and Sunday which are interchangeable and if, for example, someone wants to go on a trail ride on Saturday I’ll swap the two.

It's tough to get pony chores done when there's so much cuteness

Once we get into October my plan is to increase the days that she’s working by riding on Thursday and lunging on Friday in addition to spa day. I’ll also put even more focus into trying to do riding work on our Adventure Day! vs. the in hand work that we might be focusing more on currently. Once there I’ll assess and see if there are other changes that I’d like to make as we get closer to the end of the year. I do not plan to do weekly lessons again, at least on a regular basis, but do want to take regular lessons. My preference right now is monthly but I’ll see how things feel once we’re back doing more work on a consistent basis.

I’m going to be doing a series of short posts outlining in more detail what I’m doing each day and why just because I think it will be fun! Stay tuned for more posts over the next couple of weeks 

25 Questions

Sometimes I have a tough time enjoying reading through this sort of question and answer post but I've actually really enjoyed reading everyone's answers to this one. Based on that I decided to go ahead and do this as well even though I'm REALLY late with it!

Hopefully more updates soon after I make some progress this weekend.

1. What is the first thing you do when you get to the barn?

Normally maintenance things that I don't want to try to remember after a ride. Usually I grab empty supplement baggies, get my tack all uncovered and make sure it's ready to go (put my reins back on my bridle if I lunged last etc.), grab some Tums peppermint to help head off any ulcer issues, and set up my grooming bag.

2. Is there a breed that you would never own?

Personally I'm not interested in owning a gaited horse.

3. Describe your last ride?

I went on a trail ride with a friend :)

4. Have any irrational riding fears?

All of them. I have high anxiety so it's normal for me to imagine the worst case scenario with anything and everything. I'd say worst would be getting trampled since Katai's groundwork is her weakness and, while we work on it ALOT, she's much more ridable than she is handleable from the ground.

5. Describe your favorite lesson horse?

Probably the small, white, Arabian mare (can't remember her name) that I rode when I was 9. I've only taken lessons on other horses very rarely.

6. Would you ever lease out your horse?

No, not sure who I'd get to lease her. I'm a bit of a control freak, and she's a tricky ride. She's too small for most adults and way too much horse for a kid. I'm happy when my trainers climb on her but she usually gives them grief so I'd worry about having someone lease her. 

Moshy climbed in by the garbage can and then couldn't turn around to get out

7. Mares: Yay or neigh?

Oh yeah. If I have my druthers I'd only ever own mares.

8. How many time per week do you get to see your horse?

I could be going more. My goal is to be back to 5 days a week by the end of June! This year 1-3 has been more typical.

9. Favorite thing to do on an “easy day” with your pony?

A good spa day including doing all of the maintenance stuff such as washing legs, trimming her bridle path, trimming feathers, pulling chestnuts, and trimming feet.

10. Conformational flaw that bothers you the most?

Hmmm, downhill is a big one for me as are necks that are put on wrong.

Adorable puppy loves her bear

11. Thing about your riding that you’re most self conscious about?

All of the things. If I had to pick I'd say that I can tend to a have a chair seat and my right toe sticks out more than my left.

12. Will you be participating in No Stirrup November?

No, I don't want to die ;)

13. What is your grooming routine?

Hmmm, I don't have a great routine really. Prior to riding I typically use some sort of curry. A flower shedder for shedding season, a rubber curry for summer and a jelly scrubber for her legs. Then I'll go over everything with a stiff brush paying special attention to her back, girth, and legs. 

After riding I'll use a curry if she's sweaty and otherwise just stiff brush and then finishing brush. On spa days I do more. I have been known to just brush the most critical parts with a stiff brush and during the winter when she's blanketed and shows up clean I do very little.

I always forget to brush her face.

Wanting this again!

14. Describe a day in the life of your horse?

Normally she gets breakfast supplements in her stall and then goes out around 7:30ish AM and gets a ton of hay in a paddock with four other mares. She comes in around 5:30ish PM and gets more hay and a handful of alfalfa pellets in her stall. If it's a weekday and a barn day for me I normally get there around 4:30 which interrupts her dinner. 

On those days I bring her in, groom, and either ride or lunge. Usually by the time I'm done the horses are in so I put her in her stall.

15. Favorite season for riding?

Definitely the fall. Winter is also nice as long as it isn't too cold since there aren't bugs and I handle the cold better than the heat.

16. If you could only have 1 ring: indoor or outdoor?

Definitely indoor here otherwise there would be at least 3-4 months where we couldn't ride much or at all.

17. What impresses you most about the opposite discipline (english vs. western)?

I'd say that a lot of western riders are more about the utility of the horse and are less fussed by little quirky things that english riders seem to spend a lot of time and worry over. 

18. You have unlimited funds to buy one entire tack set for your horse, what is he/she wearing?

I'd say I actually have it now. I've saved and work hard to have the tack that I have and while it's always fun to shop what I have now is gorgeous, fits, and is everything I've wanted.

More sparkly broadbands would always be nice though and I'd really like one with pearls.

19. How many blankets do you have? When do you blanket?

So many!! My current count is;

2 turnout sheets

2 liners (one light and one medium)

2 medium turnout blankets (one with a high neck and one with a detachable neck)

1 heavy turnout blanket with a high neck

2 quarter sheets

1 fly sheet

2 cotton sheets

1 fleece sheet

I do need to replace one of the turnout sheets since it's quite old and not as waterproof anymore plus has a few tears.

20. What is your horse’s favorite treat? Favorite place to be scratched?

Mac Muffins for sure. They're made by a local couple and are the very molassesy kind with oats and often some sort of candy in the middle. Her favorite place to be scratched is her udder but sometimes she'll threaten to kick me if I try. Mares...

21. Something about your barn that drives you crazy?

Hmmm, unfortunately at this barn that there seems to be more drama than what I've dealt with at barns in the past. Also, not having a heated barn or arena, the very tiny arena, and the fact that both outdoors are rocky.

Oops, that's a lot.

All of the things I need to bring with me to the
barn (well except the vest since it's ungodly hot out now.

22. Roached manes, pulled manes, or long flowing manes?

None? I'd say pulled except I don't pull and neatly trim Katai's mane instead.

23. Can you handle a buck or a rear better?

Probably a rear since that's Katai's move of choice.

24. I would never buy a horse who ___________________?

Was taller than 14.2 hands or who was really jumpy and spooky.

25. Favorite facial marking?

Big, wide blazes

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!

My Daily Routine

I am also stealing this idea for the "unofficial" blog hop.

I work, full time M-F from around 8:00ish - 4:30ish. I have always done better in the morning if I keep my perp to a minimum and then pretty much head straight to work so I get up around 7:30 (I'm lucky enough to have a 10 minute commute) and that leaves me from around 4:45pm-12:00am in the evening so that's when I ride.

Normally my routine is to take a day off riding on Monday and Thursday to just to do other chores at home, spend time with friends, veg out, and/or work out,.

On Tuesday I have my lesson at 6:30pm so I get home from work, eat a quick dinner and then drive the 35 minutes to the barn (45 if rush hour traffic is really bad) which means that sometimes I get there just with enough time to groom and tack up quickly.

The way the barn looks in the evening

Wednesday and Friday I leave the house around 6:00-7:00 after playing with Veggie, eating dinner and changing into my riding clothes.

Weekends are my favorite (really who can say differently) but I sleep in a bit normally until around 8:00-8:30, make myself some coffee, grab breakfast and then head to the barn. I usually get home by noon which includes the extra time that I spend at the barn over the weekend.

Not my pictures but my weekend cold press looks very similar :)

Since Katai is in full board my time at the barn, other than when I have a lesson, normally consists of pulling all of the stuff I need out of the tack room and putting it on hooks/saddle stand near her stall. I  grab my helmet, grooming bag, saddle, saddle pad, saddle shims, girth, pink dressage boots, and bridle. I put my boots on and then get the pony. During the week she's already in her stall so I just lead her the 5 or so feet from her stall to the crossties but on the weekend I pull her out of her paddock. I get her groomed and tacked up, boots, saddle, I put my helmet on, and then put on her bridle and finally put on my gloves. Then we go into the arena where I normally ride for 30-45 minutes but sometimes more if she needs it.

Katai would like everyone to know that she would prefer
to be doing this on the weekends

I usually don't lunge before I ride unless I have reason to believe that she's uncomfortable or going to be especially naughty. For some reason the lunge is both of our happy place and even if she ends up being naughty under saddle it almost never shows up on the lunge so I'd just as soon hop right on since it doesn't seem to make a difference and where if she is naughty or tight I have more tools to correct it.

Part of my current riding playlist

Normally I listen to music on my iPhone speakers while I ride. After we're done I pick up poop and hand walk her for at least 5-10 minutes (thanks to my first instructor when I was 12 and reading Jec Aristotle Ballou) since I believe in walking to cool down and I may as well join her and walk next to her rather than staying on her back.

Then I crosstie her, untack her, and turn her out or put her back in her stall. I love cleaning up after my ride and after putting all of my tack away I sweep, grab any empty supplement baggies, and then head home. On the weekends it's usually around lunch time and I'm hungry so I normally stop at Taco Bell, since that's the only fast food place in the area that has vegan food,  and then head home. On the weekdays I get home right around 9:30-10:00pm so I usually watch a movie and play with Veggie or do some work and then head to bed.

I'm lucky(?) to have very little going on in my life outside of work and Katai. I have friends and we hang out enough for me to get all of the social interaction that I want but most of them are in a different place in their lives (married with kids) so that doesn't happen as often as it did. I have to admit that selfishly I'm happy to be able to spend as much time as I want doing the things that I enjoy most.

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.