Moving

I was hoping to have more photos but alas, I’m bad at remembering to take them.
 Instead we’ll do a photo tour of previous barns starting with J's Barn

These have stopped being exciting adventures at this point and are more like slightly annoying necessities lol. With that being said, I have been trying have the mindset of using this move to continue to prep for trailering to shows or as traveling practice in general. I actually talked about it with my therapist and she gave me some homework as far as keeping my anxiety low. She also reminded me that something that’s super scary for both of us like trailering is not the place to focus on others and instead to ask for what we need and focus on our relationship. While my therapist isn’t a horse person it was EXACTLY what I needed to hear and continues right along with the theme of really focusing on the relationship and trust that Katai and I have built.

Temporary "escape from J's barn" barn

A lot of the anxiety with moving Katai comes from knowing that she’s not always a great loader and then feeling embarrassed and guilty that she isn’t better. In all honesty I work hard on it and try to utilize resources (such as others offering to let me practice loading her) whenever I can. This summer alone I practiced in two different trailers, one a few different days, and we made some progress. I also really hate feeling judged. As I told my therapist horse people can be extra judgy and part of why I moved was that the people at my previous barn were super extra special judgy which definitely increase my anxiety about everything including getting her loaded.

Crazy people barn

That morning I actually was managing to keep my anxiety low on the drive to the barn. I was working through some of the homework I had from my therapist specifically for pony moving. When I got to the barn though I saw that two of the judgiest people (and most forceful handlers) were there and got scared. One of the two (miss nosy) was the person who was bullying me when I first moved in. We have an understanding but I still don’t trust her to help or handle my pony at all and knew that she’d try to insert herself in getting Katai loaded. She had also seen me doing trailer practice with Katai on a day when I’d neglected to use a lunge line and, because of that, Katai got free and spooked her horse. I felt super bad about it but horses will be horses and humans will be humans and it was extra unfortunate since that literally hasn’t happened since I first got my pony and of course that was the horse that she spooked *headdesk*. I apologized to her that day but she didn’t handle it very well.

Lovely barn, I only moved because it got too expensive for my living situation at the time

Anyway, on Sunday I was at the barn early so I picked up the last few things. After a while the new barn owner, who we’ll call M, showed up with the trailer and I was relieved to see that it was fully open in the back and had a ramp since I knew that both things would help Katai load quickly. I ignored miss nosy inserting herself into the conversation and walked up to M and let her know how she could help which was basically to stand off to the side, wait for me to walk Katai in, and then hold the doors shut so that I could fasten her up. M looked doubtful and my stomach churned but she heard me. I went and got Katai and led her back to the trailer and could tell that as I walked up miss nosy had been telling M what an awful loader Katai was. I marched right up into the trailer, Katai followed, pulled back once, and then walked right on and turned around. She proceeded to stand fairly quietly next to me while M pushed the doors shut. I tied her up, fastened the slant, and then walked out of the trailer. The whole thing took less than 3 minutes and miss nosy was nowhere to be seen when I walked out of the trailer.

Jane's barn <3

M locked up the trailer, I hopped in my car and we had an uneventful trip to the barn. Very nicely M asked me if I needed anything when I went to unload her. We basically reversed the process, Katai unloaded nicely, and then we walked her to the pasture and let her go to start introducing herself. The whole thing including drive time took no more than 35 minutes and was another good experience to include in the growing list of positive travel experiences.

Weird barn, rough trainer, extra long commute

I like M so far. She hung out watching the herd go through the initial integration for about 15 minutes even though it was raining. We chatted but also she was keeping a careful eye on everything and was ready to break up any fights that occurred if needed. There were definitely a few scuffles which I was surprised to see. Katai has definitely matured and seems to have decided that she needs to be top mare which is so weird since I’m used to her being bottom of the pack. We eventually decided that they were quiet enough and she gave me a tour and I got to know M and the rules a little more. I like her combination of no nonsense but also no superfluous rules and can tell that it’s all about trust which I like since I know my stuff and hate being micromanaged (looking at you previous barn). I got my stuff unloaded into a beautiful and luxurious feeling open sort of tack locker/compartment in the room for the pasture boarders. I really like the setup! I’m looking forward to eventually moving Katai into a stall but I’m certainly going to be spoiled even with pasture board. The barn is set up really nice and feels cozy and like home again which is so super nice.

I’m planning to go out tonight and do my first lunge or ride with Katai even though it’s a Monday. Worst case scenario we’ll just do ground work and get her used to the new facility, best case scenario we’ll do a nice ride in the indoor. I’d like to do groundwork outside but it’s supposed to be raining out and it’s only in the 50s-60s this week so I’d rather not get that cold and wet. I can’t believe it’s almost blanket season again!

Current barn, defending herself from the other frisky mares :)

Moving Day, Weird Day

Ever since my moving plans were finalized I've been thinking that I'd move Katai on the 31st. I've planned out my month with the idea that I was going to be at my old barn until then but on Thursday last week when I checked with my BM about trailering she mentioned that Jane was planning to come pick up Katai. That was a little surprising to me but I took it as a good sign that even though Jane knows that Katai is tough to get on a trailer sometimes she wanted to come pick her up. I let my BM know that I'd call Jane and talk through the details which I did on Friday.

When I spoke with her we discussed when I was going to take lessons, TBD, and also that she planned to pick her up on Sunday, today. I let her know that I had a lesson with L but that we could certainly trailer her right after that.

I was honestly, a little shell shocked. I guess I'd just planned on having another three days at the barn, three days to ride Katai in her comfortable environment and three days to say goodbye. I started gathering up all of my stuff on Saturday and put the final touches on the rest of the packing that I'd been preparing.

On Sunday I got to the barn for my lesson, got Katai and started getting her ready but when I went to brush her back she was really flinchy. I poked and prodded around but from my determination she wasn't going to be rideable. I went and told L and she checked her out as well also declaring her unsound. However, she told me to get her young horse and that she'd give me a lesson on him instead.

It was a good but weird lesson and I worked on different things than I'd work on with Katai normally. However, he is also very honest and wasn't compensating for me at all so I learned a LOT of things that I'm doing inappropriately with my body, things that Katai doesn't directly tattle on me for but that now I can focus on when I'm working with her.

I'd been to the MN state fair and the dog park the day before so between noodley legs and just having bigger gaits so requiring more physical strength than Katai does, I only lasted about 20 minutes. After that ride I pulled Katai out to lunge her but she was clearly stiff so after a little trot in each directly to try to give her a chance to loosen up I called it. L's next horse was lame and we are pretty sure that with the weather changes all of the mares (both Katai and this horse) were running round like idiots and very likely did a number on themselves during turnout last night. It was just a really weird day at the barn all around.

I got the last of my tack, which I'd been planning to ride with ;) in my car and then when D (Jane's SO) got to the barn to pick up Katai we got her loaded, with some convincing, and to the new barn. She unloaded well (I really like Jane and D and I'm happy to be there) and was happy to find some grass in her pen and roll.

I also got to really meet C who is Jane's only other student that boards at Jane's barn. She had just gotten done with a lesson where for the first time she'd done 3 flying changes across the diagonal. I was so excited for her and excited to think about my future with Katai at this barn!

More photos and information about the barn and my upcoming lessons to follow!

We Interrupt Your Regularly Scheduled Programing

To bring you the very interesting news that I'm going to a Hunter Pace tomorrow!

This blog has been going along talking about dressage and my lack of motivation and trying to get Katai in the trailer and then BOOM, out of left field I announce that we're going to a Hunter Pace.

This is what happens when I don't own a trailer, I need to take advantage of every invite to trailer off property. Plus its going to be so much fun!

I can't wait and should have amazing media and a story to tell when I'm safely back home in one piece tomorrow.

Fingers crossed ;)

Made It

Human(s) 1 - Pony 0

Or maybe not 0 since my BM wasn't able to get her loaded last weekend...

At any rate we were able to get Katai loaded up and back to our current barn on Thursday evening. It only ended up taking about an hour but it was a lot of stress to me and my pony and I hate that. I had to be the "bad guy" and put a lot of pressure on her. I kept giving her options to take a break or have the pressure taken off but she was being "manipulative" (verified by my BM and barn friend who were there to help and be my support system).

I started out making it easy. I walked her up to the trailer and offered her treats and just did my best to let her take the easy option. Unfortunately she didn't want to do that and as soon as I put any pressure on she lost it. I spent almost 45 minutes just trying to get her to walk up to the trailer and stand there for a moment.

It really wasn't happening but she also stopped rearing (I learned how to deal with that when I first started working with her to trailer load) and was starting to be a little more respectful.

At about 50 minutes I admitted that I'd never made that little progress in that length of time and my barn helpers went and got some grain to do sort of a good cop, bad cop, sort of thing. Once she saw the grain she walked right in but wouldn't get far enough in for us to get her locked in. This trailer was a ramp and so we couldn't just push her in the same way that we could have with a gate.

Eventually I looked back to see the BM and the barn owner and Jane pushing the ramp shut and I freaked out as my pony threw her butt backwards into the gate. I was expecting to see them flattened by my pony but they held it somehow. Below is an actual reenactment of the battle of the trailer ramp.



At any rate we triumphed (unlike the video would have you believe) and got Katai back to our barn. After all the work and stress she was pretty sweaty when she got off the trailer so after letting her relax for a minute I gave her a bath and then turned her out with her buddy. Her buddy is the boss and after briefly showing her butt to Katai, Katai walked away, they touched noses and went back to eating hay together.

It was a little sad because it would have just been nice to leave her at the new barn rather than taking her away for a month and then going back but I didn't want my current BM to be out the income and I can't afford to pay for two barns for a month. I am glad that I get to enjoy another month of lessons with L and that I have another month with all of my barn friends. Luckily my new barn is just down the road so we've still got plans to do things together and see each other at clinics and shows.

Flow

I LOVE when I have normal weeks and can stick to my normal riding/barn schedule. It just flows well for me and I stay motivated and am able to make progress.

Recently though it just seems like that isn’t happening at all. In face since my trip at the beginning of June I haven’t really had a “normal” week with Katai and I’m feeling it. Last week was our nasty heat wave and then trailering Katai to that other barn on Friday and then the weekend I had all sort of plan changes. This week I went to WA for work (last minute trip) on Monday/Tuesday and just got back. Being gone those days actually sort of aligns with my normal 4 day schedule (I’m still trying to get 5 fit in) but on Sunday I got a call from my BM that she couldn’t get Katai on the trailer, even drugged, so she was wondering if it was ok to leave her at the temporary barn for a while. I said yes, I’m happy having her there, the barn owner was fine with it, and I certainly don’t expect anyone other than me to deal with or try to fix whatever is going on with my pony and trailering but it just added a little stress to the beginning of the week.

Now I’m texting two different people to see if they’re going to be able to be at the barn with a trailer tonight so that I can get my pony back to my barn. I rode her at the temporary barn yesterday evening but I'm hoping that we can get her moved tonight. We may possibly be getting storms this evening which just further throws a wrench in my plans. I’m so lucky to even have a horse and have a nice barn to board at but it’s been a frustrating couple of months and I feel like we haven’t been able to make consistent progress or achieve goals the way that I was hoping for this summer.

Some Days are Tougher Than Others

Especially when you have a pony mare.

As mentioned the plan was to have a lesson with L's instructor who I'll call Jane. I had it scheduled on Friday for 7:00 but, totally my fault, never confirmed with the BM since I knew she planned on bringing horses over on Friday morning. However, when I got to the barn at 6:00pm on Friday night Katai was happily eating hay in her stall.

Worse, it was still extremely hot so I wasn't quite sure if anyone would be willing to help me move her. I texted my BM and called Jane to let her know that we either needed to cancel, and hopefully reschedule, or that I would at least be late. My amazing BM came through and lent one of the women who works at the barn her trailer so that she could haul us. Since there were other horses to go over we decided to take Katai and her paddock buddy to keep them both happy and get two horses over  rather than just one.

We loaded the other horse first and then went to load Katai. She hopped on so easily last time after my reminder about how to load that I figured she'd just hop right on. However, she decided that she didn't feel like it. We tried bribery, we tried using a dressage whip to tap her until she moved forward, we tried a stud chain (for the first time), I tried having someone else load her, and finally one of the other people who works at the barn (there were four of us working on this at this point and it was in the mid 90s) suggested that we just drug her (for the first time).

I agreed.

It really couldn't make it much worse and it's not something I've tried before. Since Katai was already upset the trainer gave her a cocktail of Dorm and Ace. She gave her a really small dose but Katai went to a very drunken happy place pretty quick and didn't seem to remember how to move her feet. Luckily she's an 800 pound horse and not a 1200+ pound horse so we were able physically push her up the ramp (thank goodness it was a ramp) and get her in the trailer.

When we got to Jane's barn I was happy to see that Katai was calm and happy and trying to nibble on a piece of hay that she'd found. Ponies...

She unloaded well with only a little bit of funnily stumbling down the ramp that may have made me giggle just a little. At that point, with my extreme level of embarrassment at the lengths that everyone had gone to just to get my pony in the trailer and near heat stroke, it was either laugh or cry. We got her settled in her temporary stall with some water and a fan on her since she was a little sweaty and then waited around for her drugs to wear off a bit so that we could make sure she was ok and get her some hay. She recovered quickly, dug right in to her hay and her whinny-er was working (it was only a little funny sounding) so she was drunkenly talking to her friends.

Clearly I didn't have my lesson that night so we rescheduled for this morning. Jane was at a schooling show with a different student so we scheduled it for when she planned to be home. So this morning I got to my barn early and watched some of the clinic on my way to my lesson. I have to say that I was expecting very little since in my experience, some big name clinicians seem to be more about shock and awe than installing good basics or working on things like straightness and getting the horses working through the back. Of course I think Janet Foy and plenty of other clinicians are amazing! But this particular clinician seemed more like someone that might focus on tricks.

However, I was extremely impressed to see that every single horse was working on filling in gaps and every single horse looked happier, more relaxed and was moving more freely by the time he was done. It was really educational to watch! He was also really amazing with the auditors and was the first clinician that I've audited that kept asking if any of us had any questions and giving us his full attention while the horse and rider took their walk breaks. He was a very good teacher and had a great way of explaining concepts. I'm hoping to go back tomorrow!

I headed out to Jane's barn and stopped for some Taco Bell (they have certified vegan fast food!) quickly before my lesson. We had been receiving weather warnings but they were pushed up from the afternoon to the morning which meant that they looked likely to hit during my lesson. I got to the barn a bit before Jane and made sure I knew where the light switches were and got my boots and helmet and everything inside so that I wouldn't need to carry it in if it started raining. Jane got there and let me know that she's not good with storms so that if started storming we'd have to call it. I agreed, it's not my idea of a fun (or safe) time to ride my horse in a new place during a severe thunderstorm.

Then it started storming. The clouds were scary and coming in fast and when the lightening started and the hail started falling we called it. I left pretty quick so that I could get home and we decided to reschedule for tomorrow morning. I can't wait and will share a recap!

Updates and PSA

I had this whole post done and then for some reason it wouldn't save or post. I, unfortunately, thought that it had so instead of copying it all to save it I just clicked away and lost all that work :(

At any rate my PSA is to please take pictures and videos for yourself of the bad moments. I went back through this blog and was disappointed that I hadn't done more to share the bad moments especially at J's. Katai was such a disaster there that it wasn't like I was all excited to get pictures of her worst moments. At the time I wasn't sure it was going to get any better and that was scary, but now I wish that I'd preserved more of that so that I could look back and see how far we've come. So, learn from me and capture that for yourself, even if you don't want to share it :)

For updates first I wanted to share that Friday and today I was at my parent's place to see them, my sister, and to work on my tack locker!

We added the bottom to the locker (at the far end in the picture above) and the main shelf which you can see as well. We've got a few more pieces to assemble in this main cabinet part but then the majority of the assembly will be in the door.

Making the cutouts for the polo wrap shelves

I'm enjoying this project so much! It's so great to be able to work with and learn from my dad and it's going to be fun to have something to show for it at the end of this.

I also wanted to do a show plans update. Unfortunately everything up until now has fallen through. I really hate not having a trailer and being at other people's mercy. I get anxiety when I can't trust that something like this is actually going to work out since it involves a fair amount of planning on my part and especially with the financial piece of it. It's not like schooling shows are that expensive but my budget is tight. It also takes enough for me to psych myself up for getting my silly baby horse to a show without me feeling like I'm not sure if the trailer is going to actually show up.

At this point I've decided to change my plans a bit for this upcoming weekend (which was supposed to be a schooling show) and take a lesson with L's instructor instead. I'm actually really thrilled about it, just disappointed that I'm not going to be able to make another show. It sucks but until I can get my own trailer that's sort of where I'm at.

The reason this came up this weekend is that my barn is hosting a big name clinician that has quite a few people trailering in. My BM needs several more stalls so some people, including me, have offered to let the BM trailer their horses to a barn just down the road that belongs to L's trainer. It's mainly a boarding situation but because I work with L the instructor has agreed to do a lesson with me. I'm really excited and can't wait to do this with Katai. I think it will be great for Katai's trailering experience and will hopefully be easier on her than a show but still give us the opportunity to practice working away from home.

Recap and Coming Up Next

I'm so pleased about how our show went this past weekend. I learned a lot and I think there were a lot of good take aways. I went back and forth about whether to post this but from a journalling perspective I think it will be very helpful for me so I'm going with it.

1. I need to continue to do more ground work

She had been doing so well in her normal environment that I've been ignoring this a little. I had focused on it in the weeks before the show but I need to make this more of a priority. Of course she's only bad when she's under stress and I was actually able to keep her from running me over which was enough for me at this show, but I want to make it even better for next time.

2. Trailering

This one is so frustrating when you don't have your own trailer. I have someone that has a trailer that I can maybe borrow but she's been out of town for the past month so I haven't been able to talk to her about it. H has a trailer but it's about 2 hours away so it's nearly impossible to got get it, park it at the barn for a few days and then deliver it 2 hours away again :(

I'm going to do some begging and see if I can borrow a trailer on any sort of regular basis. It's not that I can't get her on, it's more that it causes her a lot of stress and I'd like to be able to practice show trips on a regular basis.

3. Packing Stuff

Randomly piled in my little car before the show

I struggled with all my stuff last weekend. It didn't help that it was rainy and muddy but with my lack of organization my stuff got even wetter and dirtier than it would have been with more preparation. Between that and not being able to find what I needed, plus lots of trips back and forth to my car, and I really need to figure out a better system.

Mucky, wet, stinky tack after the show (and cute puppy :)

I love planning and organizing stuff like this so I'd put some thought into it but, honestly, it caught me a little off guard that my show came up that quickly. Next time I'll be better prepared!

My poor boots

Our next show is coming up quickly! I'm going another schooling show on June 25th and L is out of town tomorrow through the 19th. I'll do fine on my own, especially since it's less about riding and more about handling the dragon pony. What's actually going to be a little trickier is that I'm going out of town early on Monday and will be out of town through Friday. In between I'll be riding two horses on Saturday and Sunday for three weekends in a row. At least I won't be lacking riding time :)

Travel Restrictions Have Ended!!!!!!

Which means three very important things.

1. I can stop wearing separate clothing, boots, jacket, gloves etc. to each barn and washing them right away when I get home.

2. I can go to the MN Horse Expo on Friday and not have to worry, feel guilty that I may expose my pony to something.

3. I get to move Katai!!!!!

Our plan is proceeding as is at this point to move Katai early on Saturday morning. I feel like I've been waiting soooo long and it has been almost exactly a month since I planned on moving her. We've made good progress during that time and it makes me feel even more ready to get started with lessons on my little horse. Finally :)

Amazing, Incredible Opportunity

I’ve been quiet for the past week but there are two reasons for that. One is that it’s been extremely cold again so I haven’t been out to the barn as much and the other is that I finally have the opportunity I’ve been looking so long for.

 I get to take Dressage lessons with an INCREDIBLE instructor!!!

Not only that but I am moving Katai there at the end of March so I get to take lessons on my horse. I could cry I’m so happy. I’ve wanted to be able to take regular lessons from a good instructor for so long but between just not having the funds and thinking I didn’t have a good instructor anywhere nearby I was resigned that I would have to wait until I get a new job (the plan is to start looking in just over a year). However, I found a barn that is only about 15 minutes away from work, offers pasture board, and is affordable.

 I was aware of this barn because their riders consistently do the best at the schooling shows I’ve been to but for some reason I was thinking that it was located much, much further away and/or would be too expensive. Now I found it though!

There are four instructors that teach there and they do both Dressage and Eventing. I had a lesson with one instructor on Sunday and will have a lesson with another on Thursday. I’ve already talked about moving and they have a spot open for late March/early April move in. I love their set up already as it is both convenient and neat and clean. There are stalls but they are located in a separate, smaller barn near the mare pens. The mares and geldings are separated and they do rotational grazing with HUGE pastures. The herd sizes are nice and small and they do snow/poop removal in the winter pens so the horses aren’t standing in manure or in feet of snow.

There is an indoor and outdoor arena as well as a roundpen and the footing, at least in the indoor, is incredible. The tack up area as well as tackroom and viewing lounge are all once piece and heated and there is warm and cold water right in the tack up area which is a luxury that I have never had.  All of this is only about 15 minutes from where I work and I have been planning on moving within walking distance of work as soon as my current lease is up.

I can’t even believe how incredible all of this is and how much better it will make life in general. Pony will be closer, on less risky roads in a neat arena that doesn’t house a tractor and tons of scary obstacles, in a smaller herd of only mares with a USDF certified instructor who still regularly rides in both clinics and competitions.

I am so incredibly excited :)

 

The Move

Went very well :-)

I got to the barn early so that I could get everything packed in my car and spend some time with my pony before her world changed again. She was sleepy because it was so much warmer than it has been and she had been standing in the sun.

J, the barn owner, got there soon after and I got Katai out of the pasture after having to track down the property owner to unlock the gate. She oddly enough marched straight to the trailer and climbed halfway on before I had myself organized. Then she caught herself, heard the trailer making clanking noises and jumped back out. She was a little wound up then and it took another 20 minutes or so to get her on but she still did well and was listening and not getting too wound up.

I followed the trailer back to the barn and she rode very well, not bouncing around at all, and J said that she couldn't even feel her back there. She was quite sweaty and stressed when we got there and I pulled her off and turned her out into the round pen to bounce around for a little and work off some of that stress. I stayed with her for awhile and then went to unload my tack and get settled in.

I realized as I was unloading and finding places for my tack that she has never been at a normal boarding barn before. In fact, the largest herd of horses that I think she has ever been in was with 3 others. She was calling and basically pretty wound up. It didn't take her too long to calm down considerably though and after a couple good rolls she was relaxed and walking instead of running.

She was really a perfect lady despite all of the big changes and walked right over to her isolation pen nicely even past some scary things like tarp covered hay bales and a dog that is almost as large as she is. I walked her around the pasture to show her where the fence was and left her to call to the other horses and make friends.

Last night Gordan and I had been given free tickets to the Minnesota Roller Girls roller derby. It was my first time watching roller derby and it was awesome! The ending was extremely close and I almost lost my voice yelling for our friend's favorite team.

Then this morning I went to a Dressage Clinic with Amy Larson. A whole bunch of D's student's rode including Lisa and I was there mainly to help groom for Lisa and keep her nerves to a minimum. Everyone rode very well and I really enjoyed Amy's teaching style. D told me that there will be another clinic in March and I'm going to make it my goal to get Katai ready for that clinic. Amy concentrated a lot on getting things right at the walk including rider position and the getting horses moving well and using the correct muscles. She had people trot very little which was a big change compared to the other clinics I've been to where the clinician can't get the rider and horse into the trot fast enough.

 Unfortunately this is the only picture I took that turned out at all but this rider was the most advanced I saw and her horse was excellent. They were both very fun to watch!

This evening I went out to the barn to see how things were going and to start to acclimate Katai to the coverall arena. Another thing I had realized is that my little pony has never been in an indoor arena so I knew it would take a little getting used to.

When I got there I noticed that her halter and lead rope were missing and when I went out towards the pen I had left her in she wasn't there. I saw J in the distance and walked over to see what was going on. As I walked I was looking around and finally did see her out in a large pasture and guessed, correctly it turned out, that she had escaped her isolation pen. Mostly Katai isn't much of an escape artist but the huge change in her routine and all of the new horses had her pretty worked up. J told me where to find my halter and I went to catch her and check on her.

She actually walked right up to me, which is a huge change from how she used to react, and let me catch her easily. She also walked calmly with me back to the arena and even walked in pretty well. As we walked I noticed that she was pretty gouged up. I have no idea where she went or what she ran into but she has deep scrapes on both sides of her barrel up towards her back and a very deep nasty looking scratch right in her flank. I tied her and then went to get medicine to put on them and she lost it a bit. Luckily J has some of the Blocker Tie Rings and she just pulled back a ways and then stopped. I got her sorted out and got her lunging to work off some of the stress. She was obviously sore, tired and stressy and I'm sure the fact that she is in raging heat isn't helping her feel any better. Moving around a little wasn't going to hurt her at any rate and I walked around the whole arena lunging her close to all of the trail obstacles that had been set up. She didn't bat an eye at anything, not even the bridge covered in tarps. Once she started to drop her head and blow I tied her again, cleaned out her feet (which continue to look better and better) and got her all doctored up. She danced a little whenever I left her but was really a lady all things considered. By the time I had her all set she was getting herself a little worked up again so I got her out and moving again. More stress release and then she got her grain.

Finally, as it was getting dark, I put her rain sheet on since the weather is taking a turn for the worse again and put her back out in her pen. J had pulled in the herd that she is going to be a part of (and the herd she got loose to try to join) so they are right along her fence. Hopefully she will stay where she is supposed to and not be any worse for the wear tomorrow.