COVID Horse Life Update Part Three

I can't wait to see this face again.

If you didn't read through the previous two parts of this please review those first. Those are important details into the updates I have for this post and are good perspective into my decision.

First, I can't tell you how much I've been struggling with this over the last month. I also can't emphasis enough how much this doesn't have to do with not being able to see Katai right now, and how much it does have to do with the lack of communication, poor communication, and lack of any sort of transparent plan regarding the barn closure. I'd also seen shortcuts taken that, when I could be there all the time, didn't concern me but those certainly started to eat at me when I couldn't be there. With that, two things really struck me over the past week that ultimately really made the decision for me.

First, my poor, amazing boyfriend has been listening to me process this and worry about any and all options. He's quietly talked me through it and been so amazingly supportive. Pretty early on he supported me moving Katai, partially because I think he understands how much my mental health is tied to this decision and is fantastic at supporting me through advocating for myself. I've been the one really hesitating to move in that direction. During yet another night of me being emotional and second guessing myself he said something that has really stuck with me. Basically I was talking about how awesome my barn owner had been when other people had horse emergencies and how she was such a nice person. I was feeling awful for even thinking about moving and he said something along the lines of "Just because she's amazing, doesn't mean she's the right fit for you right now". It really struck me in that the barn isn't awful, the owner isn't awful, no one is a villain here, it's just that with the unprecedented things we're dealing with right now, things have significantly shifted and what was amazing before, isn't necessarily amazing right now.

I'm jealous of those of you who can't see your horse right now but know that they're receiving amazing care. I'm jealous of those of you who have your own property and can continue to see, care for, and even ride your horse(s) through this time, I'm jealous of those of you that are at barns that have taken appropriate steps for social distancing and are listening to the science while allowing you to continue to see your horses and ride.

At any rate, I FINALLY came to the decision to move. The deposit has been paid to the new(ish) barn, notice has been given, and I'm planning to move in the middle of May pending final trailer arrangements.

So, where am I going? It's actually a barn I've been at before back in the winter of 2014/2015. This is the barn where I escaped to from the awful trainer that was my first dressage instructor. At the time I NEEDED an onsite trainer since I needed lessons and didn't have a trailer. Because of that, I didn't stay long but loved it there and the only negative I can remember is that I wasn't in a heated barn and it was the middle of winter so it was super cold.

This is the larger, unheated arena that's in the unheated barn I boarded in.

The people were lovely and it has super amenities. Since I left they also replaced all of the footing with a fiber/sand mix and made some other property improvements. I'll also get some additional "amenities" by being in the heated barn including that, well, there's heat and Katai will get led in rather than ran in like my current barn and this unheated barn. They also have a solarium that I'm super excited to use.

This was in the unheated barn. I think her stall was just to the right of this picture.

I actually have had this barn on my list for awhile and was going to move back just prior to when I moved to Jane's. I was so confident that I was going to move back at that point that I even started on the tack locker project with my dad. This is the only barn I'm aware of in the area that will allow you to have a tack locker. In the meantime, my dad has been kind enough to store the locker but I'm going to pick it up in May, finally get the exterior painted, and get that moved up there. I can't wait to finally start using it.

Tack locker in progress from back 2017/2018

Then, when I was leaving my previous barn and going to my current barn I was planning to move there again until my friend at the current barn invited me out for a visit and I fell in love with her facility and knew a few people there. It feels in some way like I've come full circle and found my way back.

I also really enjoyed reading through L. Williams Viva Carlos post about the barns in the area so while I didn't technically shop around I thought I might do a post about barns, what they offer, and what they check off my list. In the long run, I'm STILL on the waitlist for dream barn and after checking in earlier this month it sounds like there hasn't been any movement since February 2019 when I got on the waitlist. I figure either I'll love it here and decide to stay long term or I'll move there when the spot opens up. I really hadn't planned to move again before a spot opened up there but it turns out we're living through something that's changing plans everywhere so it's not too unexpected that I'd need to revise my plans.

COVID Horse Life Update Part Two

I also picked up some pretty new things on sale from our local tack shop.
I'm doing what I can to #shopsmall and support our local businesses right now.

I feel like everything in life right now requires a difficult decision. Even going out for a run, I need to pick a route that I think won't have too many people and constantly watch and be alert to dodge people as I go while also watching for traffic and lumps or bumps in the sidewalk so I don't hurt myself. It's uncomfortable and tough to zone out and just run.

My anxiety has made shopping difficult because people aren't good at following rules so it's almost impossible to avoid coming within 6' of someone at the store as everyone mills around. That's with MN taking this pretty seriously and doing a good job social distancing overall so far. I can't imagine what it would be like in a place where it wasn't being taken as seriously.

Nothing has felt like a more difficult decision than horse stuff though. Being completely blunt, my options were to stay, cross my fingers, and hope that the barn opens to some extent or the communication gets better or go and have to deal with all of the ickiness that is trying to move a horse during this quarantine while leaving my current barn family at this time.

Not any sort of official advice but cute and funny and still good things to consider.

I knew if I moved that some people would feel like I had moved just so I could ride my horse. We're all in this together and I understand that many people can't ride or see their horse right now. I also knew that I couldn't make the decision based on other's opinions. As horse owners we are all responsible for our own horse, ourselves, and for doing the best that we can for each of them. Sometimes we're going to mess up and look back and wish we had done things differently, sometimes we're going to get it exactly right, and sometimes it's going to be somewhere in the middle.

I'm incredibly anti risk. I'm not an adrenaline junky, I drive at or below the speed limit, I lunge if Katai seems anxious or especially high energy, and with this quarantine I'm staying 99% home with my boyfriend and only ordering food because other than a handful of times that we've needed to leave over the last month+ for truly essential purchases I don't want to leave the house. We've purchased masks (from Equifit actually :), found some hand sanitizer that I've ordered, and are carefully following the science as far as social distancing (those few times we go out), hand washing, and washing/disinfecting our groceries as appropriate. With that, while I'm tempted to just completely hide at home until this passes, none of us can or should completely stop our lives for the next 18+ months. That certainly has its own dangers including, for many of us, mental health decline. Instead, I believe in following the science, reducing risk to the smallest possible amount, and following all guidance in things like our Stay at Home order.

Also taking full advantage of every dressage learning opportunity include this webinar series that Meghan from
A Enter Spooking has put together!

I'm exhausted from all of the decision making and at first just buried my head in the sand and waited it out. However, I also knew that with our current peak expected around the end of June-mid August and the likelihood of additional waves following that, this concern I have about my barn isn't just going to go away in the next month. My boyfriend and I have had a long talk about horse and barn options since we've found that he's not as high risk as was originally thought. So, as we move forward and find out about the next steps for both our stay at home order and any updates from the science community on what we should all be doing we're also moving forward in appropriate ways.

I've considered a bunch of options and have some plans that I'm working to finalize. My BF is working to build an at home climbing wall and we're going to continue to stay 100% at home for the time being.

Blogging and COVID Horse Life Update Part One

Well shit guys, this isn't exactly something I expected I'd be writing about during my lifetime.

First, since I hadn't updated and then everything hit the fan I figured I'd briefly update everyone on my blogging plans. Basically, when I took a pause on blogging back in February I didn't know how long I would take off blogging and wanted to experiment with other methods of communicating with my horse social network. However, once I took the pressure to blog off my shoulders it became apparent pretty quickly how much that break was needed. In addition, while I get some comments and interaction through my blog, I get far more through Instagram and just really love that platform for communication vs. blog comments. It feels much more interactive and more of my friends follow me on Instagram than through my blog.

With that, I don't plan to completely stop blogging. There are certainly things, like this update, that are much more easily communicated in this format vs. on an instagram post. I also do love blogging and the longer format certainly makes journaling easier. I am currently planning to post if and when I have bigger updates, feel like writing about something, have time, and feel motivated to. Otherwise I'll continue to update Instagram because it's just so much less time consuming and easier media wise etc.

We did discover this cool water tower on
one of our walks around our new neighborhood.

On to the horse life with COVID stuff updates.

For anyone who doesn't know I live in the Minneapolis, MN metropolitan area and I work for a major healthcare (hospitals, clinics, elder care, etc.) organization in MN. With that, while I might not be on the front lines I do have an inside look at how COVID is impacting hospitals and healthcare workers. Also important to note, our "Stay at Home" order went into effect on March 27th at Midnight. This "Stay at Home" order is similar to many others that have been shared in that it encourages outside activities that comply with social distancing measures, shuts down "non-essential" businesses, and encourages individuals to only engage in essential activities while following social distancing measures.  My BF and I both are lucky enough to work in fields where we can work 100% from home. We're also ordering all of our groceries online. With that, we've done a handful of curbside pick ups for booze and other items but otherwise haven't left the house since March 9th when we were both moved to 100% wfh.

I had stopped going to the barn as of 3/19 because the person who rents the apartment above the barn had symptoms similar to those with COVID. As of March 25th at Midnight my barn closed with the communication that it would open when it was safe. Between then and now I've received one video of the stall mares running around and playing (where I could sort of see Katai) and have had a couple of text exchanges with the owner. With that, I haven't seen Katai now for four weeks as of Thursday, 4/16.

Old fashioned with the best bartender <3

In Minnesota most barns closed down when the Stay at Home order went into place on March 27th. However, in MN boarding barns as classified as "agricultural facilities" and are thus exempt from the stay at home order which makes them free to make their own decisions about how to handle social distancing measures. Many have since re-opened with measures such as scheduled barn slots for all boarders. I know of at least one barn that remained open but canceled all group lessons, clinics, schooling shows, and other gatherings and is maintaining social distancing rules including hand washing, cleaning items that are touched by multiple people, and encouraging things like masks and sanitizer use.

I also know of barns that closed completely that have still been incredibly accommodating during the barn closures. One of those barns even sent the owner, my friend, a video of them celebrating my friend's horse's birthday including party hats and a cupcake with a candle that the horse even "blew" out. It was adorable, and sweet, and caring. Other barns have not been so accommodating, including mine.

Long story short, I've been faced with an icky decision with way too much time to think and worry about it. Basically I needed to try to find a new barn now based on the care concerns I have or stick this out in place with my fingers crossed that Katai will be ok and move after things quiet down. Since I think most of us know that this could go on for a long time, unless *fingers crossed* we find a vaccine or treatment, I don't know what "after things quiet down" means. If that's a couple of months I would be able do that. If that's 18+ months I absolutely won't. Right now our peak is projected to be at the end of June because we are social distancing well that means a long curve. With that, I can't imagine that "safe" will be a thing until at least this fall or even early next year.

Goals?

Going to the funny memes since this is a heavy blog post

I'm doing something a little different this year and not setting traditional goals per the Jane Pike way of doing things. If you're curious what I'm talking about you can check out the podcast where she specifically talks about this here. 

However, that doesn't mean that I'm not going to talk about plans and progress for the year, it's just that I'll be sharing my action steps rather than larger goals, or dreams as Jane Pike talks about. I'm planning to outline the action steps I'm working on now and update the blog with progress on them on a regular basis throughout the year to make sure I'm not losing ground.

In thinking through those action steps for the year and how I can structure my to do list in order to be successful I'm going to have include an update on this blog. Even if you don't read the rest of this wall of text make sure to check out the last item.

This year I'm going to really work to maintain focus on doing what I can do and not putting time and frustration into things that I know aren't going to be possible. With that in mind, here are my current action steps that I plan to carry through the year.

Action Steps:

-Managing My Anxiety: I'm going to be working through the materials from Jane Pike and practicing the skills I learn there. I'm still working on finding a therapist that I gel with so that may happen this year as well. This also involves practicing the skills I'm learning with Katai which will hopefully help with her anxiety.

-Build A Good Team: I've recently found a body work professional that I think is fantastic and we have a vet I really like. I'd like to find someone who does Chiro that I can schedule with as needed and I'm curious about trying PEMF. I also need to find a saddle fitter who can check her saddle and back on a regular basis. You'll note I don't have an instructor on this list and that's because my only instructor options would be a trailer ride away. I'm going to take advantage of any opportunities I have this year but otherwise it's our year for me to get us back to where we were which I'm confident I can do.

-Work Outside: One of the big things I can do to help Katai's anxiety at shows is to spend a bunch of time this year working on getting her more comfortable outside. I finally have access to a wonderful outdoor arena and so many trails. This is our year to really focus on working outside. Plus this is completely free lol

-Continue to work on my Finances: I've made such huge progress with following a budget over the last year or so and I want to continue to work on that. I'm putting a lot of focus into paying down high interest debt and sticking to my budget. I've been pretty good but still go over on food/coffee on a regular basis. I don't go way over but ideally I should have some left at the end of two weeks so my goal is to start to get to that point.

-Build Fitness for Myself and Katai: The main thing I'm going to do is increase what I'm already doing. I'm going to increase my average step count, track calories, ride 2-3 times per week, and do short, easy workouts on the other days with focus on building strength. Specifically for Katai she'll be getting ridden 2-3 times per week (for now) and lunged once per week. As the year goes on I'm hoping to increase the number of rides/works to 5-6 per week. One item I'm really going to be focusing on is building strength and time at the canter.

-Showing up: This is a big one and that's to just keep showing up. To this purpose, one of the things I learned about myself when I was going every day is that I need to just go whenever I can and not to try to stick to a set or specific schedule. That's not to say that I'm only going to go when it's convenient, just that  especially during the winter when the weather could prevent me from going, I need to go every day that I can even if that means that I go 10 days in a row since then there might be 5 days in a row where I can't go. It also means just going even if I'm not feeling motivated or if I'm tired etc. because once I get there I can pretty much promise that I'll feel better and get something accomplished. To hold myself accountable, and share with friends (which I enjoy) I'm going to do two things.

The not funny media, this has just been so helpful!

The first, I'm going to be journaling every ride, body work session, and anything else in the Equilab app. I REALLY wanted to find a way to do something on paper since I enjoy the process of writing but the problem is that it's too easy for me to not have my notebook or journal available when I have the time to write the entry where I always have my phone on me. In addition, there is so much other information I can capture through the Equilab app such as ride data.

Posting a picture of my sister's adorbs cat, Gritty, to signify that
the next paragraph is important since everyone loves cat media ;)

The second, for the next month or so (till the end of February at least) I'm going to experiment with letting this blog sit and doing more with Instagram. That isn't to say that I won't blog anymore ever, just that I'm going to give this a try. It also doesn't mean that I'm just going to keep doing Instagram the way I have been, instead I'm going to add more text, update more often, and add more media including photos and videos. I have friends on Insta that do this really well and I'm curious if this social media platform will work better for me. The reason? I've been struggling to find time and/or motivation to sit down at my computer and put together a blog worth of content. I have things throughout the day that I'd like to update everyone on but not enough to make a whole post. At first I thought it was just because I didn't have content but now, even when I've had more content I'm just struggling to put together a whole post.

If you aren't already following me on Instagram and you're reading the blog please add me to stay up to date for the time being! My Instagram account is @kataipony

If you are following me already or choose to follow me I'd love feedback on this experiment so please let me know what you think. Again, this isn't me ending this blog for the long term, just me trying something else for a bit to see if ti works better for me while still being a good platform for me to keep all of you up to date with all of my pony and personal happenings :)

Starting Strong

Maybe not on the blogging front but in other areas yes, it's been a great start to 2020. We're in the middle of our first real snow storm of the year so I finally have some enforced down time to put a blot post together!

First, we're mainly moved in on the first floor of our house. The basement needs some serious work (except my tack corner but more on that later) and the upstairs is livable but still a work in progress. We did get our Roomba set up today though so we have that going for us.

Dining room and kitchen looking very adult. 

And then there's my tackroom corner in the basement.

All of the <3 eyes
Also, supplement baggies being made while I watched horse Youtube for entertainment.

I so love having this much organized space for my horse stuff. It also feel slightly insane that I have this much tack in "storage" which completely ignores all the stuff I have at the barn and in my car both of which are more actively in use. This set up is also awesome because it's right next to our washer and dryer and the laundry tub which make tack cleaning easy as well as doing horse laundry.

One big thing that's going to be updated is that the tack locker that I made with my dad is getting moved in probably within the next month or so. It's going to need a coat of paint and some finishing touches but then I'll be rearranging to make use of that space. I'd love to have it at the barn but the last couple of barns that I've been at already have dedicated tack space and didn't allow outside tack lockers so my best option is to have it at home. I'll share updated pictures once I have that set up.

In pony news things are going really well. I've been really focused on utilizing the skills that I'm learning from resources such as the Jane Pike podcasts and it's making a huge difference with how Katai and I work together. We're in sort of a back to the basics and strength building place right now. It could, and would, have felt frustrating but I've been really focused on how much of a different place we're in relationship and communication wise so really it just feels like a huge step in the right direction.

Finding these amazing things that Katai ADORES
probably isn't hurting our progress lol

I've also been so happy to have Katai in a stall again. A week or so ago we had a quick temp drop and I went out in the morning planning to add a blanket and I was feeling bad that she was probably cold. I got to the barn and saw that the barn employee had added a couple of extra layers when she turned out and Katai was toasty warm. I actually got teary eyed. I can also tell that she's getting her magnesium every day and it seems to be making a huge different in her ability to learn and process the work we're doing.

Katai was having a bit of trouble adjusting to the new stall board set up. For whatever reason all of the mares in the pasture she was in previously got along SUPER well and were very close. After moving her to the stall, she was worried and upset for about two weeks and spent a lot of her time trying to convince us that we'd screwed up and put her in the wrong place. I started her on a hemp supplement just to see what happened since I was curious if it would help her high anxiety around the change. She hasn't been on it for long at this point but I'm curious to see if it helps her anxiety in general. She seems to be adjusting better to the stall at this point but I'm not sure that it's related to the new supplement and feel that it's more likely it's related to time.

Rolling time. Now I just need to make some time to clip again to clean up what I did previously and get rid of the awkward hair on her belly and neck since she's in a stall overnight.

She's also scheduled for a massage on Monday to help offset any muscle soreness with getting back into work. I'm curious if she's more or less receptive to the new massage guy this time since she was pretty doubtful last time.

I'm hoping that since moving is quieting down at this point I'll be able to blog more frequently since it feels like I actually have content now that I'm back in a more regular routine!

2019 Discoveries

Something I thought might be fun was to do a post of things that I learned, discovered, or re-discovered over the past year.

Podcasts/Media:
There are some podcasts and other media that I discovered, love, and wanted to share.

The first is Buck Off Banter which Amanda from $900 Facebook Pony recommended at some point. It is FANTASTIC! Not only are they real horse people they are very funny. They share the bad with the good and just enough about their family and non-horse things to feel like you're talking with a friend over a cup of coffee instead of listening to a podcast. 100% recommend.

The second is the Confident Rider Podcast. I actually found this through the Olivia Towers podcast (which I also really enjoy) but while that one is still fairly young and there are a lot of topics that I just don't connect with as much, I LOVE Jane Pike. She talks a lot about anxiety and mind set stuff and I find it really helpful. I've learned more of my current skill set around mental health from her than I did from the therapist I was seeing for awhile. Even if you aren't struggling with mental health stuff at the moment this is a fantastic listen.

The Hackett Equine Youtube channel is my third item for this group. I talk a lot about how much I enjoy Youtube but I also feel like I have a pretty good handle on which channels are out there and which I enjoy. Hackette Equine was a new one for me this year and she's lovely. I definitely recommend if you enjoy equine youtube channels!

Planning:
I got a planner around black Friday and it’s been something I’ve used off and on since then. Recently I think I’ve hit my stride with using this. The main thing I’m still struggling with is how to plan for future rides with all of the variability that entails. Ultimately though it’s more important for me to be able to plan when I’ll be able to ride and for now as long as I have a main theme for my rides on any given week I can always shift around if needed based on the weather or Katai’s behavior. The main thing it’s help helpful with is being able to look ahead and identify which days in the future I won’t be able to ride. That way I don’t miss a ride that I could have made and then realize that I have plans the next evening so suddenly miss multiple days in a row. That had been a huge issue. Visually looking at my month and which days I won’t be able to ride has helped me prioritize to ride on days when I can especially on weeks where my schedule is tighter.

Consistency is Good:
Both with time at the barn and mindset around change consistency feels really positive right now. I’m so tired of being so transient. I’m tired of moving homes, states, jobs, barns, etc. Knowing for the past year that I was going to be applying for and moving to a new job was stressful and applying and interviewing is always stressful and frustrating at times. Moving into a role at a great company that I’ll likely spend at least several years, if not the rest of my career, with is a huge weight off my shoulders.

Now we have our own little house :)

I’ve talked a fair amount about moving somewhere but knew that was less likely when I met my bf. I’ve also dreamed of having my own little farm and I think that thinking about that all the time always had me with one foot out the door at boarding places since it was easy to think about how that would solve all of the little annoyances. Now that we won’t be moving forward in that way it makes it easier to be solution focused with finding a great boarding situation and just staying there. Moving to the house and having a job that I’ll be at for a while also means that I’ll be living in one place and not moving around and therefore won’t have an additional reason to move barns. To me all of this means finding solutions to things like cold winters, hot humid summers, finding a great trainer etc. That’s a good place to be and feels much more settled and relaxing than constantly feeling like I should be picking up and making a big move. Also knowing that my disposable income will increase significantly in the near future means that I’ll have additional options for problem solving. I’ve already been doing this and it’s so nice to just be figuring it out vs. constantly having that foot out the door.

Down Time:
Taking some time off of lessons has been fantastic for me. I was feeling really burnt out after weekly lessons for a year and while I’m 100% confident that’s the quickest way to make progress, at this point as a working adult amateur with a high stress professional career, a new relationship, a new home, and a puppy that’s just too much. I’m looking forward to being able to have more consistent lessons (my goal is once per month or so) but for now this is exactly what I needed. I’ve been able to get my head straight and some of the training that’s needed with Katai is not in the arena but ground work and training items like working with the hose, relaxation and patience training, and being able to get out on trails. While I’m certain that some people could do this with weekly lessons I was just not feeling like I ever had enough time to work on my “homework” much less that I had time to work on these other things.

Pretty sure my boyfriend needs this mug

It’s been good for me and Katai’s relationship to step back, she’s getting more well-rounded, and her ulcer symptoms had completely gone away prior to the move. I contribute the improvement in her ulcers to several things but I’m also fairly convinced that the step back in arena work has helped. We will be slightly stepping this back up again to at least 2-3 days in the arena each week so it’s my goal to keep her tummy feeling just as good.

2019 Recap

Merry Christmas Eve! There are more pony updates on the way, including a really unexpected and amazing surprise, but I wanted to get this post done first.

I’m going to keep this pretty short partially just because I don’t have a ton of content. I actually thought about just skipping it but honestly, since this is meant to be a journal I think that looking back and reviewing the entire year is actually really helpful for me so here goes.

January Pony Face

January:
I was so excited to be leaving 2018 behind that I started 2019 strong with 9 posts which included sharing my awesome Christmas hauls and lots of goal setting. I’m not quite sure how I posted that much because what I remember about January was that I was sick for at least 3 weeks… I also found out that my trainer, K, was leaving us for the East coast which sucked and immediately threw my plans for the year into a tailspin.

One of the few photos I took in February, seems appropriate

February:
The universe was definitely getting to me and I remember getting sick again. It was also horrendously cold and I didn’t have a heated barn. I didn’t actually post at all this month, one of the few months in the entire life of this blog where I didn’t post.

Tough to believe that it was sunny and decent outside in March! Only a few more months

March:
I bounced back with 5 posts and was doing a lot of processing things with mindset, goals, and my mental health. Some of that showed up on the blog and some didn’t but it definitely had already started to be a big part of my year.

This definitely needed to be a Jen and Connor picture

April:
I only had 3 posts in April but it was definitely one of the best months riding wise. The weather was starting to really improve and I wrote about two “clinics” that I had a chance to ride in. Those were awesome and really set the tone for all of the work I did this year with Katai on relaxation. Back when I was actually able to ride, we were making leaps and bounds of progress on this topic. In addition, my boyfriend and I went to IN to see Jen from CobJockey and got to meet her significant other as well. It was an AWESOME trip where I got to ride Connor and see Jen’s barn which is gorgeous. It really felt like my year was starting to look up horse wise!

Don't remind me of the time when she was missing half her mane :/

May:
In May I posted 4 times and shared my haul from the MN horse expo (which was AMAZING), reviewed some products, and complained about a bad dental experience.

Delicious vegan foods I made myself

June:
I only posted twice in June and not much happened. Mostly I shared more about mindset things and answered a blog hop/questionnaire thing.

One of my favorite pictures of Katai this year

July:
Despite only posting three times, things really started to happen for me in June. If nothing else, 2019 has been the year of focusing on other big personal things and June was really the point where everything started to fall into place. In one enormous post I wrote about getting my new job (which I’m still loving by the way), finding out that we were buying a house, and plans to move my pony. I didn’t know where or when I was moving my pony at that point and neither barn I talked about ended up working out but I had outlined that I was on a waitlist and had determined that it was a goal to move in 2019.

August:
In continuing the theme of not posting much I posted three times in August. The main post in August was that I had found a place to move Katai! Thanks to a friend I had discovered a third option and decided to make the move. I also posted a little about the routine I was working on at that time.

One of, what feels like, very few rides in our new arena so far

September:
September was my second highest posting month thus far with 7 posts. The routine I had set for myself was really helping with motivation and because I was at the barn regularly I had more content. Funny how that works :) The biggest thing that happened was definitely moving to my current barn.

Throughout the rest of the month I really grew to love the social environment at the barn and it continues to be the best barn culture of any barn I’ve boarded at.

Such a regal and gorgeous girl <3

October:
I only posted twice this month because despite all of the lovely things at the new barn and me finally feeling incredibly motivated Katai started having all sorts of little health things cropping up. These prevented me from doing much riding at all in October but I did really buckle down, work hard, and start making progress on treating her for ulcers, thrush, and sensitive feets.

November:
I bounced back and posted 5 times but it was for the bad reason that Katai went horribly lame. Luckily it all turned out to be an abscess but that was after two vet visits, lots of bute, a steroid shot, and lots of paddock rest. It will take a little while for my check book to recover but I’m so so so glad it turned out ok. I remain proud of myself that throughout most of October and November I was at the barn almost every single day. That was a huge accomplishment and really showed me what I’m capable of.

Rather than a picture of a swollen pony leg, how about a picture of Moshy enjoying Lion King :)

December:
With this post I’m at only 5 posts so far for December but that already means that I posted more in 2019 than 2018 which feels like an accomplishment even if I’m still at half of what I was posting previously. I’m honestly really glad to be leaving 2019 behind because even though I accomplished some great things it still feels like I worked excessively hard for everything I did accomplish. Here’s to hoping that all of that work continues to pay dividends and that 2020 is a bright, shining, year of progress!

Mia, one of Katai's buddies

Pony Update

I'm failing at pony media again so here, have a snuggly puppy

I don't have much exciting to report. Since a couple of weeks ago when I rescued Katai's buddy the baby horse and was ecstatic to see that Katai's abscess had burst I haven't been able to make it to the barn much because of poorly timed snow and illness.

I'd be real grouchy about it except this is the first time in a long time where I've missed this much and I've been making progress packing up our apartment. While Katai was injured I'd also brought home all my tack and got it cleaned so we haven't been completely devoid of progress over here, just mostly devoid of progress :)

Katai was an absolute brat when I have been out but I'm blaming the fact that she's been getting more grain to ensure she was eating her bute and ulcer meds as well as the fact that she'd been on an alfalfa bale when she was on paddock rest and hadn't been moving around much and wearing off energy. Plus, inconsistent magnesium. Now that she's sound again I'm planning to do quite a bit of lunging before I get back on.

The rest of this winter, my focus is on fitness for both of us and weight loss for me. I've joined some rider fitness Facebook groups and I'm working on tracking my diet again. I'm also giving up alcohol for the next month or two to cut down on those superfluous calories. It is a tough time of year to try to lose weight and gain fitness but for the next few weeks at least we have the apartment gym and we only have one more Christmas gathering.

I did get some great Christmas gifts this year though and thought I'd share those in this post. First, what I got for myself.

In continuing the theme of getting myself horsie Christmas stuff I got a few things with the gift card I received back when I got the clipper. I had decided to wait and use it on Black Friday to make my money go a little further and there were some good deals that I was able to take advantage of.

Not a great picture but I'm running out of places in our apartment
to take pictures that don't have chaotic packing in the background.

I picked up a nice tack cleaning sponge, some raspberry breeches that were on clearance, and (my favorite) the grey set of Eskadron bandage liners. I ADORE these bandage liners and already have a black set and a white set but when I saw Dover had the grey set I decided to pick those up as well. In addition, I got them monogrammed because I'm that person. I think they're cute (plus the monogram won't be seen when they're on her so it's not too over the top) and can't wait to use them!

The Dreamers and Schemers socks from my bf's mom

Then, yesterday, we were at my boyfriend's mom's for Christmas. She Christmas shops off lists so this year I sent her a Riding Warehouse list. It's awesome because that list reflects size, color etc so all she needed to do was add the stuff she wanted to get me to the cart. Even better, I'd put a bunch of stuff on the list in all different prices so she could mix and match what she wanted to get that was in her budget and it was a surprise still what I got.

Already well used and well loved

She picked out a purple braiding comb/clip that I'm excited to try out as well as the Haas lambswool brush (which was backordered so isn't here yet), Dreamers and Schemers socks in a winter/holiday pattern, and the Back on Track scarf. I'm excited about all of it but especially the scarf because I have very tight and painful shoulders and neck (which turns out is likely because of anxiety) and someone at the barn recommended this since I can wrap it around whichever body part needs some help. I wore it the rest of the evening and it made my neck feel so weird but also better.

I think it's 100g fill

I've also been doing some bargain/thrift shopping! First, I've been stalking a used Horswear Ireland group on Facebook and was able to score another neck for $25.

The brands are Chillout (a British brand) for the pink and HKM for the grey. 

Then, I noticed someone selling a ton of breeches on Facebook for $30 each, all nice name brands. I picked out two that I thought were cute. They're larger sizes than I normally wear, which currently fit me, but I figured that once I lose the rest of this weight I could always find them a new home. They arrived this morning and they are AWESOME. They clearly haven't been worn and one still had a price tag for $140 on it. Pretty awesome score!

Finally, only partially horse related, I ordered some work clothes on ThredUp. The reason I'm mentioning it here is that they're part of my quest to both figure out how to be appropriately dressed for work while not needing to bring an entire outfit to change into at the barn (since I go directly there from work) and to look more like an adult in my day to day life. I tend to rely a lot on sweatpants, hoodies, and other ill fitting clothes but it's more out of laziness than anything else. Doing this through a thrift store allows me to get brands that I otherwise wouldn't be able to afford and to not feel too bad if some of this stuff gets wrecked eventually at the barn. I'll try and report back!

2019 Goals Recap

Another of my favorite photos from this past year.

Hmmm, where to begin :)

When I first thought about doing this post I thought that clearly I didn’t accomplish my 2019 goals, however, in actuality I accomplished more of them than I thought. I figured I’d outline some of the goals for 2019 that we accomplished, didn’t accomplish, and the things we accomplished without ever writing a goal.

Things that Were On My List

No Excuses:
Oh my gosh has this been a HUGE improvement this year. I have always had low resiliency (although I didn’t necessarily know what to call it) and would give up at any excuse to do so. Not on the really big things but the small things for sure. This year I’ve really dug in, in multiple ways and proceeded without making excuses. I may still whine about it but more and more I’m just getting up and still doing the thing. I’m SUPER proud of myself and even if this were the only goal I accomplished this year I’d feel good.

Too funny not to share. I was in the middle of filming our riding routine for my 

Insta story and Katai decided to pee complete with grunting.

Track my Rides:
This was a success although not maybe specifically in the way I thought it would be. My goal throughout most of this year was to use Equilab more often and preferably through every ride. I do still sort of want to use it but I have some issues with it including that I don’t have a good way to carry my phone and, while I’d love to keep ride notes in there as well, I’ve really been trying to get away from my phone especially at the barn. It also wears the battery down pretty quick since my phone is old and if I had to choose between that and listening to music, I’d rather listen to music.

Instead, what’s worked really well for me is the planner I’ve been keeping. It’s called a Clever Fox planner and I like the formatting a lot. It’s the first planner I’ve actually had that works for my brain. I’ve managed to keep up on it and track throughout most of the year, however, it’s been more about planning out a schedule ahead of time, tracking when I’m actually at the barn, and taking some minimal notes about what the ride/training was like. I’m looking at other options for taking more detailed notes this next year including a more specific riding journal or figuring out using the Equilab.

The amazing deal of the century were these two Pikeur show shirts for $5 each

Spend Less/Budget Better/Pay Down Debt:
This was also a huge success this year! Not only have I not been using a credit card at all for any purchases but between myself and my boyfriend we’ve managed to put together a down payment for a house in about 5 months while also paying down credit card debt. This is HUGE for me and I’m so happy that, thanks to my boyfriend, I’ve found a system for budgeting that works for me. I’m also planning out the next few years budget for paying down the rest of my high interest debt and actually being able to afford, not “afford”, a truck and trailer.

Get a New Job:
Big success. I not only found a job, it’s a job I’m really enjoying with a great boss and a much more equitable income for my skill level and experience.

Cuddling Connor <3

Dressage Lessons/Clinics:
I’d mark this as sort of a success. I took advantage, as much as I could, of taking lessons from K while she was still at my previous barn and then did two clinic rides with her trainer. Those were fantastic rides and I learned a lot. However, now despite having access to a trainer I think my goals have shifted slightly and I’m hoping to be able to trailer out to one of 2-3 trainers for lessons each month or two during the summer when the weather is such that the roads are safe.

I’m not sure what that means for next year since I’m fairly certain that I won’t own my own truck and trailer.

Vary the Work:
I’d say this is also sort of a success. I found a trail ride buddy at the old barn and we had a couple of great mini trail rides between both of us struggling with mental health stuff and a very hot and humid summer. I also did a bunch of work in hand, ground poles, and learned some new groundwork exercises. Also, just in terms of keeping the work fresh, Katai hasn’t been working so there’s that…

Show:
Nope! I’ll leave it at that.

Get Back in Shape:
No :( This was a very achievable goal but it didn’t happen. I’m still out of shape, weaker than I want to be and way less fit plus I have weight to lose. I am working on it now and I’m feeling really committed to making this happen.

Blog More:
I mean technically I’ve blogged more this year than last year but only by a bit so I’m not going to count that as a true success since my goal was to get back to posting at least 10-15 times per month.

Another Insta Stories Video

Things That Weren’t on My List

Relaxation:
I had a couple of realizations with this over 2019. The first was working with K’s trainer in April when she told me that “until you get the relaxation you can’t get anything else” which was basically to say that Katai is fantastic and very talented but in order to progress we needed to work on relaxation first and foremost. I’ve never had an instructor bring that up before but I agree wholeheartedly. I spent most of the rides following that working on relaxation and was making a ton of headway so I’m looking forward to getting back to that.

In addition, regarding relaxation on the ground I had the realization when waiting for the vet in November that my anxiety has been the main cause of ground work related issues. Katai is SUPER well trained and light to lead, she stays out of your personal space, and responds to just intention even if you need her to back up or pivot around. I’ve never handled another horse that’s as responsive and polite as she is to handle.

However, if her adrenaline is up her brain shuts off and there is almost zero ability to influence her unless you are absolutely being way overbearing. At that point she starts invading personal space, running into you with her head and neck, rearing up while tied or even in hand, and making stupid decisions like trying to bolt. I’ve approached that as a training gap but it is absolutely an anxiety related issue instead which is helpful from an awareness perspective and also good motivation for me to do some work to improve my ability to manage my anxiety.

The mare bear herd :)

Grooming:
I got a new clipper I really like so my body clip looks much more professional. I’ve also been getting her cleaned up more often if she has manure or urine on her back legs even if it takes a mini sponge bath to do so. It’s her least favorite thing but having the heated barn with a hose and warm water makes this possible again.

Heat:
Yes, moving to the barn was 100% the right thing both for my mental health (great people!!!) but also for my physical health (it’s warm!!!). It makes it take way less motivation to go out to the barn and I can be out there when it’s really cold, just not necessarily if it’s snowy so at least I’m missing fewer days which was the goal.

There are many things I won't miss from our apartment
but I will miss this view from our rooftop

Settling In:
Something I haven't written about much is how much things have changed for me in the past year in regards to really settling in vs. always having my foot out the door on everything. I've always wanted to live in a different state, for example, which led to me always having that in the back of my mind with every decision I made. It meant that I never really committed to friendships, jobs, or relationships. I also didn't feel like I could make big decisions because I wasn't sure how things would change in the future. Meeting my boyfriend and having him know what he wants (where he wants to live which is local and that he is a city boy) really made me re-look at my motivation around moving etc.

Doing that, meant that I realized that I don't actually care that much about living somewhere else and that I'm truly ok with boarding for the rest of my life instead of owning my own farm. These things meant that instead of whining about things like the weather and dreaming of living somewhere else I'm just able to buckle down and find creative solutions to those complaints. I've also been committing to friendships, settling into the work I'm doing at my job (and envisioning a career there), and really trying to find my place in the local community (both horse related and social).

It has felt so good and like the No Excuses goal, even if this were the only thing that came from this year it would feel like a huge success.

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.

Thank You!

Thank you all so much for your messages and positive thoughts. I'm really really really really really really really really really really really really really happy to update everyone that what looked like an upper limb (stifle) injury to at least 5-7 people at the barn was diagnosed as an abscess by the vet yesterday.

*happy dance*

The vet was also relieved and I got a high five :) I'm following his treatment recommendation and hoping we can get this thing out asap so that she isn't in pain for too long but mostly I'm just really glad that she's going to be ok, make a full recovery, and not have any major lasting soundness concerns from this.

It was this very swollen leg (pre fantastical duct tape boot) that gave the vet a clue that it might actually be an abscess and, indeed, when he did the recheck on Wednesday this week he was able to find the sore spot with hoof testers.

The very ouchy leg.

Of course now it seems silly that I was so worried but seriously, everyone I trust including the vet and L thought it was upper leg and specifically stifle. When the vet checked her the first time he couldn't find a reactive spot on her foot and agreed that it looked like upper leg.

I'm just so happy right now and Katai is happy because she's back out with her mares and back on our regular schedule of grain, meds, and attention every day. It's probably been this all along and we just weren't able to diagnosis but I sort of feel like it was a little bit of birthday/Christmas magic thanks to all of your positive messages and thoughts <3