Moving!

Walking around the third floor at work since it's way too cold to walk outside

I feel like I’ve really found the right barn for me and Katai but I’ve been very transient over the past several years. In fact, with the exception of a few months here or there, I’ve moved every year since 2011. Living six different places in seven years sucks and while it’s been fun to experience different things, and I’m an expert at moving, I’m really ready to find a place to settle in for a while. 

 I’ve known that my current living space was short term. I moved in November 2016 and knew that I would need to leave by April 2018 since I’m temporarily living in my Grandma’s house while my parents clean it out (with some help from me) and get ready to sell it. I’m paying very little for rent and it’s been great to be able to help take care of some of the chores and cleaning but it’s odd living in someone else’s space with someone’s furniture and treasures.

 Knowing that rent within my budget, in the right area, and with now two dogs would be tough to find I originally started looking last year. There were lots of options but nothing I liked which is sad because I have a fairly simple list that includes

Within budget
Hardwood floors
Dishwasher
Tub
Dog friendly for two small dogs
Area -within my “triangle” of work, relationship, barn
Decently safe

 Because I’m on a single income and have a horse (and nasty student loans) my budget isn’t that high so my list is short. I was willing to drive further for something under my budget but it needed to be worth it. I was also willing to give up the dishwasher if needed but I REALLY wanted hardwood floors.

I definitely have carpet ptsd after living at my grandma’s…

Katai was excited to see herself.
Also, it got cold again so I still haven't cleaned the mirrors

I had been looking in St. Paul , the better city #notbias, but even into the suburbs everything that was in my budget lacked almost every item on my list and with dog rent it was only JUST within my budget. We’re talking cheap looking apartments with nasty carpet, no amenities, in not-so-safe areas that were only just within my budget.

It was pretty depressing so I stopped looking for a month or so. Then I started looking again at the end of December. With a new relationship with someone (who I REALLY like) living in Minneapolis my triangle shifted a little and I was willing to check out places in that city. As soon as I started considering those apartments I knew that I was going to end up there.

There were MULTIPLE places that met everything on my list and were well enough below my budget to leave some space to still do fun things occasionally and potentially not survive on ramen (only partially kidding).

 In the end I found an AMAZING place that likely was still available because it’s a sublease for a few months. I met the owners (they’re really nice!), got the tour, applied the week of Christmas, and found out this week that I got it! The positives are that it checks everything on my list, also has a small but nice gym, and is within walking distance of a dog park. It’s also VERY close to downtown Minneapolis.

I’m sure that the traffic is going to be tough sometimes but since I was little I’ve wanted to live IN the city but haven’t had that opportunity so I’m really excited! It’s also a bit further from work (8-15 minutes depending on traffic) and a little further from the barn (6ish minutes depending on traffic) but MUCH closer (15 minutes) to the person I’m dating who I’m spending a lot of time with so it should even out. Also, for the cost, amenities, and opportunity to live in the city I’m willing to drive a bit further!

Positive

She rubs the snaps open on her browband :)

It has already been quite the year for me and Katai. First, because of weather I rescheduled my first lesson of the year (1/2) for Saturday (1/6). You all know how that lesson went. Then yesterday (1/9) both Jane and I had big plans.

However, I got to the arena, realized I’d planned poorly and needed to pee so I handed Katai to Jane for a minute. She held her for me while I ran to the rest room but when I got back Jane didn’t look happy. I assumed that with recent pony behavior Katai had stepped on her foot or been a pill but the first words out of Janes mouth were “your saddle doesn’t fit”.

 Damn it

 She was completely right, it was pinching worse on one side than the other but definitely pinching. I feel horrible that I didn’t catch it and saddle fit just sucks in general. I just lost a week of riding a few months ago when I needed to get it narrowed 2 cms and now I’m going to need to send it back to get it widened 1 cm.

Lazy vegan fajitas

This. Winter. Just. Sucks. Between the crazy weather and Katai’s moodiness so far I don’t feel like I’m accomplishing anything even though I’m miserably cold trying, but I’m trying to stay positive.

Positive number one: This is probably a huge part of Katai’s recent poor attitude and it’s fixable! I may still have my sweet willing pony once her saddle actually fits her

Positive number two: I have a backup saddle which I hate but at least I can ride!

Positive number three: I’ve been wanting to do more “spa” days recently so this is a good reason to do some things out of the saddle for the next week or so.

Positive number four: There are a lot of other great things going on in my life right now. More on that later

Spinning: Lesson Recap? 1/6

Shopping for mirrors for my new apartment.
More on that soon!

Today I had a make up lessons scheduled from last Tuesday. On Tuesday I had decided to reschedule, if possible, since it was extremely cold and was snowing. In addition because of our crazy cold weather and the New Year holiday I hadn't ridden for about 5 days prior so I figured that it would be more productive if I pushed it out a bit.

I rode this week Wednesday and Thursday and then had something scheduled yesterday so I wasn't able to make it to the barn. Both Wednesdays and Thursdays rides were "energetic" but Katai was listening, I felt like I rode well, and we got some things accomplished.

Today though we did not. This is the first day of a nice warm up and starting tomorrow through the end of the 10 day forecast most days will been the 30s which is almost a 50* swing from where we have been. I am THRILLED and was hoping that today, since they highs were actually in the low double digits, would feel warmer. When I got in the car to head to the barn though it was only -11.

Blurry but an accurately adorable representation of their current relationship

When I got to the barn Katai was quite fresh and spooky. She was really crabby for tacking up and then had a big spook as Jane and I walked her into the arena. She was really sassy when I climbed on and kept threatening to rear or buck but after a minute or so she calmed down and just went forward.

We spent a long time at the walk and were really focused on bending. She was doing well and walking nicely so we went to trot. I got all of 6 extremely crabby, humpy, tight, angry steps before I hopped off and called out that I was going to lunge. I almost NEVER feel the need to do that since normally I can more effectively work through it under saddle but I felt like Katai was going to bolt and I am not about trying to ride her through that.

Indeed, once we got the lunge on her and I got her out on the circle she lost it. I have never seen her run so fast. I did what I could to manage it and was glad that Jane was there to help with suggestions. Mainly though we just let her run it out and I just tried to slowly get some control back. There was a lot of running before I was able to get some semblance of her listening to my cues to change gaits.

We changed to the other side and had a minor repeat performance before we found the hamsters again. At that point I was able to cue for and get the gait I wanted and have her mostly maintain it. I swapped back to the starting side just to make sure I could get the same reaction and then we went back to riding.

Old media
More new pictures soon I promise! Right now my phone's been
dying if I take it out my pocket for pictures because of the extreme cold.

Jane mainly had me work in trot and we just focused on getting her loosened up and listening. After that performance the hump in her back was gone and while she was still stressy she was at least listening to me and allowing me to help her stretch and work over her back.

We ended on that note without ever touching the canter under saddle. Honestly it wasn't even frustrating really, just telling of how much energy she has since I haven't been able to ride. I completely accept responsibility for that excess energy and I'm just glad that I'm back to my routine of rides. Jane and I also talked a bit about her current diet. We've just added some more fats and a bit of grain to her ration since she was having a tough time maintaining her weight with the cold weather and increased workload. Jane is wondering if that has something to do with her mental state today and it certainly could. I also just don't think that she's getting enough (a couple of handfuls at each meal if that) to so drastically change her attitude. At this point we're going to assume it was the weather change and the lack of rides and go from there but are ready to make adjustments if needed if this doesn't improve.

January Goals

Since I really liked the format of having both large yearly goals and smaller monthly goals last year I'm going to do the same thing again this year! However, This year I want to do a better job of linking at least one of my monthly goals with my larger yearly goals.

Also, sorry that it's just all been recap and goals posts recently but I keep forgetting to get media and haven't had many rides recently. I've got plans to fix both but for now these are posts that I can easily get up and that I feel are important to be able to look back on.

Puppy pictures as requested ;)

January Goals:

Get back into a regular riding routine - I was doing SO WELL last year with riding at least 4-5 times a week whenever possible. The travel and some other personal things made it difficult but for most of the year I really pushed through and made it happen. I'm proud of myself for that but not as proud with with my lack of consistency this past couple of months so it's time to get back to 5-6 rides per week! I'm already going to fail this first week since I'll only have 3 rides at the most but my goal is to make it the rest of the month!

Get back into a regular grooming habit - Last year one of my goals was to groom better and I was doing pretty well at least using a couple of brushes, picking feet, and keeping her mane and tail in order. In January though I want to get back to that and increase my work on this including, if we get some temps closer to 30, giving her a spot bath with our new warm water! She DESPERATELY needs it.

Carrots are delicious

Regain/increase fitness - Riding more will help but I also need to do more workouts, especially core focused workouts, so that I can be a more supportive rider for Katai. Especially as we increase the difficulty with sitting trot and cuing things with my seat I'm finding it tougher and tougher to not feel like I'm flopping all over the place.

Work consistently on the canter - I'm really bad about feeling like Katai is stiff or muscle tired and then not asking for much especially at the canter. This then leads to her always feeling stiff or muscle tired since she's never really building strength or building it really slowly. I really need to just buck up and expect more of her. She needs to get stronger and have a cleaner canter if I want to have any chance of debuting at 2nd this year.

More updates to come soon I promise!

2018 Goals

Sorry mare, there needs to be way more of this!

Buy a Trailer
Yep! It's back. I went back and forth about making this a goal because whether or not I get it, this time the other goals stand. However, it's a big deal and something I've been wanting for a long time so I decided to include it.

Bronze Medal Scores at First Level
Seeing as I had a bronze medal score for the opportunity class I did this past year I'm pretty comfortable with this goal. Not that it will be easy, but I'm confident that it's possible since even if they do score more critically for non-opportunity classes we won't be in the slop and we have already made significant improvement since last year :)

Debut at Second Level
I'm pretty confident that this can happen this year but we'll see. Right now I'm planning on this being an end of year at a schooling show sort of thing but who knows.

and more of this (so that there's less tension)

Attend at Least Five Clinics
Not to ride but some combination of riding and auditing. I was lucky enough to audit a couple of Janet Foy clinics this past year but I didn't do much else. Wether I ride or audit I'd really like to do better in 2018

Develop a Better Show Plan/Skills
I've been really disorganized for the past few shows and while I certainly got better as 2017 went on I still have a ways to go. I'd like to figure out how to organize me and Katai's stuff so that everything is smoother and way less messy. I'd also like to continue to develop grooming skills for myself and Katai so that we can continue to look more put together.

From back when I solo trailered Katai to the new boarding
place with a borrowed truck and trailer :)

Trailer Off Property More
Wether or not I end up getting a trailer I really want to get Katai off property more this year. It will be easy if I get a trailer (or easyish haha) but I do have a few friends with trailers and I hope to figure something out with them even if I don't get a trailer.

Way more of this needs to happen!

Go On Trail Ride(s)
Same as above. I really miss trail rides and it would be so good for Katai to get out of the arena. At some point I hope to end up in a boarding situation where there is riding on, or directly off, property but for now I need to figure out a way to trailer to some trails.

Do More Reading
I'm about 3/4 of the way through When Two Spines Align but got there awhile ago and haven't read since. I'd like to start over and really take my time to read and understand the concepts. I'd also like to pick up a couple of additional books to read!

More Blogging and More Media
This is on the list again too! I'm aiming to average 15 posts a month again which I'm completely confident I can make happen. I also want to take more pictures and videos and may be adding a nicer camera or video camera to my wish list as well.

Personal Goals:

Fitness
I've got another update coming on this soon that will help me achieve this but mostly I just really need to continue to increase my fitness.

Budget Better
This one was on the list last year too and I learned a ton and have been doing so much better than I was. However, I still want to continue to improve this and will really need to if I want to make this trailer thing happen.

2017 Year in Review: Part the Second

Meeting the famous Connor at NDPC

July

July started with a quite week where I did some prep for Pony Cup. I complained about the heat and recapped NDPC here and here which included meeting Jen and Emilie. I posted about starting "boot camp" with a short amount of time to prep for our next show. The I rounded out the month by posting some confirmation progress photos and sharing some of the photos from my LONG, unexpected 2 week work trip and also did some more complaining about work travel.

August

I started August still on the West Coast but jumped right back into lessons and shared my first lesson recap in a few weeks. Then I posted a thoughtful post about the things I was spending more or less time on. Then we started talking about prep for 2nd level, posted my 500th Post, I rounded out the month by posting our first 1st level recap! 

September

September started my downward trend in motivation to blog and ride. It also marked my 1 year anniversary of riding with Jane. This was followed by a post about my trip out to see Carly and Bobby. I was so glad that I got to meet him this year but it did make it that much sadder when Carly lost him. Then I shared about my farrier drama which really started my downturn in riding. Just as Katai's feet finally got trimmed I sent out my saddle to be adjusted which I whined about. I ended the month with a trip to watch a friend's lesson and then sharing some exciting news!

5 year anniversary/birthday treats

October

In a lot of ways it seems like October was just yesterday. I can't believe it's already 2018! I started the month posting about my 5 year anniversary with Katai :) Then I posted another tough lesson recap,  and an exciting post about having my friends join me. Finally I ended the month with another tough lesson.

November

I really fell off the wagon with blogging in November with only 5 posts for the whole month. I started off by trying to diagnose what had caused her to be so difficult over the previous week or two. Then I hurt my back and shared puppy pictures, and finally shared a lesson recap.

Moshy joined the family and thought
working from home was exhausting

December

Was just as bad as November posting wise. I didn't even post anything until the middle of December where I started with a catchup post about where I'd been, puppy, and a second update post about black Friday shopping. Finally I shared a post recapping my lessons over the past couple of months and then posted these yearly recap posts.

Hopefully I'm back on track and will be able to make my blogging goals for 2018!

2017 Year in Review

Comparison thing I created in January

January

After recapping the past year and setting those apparently tough to meet goals I posted about my first work travel of the year and then was able to actually get video of my lesson!  I commissioned a drawing of Katai and tried out Vienna Reins for the first time.

February

February started with a sassy pony and then I talked about some of my blanketing strategies. I talked about motivation and how I was "tricking" myself into riding on the really cold icky nights. We went on to have a really great lesson, lose my new camera (after less than a month), and got one of my best purchases to date! 

This amazing wool quarter sheet!

March

In March I had another, long, work trip and then had sort of a tough lesson. I posted some GIFs of some of our struggles, started our trailer loading practice with lots of fireworks, and then recapped my first day at World Cup!!!

Photo from April

April

April was my busiest blogging month with 19 posts! I started the month with a couple of recaps of Wold Cup. Then I almost missed our spring vet visit, recapped another lesson, shared more of our tough trailer loading practice, shared my bad taste ;), and talked about Katai's hatred of dressage boots. I also recapped a good lesson, finally, and talked about the history of Katai's name and her new show name.

May

I started of May by asking for help with equestrian memberships in regards to showing. Thankfully I'll be able to put that to use this year!! Then I posted about a really great night at the barn, shared some more GIFs, posted again about the struggle of my work travel, posted about my show outfit plans, and finally recapped our first show of the year.

Back when I could ride in short sleeves

June

June started off with a recap of our first rated show and blue ribbons, which I'm still sort of shell shocked over. I then shared some show media, more show media, shared media of a ride outside, started posting a bit about my personal struggles with 2017 , bought a show pad and some items for the fight with flies, and set up new goals for the year.

I didn't recap these new goals officially but they were mostly all successful. It just seemed a bit like a cop out and many of them are more like monthly goals than yearly goals. At any rate, I'm looking forward to setting achievable goals for 2018 and looking forward to finishing up the rest of my 2017 recap in my next post!

2017 Goals Recap

We do have some talent for square halts

Review of Goals for 2017

Increase Blogging Again

I'd like to set the goal to post an average of 15 times per month. If I can do that I'll have at least 180 posts next year and that would feel good!

Nope but for the first part of the year I was doing pretty well. I also hit my 500th post which was awesome! I was averaging 15 posts per month through August and really up until I ended up stuck on the West Coast for two weeks. After that my progress and motivation took a real hit and I ended up averaging around 12 posts for month for the year.

We're also good at trotting sometimes

Buy a Trailer

Trailer EVERYWHERE

Nope! As previously mentioned buying a trailer in 2017 was taken off the list pretty early in the year (February I think) so unfortunately neither of these came true. I did do quite a bit of trailer loading practice in Jane's trailer though! We were also getting pretty close to having Katai self load. In addition, she was very decent to load and unload to and from the second two shows we did.

Getting better at center lines too

Ride in Another Dressage Clinic

No :(, I feel like this one is the most painful. I tried at least 4-5 times to get into a Susanne Winslade clinic but the one I could have attended and new about in advance ended up filling up and the other ones just happened to occur during times when I was traveling. There are other clinicians that I could ride with but Jane prefers that I ride with Susanne and we're making enough progress with Jane that I don't have a great reason to push to ride with a bunch of different clinicians. In the future (next few years) I'd really like to ride with Janet Foy when she's in town and potentially Jennifer Truett who is in town pretty often. I feel like I'd rather be a bit more confirmed at 2nd to ride with either one just to get the most out of the experience even though I know I could learn a lot from either person right now.

Very good at posing

2nd Level Goals

I have complete confidence that even if our progress hits a huge wall we'll be able to ride all of the 2nd level movements by the end of the year. Not sure that showing 2nd this year is a doable goal but I'd like to be completing all the movements at home even if they aren't all pretty.

Hmmm, pretty sure I took this one off the list at some point to but for the sake of argument, we are maybe 85% on this one at least in being able to do the movements. However, we aren't even close to being able to do them with 2nd level movement and true collection.

However, I started setting monthly goals this year and I really liked it! I plan to do the same for 2018 to help break down my yearly goals into more manageable chunks and to help monitor my progress or lack thereof. Some of those goals went really well overall and I figured I'd list them here since I'm really a glass half full sort of person.

Also good at fancy prancing

More Trailer Loading Practice: We've got a long way to go but we did make a lot of progress and had a much better experience at the second two shows we did this year than we'd had previously.
Practice Other Show Skills: I feel like we looked way more put together at our last show this year than we have previously. I even managed to put in braids that stayed in for the full show (now I just need to learn to get them out better)!
Practice Lateral Work: I'm getting so much better at this and better at practicing things that are ugly in general. Our Leg Yield has gotten considerably better and our SI has also improved a TON. We can sort of do HI as well but it's not as consistent and I struggle to maintain the bend especially going to the right.
Ride Longer: YES! We're finally getting more rides at 30+ minutes rather than 15+ minutes haha. I started using a timer to help and I'm still using that timer to keep me honest since my internal clock thinks we're done around 20-25 minutes in. I've even done quite a few rides recently that are closer to 45 minutes.
Practice Sitting Trot: YES! I'm far from nailing this consistently but I can get a good sitting trot for the majority of my rides even for my lesson. Before I was really lacking the skill and feel but now, recently, I'm lacking more the strength both from not riding as consistently and not working out as consistently

Good at moving like a bigger dressage horse
despite her diminutive 13.2 hand stature

So, while it looks like we pretty much failed at all of my big 2017 goals I feel like we had a decent year. Overall 2017 felt really tough to me and like I was constantly struggling to swim upstream. Mostly this had to do with things in my personal life such as work, relationships, budget, etc. but it wasn't all smooth sailing with Katai either. She's had much more attitude these past few months and, while I'm so happy with our show results, I was really hoping for more shows, clinics, trailering opportunities etc. so it was tough to STILL feel stuck with those things.

Good at giggling with an Oh Shit face while we
splash through/around puddles

Regarding our show results, while they were never a goal I was still SOOO impressed that we won three classes at two rated shows at both training and first level. Going into the show season this year I NEVER thought that we'd accomplish that so that alone makes this year feel like a HUGE success along with all of the other progress we made. Now, I just need to learn how to set better goals for next year ;)

Catching Up: Lesson Recaps November-December

Progress in photo form. First real show experience, 2016

2017 goal recap and 2018 goal setting blogs will be up soon but first I have one more blog catch up post.

This isn't going to be very specific because, I don't know about you guys, but I struggle to remember what happened in my last lesson much less the one that occurred over a month ago. However, I really want to at least sort of recap our progress, or lack of progress, over the past couple of months.

Also 2016

Main Themes

Canter: Getting a good three Beat Canter has been a struggle for us. When we first started working with Jane Katai was lateral going both directions most of the time. Eventually we got to a place where she was taking the right lead well but the left has remained more lateral. Even then, if she was tired at all or stiff she would be lateral in both directions and sometimes not even be able to maintain a canter to one side or the other. Honestly, if I could go back in time I would have put much more work in on the canter much earlier on but as it is, it's time to really focus on it now.

As of my last lesson on 12/26 we had a three beat canter for both leads. The left lead we only get a couple of 20 meter circles and a short straight if we're lucky but she's able to maintain the right a lot longer.

One more 2016

More sit: Katai has really developed a HUGE trot but she likes to run and go on the forehand rather than use that strength to push and come back a little. From what I've read this isn't unusual but that doesn't mean it's easy to get her to change her way of going. Ultimately Katai is a very pressure adverse horse especially with something that she feels she's an expert on and so it's been tough to try to convince her to travel in a different way. We're currently working on lots of lateral work and 10 meter circles with transitions to help her understand what we're asking but it's a slog. As of my last lesson, 12/26, she still hasn't really seemed to understand what we're asking so we'll just keep right on practicing!

First show of 2017

Half Halts: Really I'm sure this could fit into the topic above but I thought I'd separate it out since in practice they're sort of two separate things. At this point Katai is highly offended by half halts and doesn't think they're fair. She either wants to flatten onto her forehand and quite or not make any difference in the gait. When she sort of gets them she get's upset because of the amount of pressure I end up needing to use. We'll keep right on toiling away on these and I'm confident that she'll understand the concept soon.

Also first show of 2017

Lateral Work: I never thought I'd say it but leg yields are starting to get there! Katai still has days where she doesn't feel like it but I'm actually starting to understand them to the point where I can really "train" when she isn't getting it and know what I can and/or shouldn't do to get the result I'm looking for.

Last show of 2017

SI is also something we're practicing ALOT and including in a lot of exercises. We're using it to help improve the canter, to help her understand how to sit, to help her understand transitions within the gait, and to help slow down that frenetic forward energy and turn it into more sit. She's very annoyed with us about it but we'll keep right on practicing :)

I feel like I have more homework than ever and really know what we're working on so now it's just convincing Katai that these things are ok and are actually sort of fun!

Also last show of 2017

Shopping: Blog Update #2

I actually have typed up two other posts prior to this about my Black Friday shopping this year but for some reason Blogger hasn't wanted to allow me to post any pictures so neither went up. Not that this is an extremely important topic but I got a couple of cool things and thought it would be a fun update.

First, I FINALLY got a Back on Track mesh sheet!

I've wanted one for quite awhile and finally the 25% off at Riding Warehouse convinced me. This was on my list for this year with the money I made from the most recent tack sale so being able to save at the Riding Warehouse Black Friday sale was awesome. When I first got it I cuddled with it and really feel like it was doing something with my bad shoulder.

I've used it on Katai a few times just for a little while but I'm looking forward to building up to keeping it on her for longer periods.

I also got this stable sheet from Horze!

I really love my liner system but the unfortunate thing is that I can't leave them on her without a turnout sheet or blanket over the top since they don't have surcingles or leg straps. I've wanted a stable sheet for awhile since it could work as a liner or be left on in the barn when it's a bit chilly.

As you all know, I love Horze especially when they have good deals and when I saw that this blanket was on clearance and was available in Katai's size I decided to go for it. I think I paid right around $50 which is pretty great for a nice stable blanket.

Finally I got a pair of burgundy Horze breeches that were on clearance at Riding Warehouse.

These only in burgundy

The jury is still out on these, for some reason the silicone makes the legs really tight and uncomfortable for the shape of my legs. I'm hoping that they stretch out a bit but if not I don't know if I'll wear them much.

Intention - Blog Update #1

She looks somewhere between adorable and
possessed in this picture so of course I had to share

Well guys I certainly had no intention of taking that sort of break from blogging! I feel like this year was even a longer break than last year and last year I was dealing with some pretty serious seasonal depression. This year, very happily, the reason(s) I haven't been blogging are very happy for the most part.

Because there is just so much going on and a fair amount happening with Katai I figured I would do a couple of update posts rather than trying to fit it all in one and then be in a good place to recap 2017 and start 2018 strong!

So, to start the update, awhile ago I had mentioned three exciting things I had in the works that I couldn't share yet. One of those didn't really go anywhere yet but will soon and that's that I'll be moving early next year and was hoping to move much closer to the barn. I had started to look for apartments but realized that it was still so early that it didn't make sense to look.

First bath today <3

The second thing was my friends moving to the barn. As of end of October they're all moved in and things are setting back down there. I'm really enjoying having them there and luckily it's a great combination of having people around but still having the arena to myself on a fairly consistent basis. In fact, if I had my druthers I'd probably want them around a bit more than they are which is a good problem to have.Not only am I enjoying having them there but they're LOVING the barn and Jane's instruction. All three of them have said that they're enjoying riding again and loving the program and the setup of the barn. I'm really happy for them and glad that I could help them find a great place to move to.

The third thing is, of course, my new puppy Mashiara or Moshy for short. She is absolutely the best puppy in the entire world and I'm totally head over heels in love with her. Anyone who follows me on Instagram (and if you don't you should since I'm more able to quickly post there) has seen her in all of her adorable cuteness already.

I've LOVED every minute of having rescue dogs but they do come with baggage and I've always wanted a puppy at some point. I have no doubt that I'll mess some things up but it is nice to not need to deal with set in behavioral stuff right from the beginning. It's also AMAZING how quickly she picks things up! She already sits on cue, knows her name, and has a MUCH more reliable fetch than Veggie does. She's also good with stuff like nail clipping and bathes which I'm working hard to not mess up. I guess I sort of didn't think she'd be this trainable since Chihuahua's are typically fairly stubborn little dogs that weren't exactly bred for obedience but so far (knock on wood) she's been really easy to train. I've got her signed up for a puppy class already and now I'm also sort of thinking about continuing with a few basic obedience classes after that puppy class is done.

She's very helpful with Christmas preparations

Of course all of these things have distracted me from blogging and, as mentioned previously, Katai and I had gone through a rough patch and are just in an in-between sort of time with riding where she needs more strength and to change her way of going and those aren't quick things. Because of that I just didn't have as much to blog about which wasn't inspiring me to find the time to sit down and blog.

Contemplating what to do with a toy that large

I have one more thing that's been distracting me from blogging and that's a relationship. I'm not someone who's particularly private and I know I've shared relationship things, both good and bad, on here in the past but this time I'm keeping it more private. What's important is that I'm really happy right now and spending a lot of time with this person. I've been more focused on that and continuing to ride and manage a new puppy and still (STILL!) stressful work days that blogging just needed to take a back seat.

A little blurry but proof of how good the Vegetable has been.
I think this was her second day home.

I can't promise that it's going to get much better over the next few months but I do want to close out the year as strong as I can. I'll have another update soon about more of what Katai and I have been up to!