Revisiting Commitment

" Dusty "

" Blue "

 With snow storms rolling in here every few days and hammering us with inches upon inches of cold white misery, it has been hard to stay committed and consistent in my riding.  I realized the other day while watching more inches accumulate that without commitment and consistent riding both the horses and I will most likely fall behind in our training goals.  My mantra  “nothing good comes without commitment and consistency” has been on the back burner lately.
 
This was disheartening until the proverbial light bulb moment hit me… I have no goals on the high priority agenda!  Whew, that was a relief.  Here I was beating myself up for not getting out there in the finger-numbing, toe-freezing cold, tacking up and continuing our training.  Since I have no real goals to speak of other than getting Dusty, Blue and myself going correctly and in some semblance of riding fitness, I’m home free.  Not forever, but just until I feel the commitment burr under my saddle spurring me on to get things done.
 
I’ve had a meeting with myself and revisited my mind, which can be a scary place under normal circumstances.  Being a semi-perfectionist, my brain under stress is intimidating to say the least.  When I originally started riding Dusty I toyed with the whimsical idea of perhaps taking her to a show or two.  I’ve since decided against that for the foreseeable future.  Although, it’s something that might seem like fun occasionally, for the time being I’ve decided I simply can’t do it all again.  Getting to the barn at 3-4 a.m., braiding, bathing, driving to the show, waiting around, schooling, waiting around, heat, humidity, flies, filthy port-a-potties, toxic horse show food, annoying people, packing up, driving home, unloading, cleaning out the trailer etc.  That’s just not fun for me anymore, if it ever was.
 
So even as a former perfectionist I’m thinking as long as I keep my goals simple:
1.       Keep training as consistently as I feel like it
2.       Have fun with the horses
3.       Trail ride as much as possible and enjoy nature
 
It gives my psyche a huge stamp of approval to remember that the quality of time I spend riding or interacting with the horses is just as important as the quantity of time spent.  And I’ve given myself permission to get to it when I can; and when I can’t, it will be acceptable knowing that in the warmer weather we’ll make up for what we missed now.  I’m sure Dusty and Blue couldn’t care less whether they are ridden or longed so long as they are still given treats and hugs for nothing more than being the good-natured treat monsters they are. 
 
Until next time

Quote for Today
Horses are the most agreeable friends. They ask no questions, they pass no criticisms.

Yesterday - Today

Here are some pictures from yesterday when the snow started.  I don't know who's been in charge of the snow machine but it's blatantly obvious they are asleep at the OFF switch.  I'm starting a petition to have the responsible parties fired, effective immediately!

"Maggie & Murphy"

(They're like having two kids in snow suits, every time they come in I need to get out the towels)

Today

 A few pictures after another foot and a half of snow overnight on top of all the other storm's deposits.

The line on the left before the trees is a fence

The Front Stoop

Getting out of the driveway is always interesting, it's uphill and curvy

We're running out of snow stacking room

No exit here 

I can't wait until all this starts to melt. We'll have a chute of water coming down the driveway like a sluice gate was opened.

Until next time

Quote for Today
My other car is a horse.
(And a good thing too, with all this snow!)

Smart Ass

 The above picture is one of my favorites and I've used it before but it seemed appropriate for this post so I've recycled it again. 

Some of my blogosphere friends are dieting and exercising along with myself after the deliciousness that was the holidays. I was glad to see it wasn't only my jeans that were a little snug after indulging in the "temptations of the desserts". 

Lady's; This one is for you !!  I.Q. test for women.

Men; Just don't say anything. You will live longer.

With time, women gain weight because we accumulate so much information and

Wisdom in our heads that when there is no more room, it distributes out

To the rest of our bodies. So we aren't heavy, we are enormously cultured,

Educated and happy.

Beginning today, when I look at my butt in the mirror I will think,

Good grief, look how smart I am!

Must be where the term 'Smart Ass' came from!

Until next time

Quote for Today

Bread may feed my body, but my horse feeds my soul.

A Dusty Update

" The new and improved Dusty "

On the Dusty behavioral situation:  She seems to have turned a corner and is acting more like her normal self this past week.  When the rest of the herd comes in she follows and sometimes crowds the gate to come in first.  This could be due to the abnormally cold weather conditions we’ve been experiences along with more snowstorms.  But I don’t think that’s the sole reason for her willingness to come in to the barn at night. 

Her blood tests came back normal, so there is nothing medically wrong with her.  As I said before, I doubt that she’s in pain from her saddle; she’s been checked by a professional saddle fitter and given a passing grade. There is nothing to point to medical pain; she has been checked by the vet from stem to stern and she’s healthy as a horse.  This would include teeth, ulcers and arthritis etc.  The one thing I’m surprised about that the vet didn’t check was her thyroid hormones again in this series of blood tests.  I’m going to call him back for that test.

The general consensus that we’ve come up with here at the farm concerning Dusty is that the thyroid medication was making her a little out of sorts (crazy).  When we put our heads together and systematically went through any new changes with her that might have resulted in her new behavior patterns, the thyroid medication was the only new ingredient in the Dusty program.  Since her original T4-T3 tests were on the low normal side, the vet prescribed thyroid medication because she was a little overweight.  As of now, she’s lost the proper amount of weight and we’ll try and keep it off. 

We’ve taken her off her medication because we think it was winding her up and being cooped up in a stall, most likely pacing all night, wasn’t the best thing for her.  Dusty has enough energy normally for two horses and this medication was like a shot of adrenaline that she didn’t need.  Two nights ago she actually lay down and slept for the first time in a long while.  We are still giving her a supportive supplement from SmartPak called SmartEnergy, which will help support her thyroid function and hopefully allow her to make her own thyroid hormone as needed to maintain her levels naturally rather than guessing at what she needs with medication.  If more aggressive support is needed we’ll look into using TSF-100, which Blue has been getting at a half dose since his last low thyroid test and has normalized his levels without having to up his medication.   She's also on a digestive supplement, but we may try her on something more soothing like GUT or SmartGut as an ulcer aid/preventative.

So far she seems to be happier and friendlier since we took her off the medication.  I haven’t ridden her because the weather is anywhere from below zero temps to 25.  Call me a wuss, but I’m not freezing my butt off and it’s a good time to give them all a little quality time relaxing as a herd.  There will be plenty of time to get back in the saddle when it’s not uncomfortably cold and miserable for all concerned.

Until next time

Quote for Today

A horse doesn't care how much you know until she knows how much you care.

Stylish Blogger Award

It seems I've been given the Stylish Blogger Award by Ms. Martyr, Justplainsam and Abbie from Walking With Horses.  Thank you so much.  I am honored to receive this award and will do my best to come up with something interesting about myself.  Since I've done this a few times already I'm not so sure there is anything new left to know about me but I'll give it my best shot.

The rules for this award are as follows:

1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award

2. Share 7 things about yourself

3. Award 15 recently discovered great bloggers

4. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award!

1.    I'd like to think of myself as a stylish fashionista but that's not in the cards these days. My uniform of the day is usually a sweatshirt and jeans with a pair of boots. However, I do try and match my socks and shirts and I always wear earrings. Hoops are my favorites.

2.   I’d like to think I’m and optimist at heart; the glass is usually half full, unless of course it’s half empty.

3.   Staying indoors is boring so I like to be outdoors every chance I get.  Besides, if you’re inside with nothing to do, dust bunnies will hunt you down and eventually you'll have to clean them up.

4.   I wish, as I'd gotten older I'd have gotten smarter, but it doesn't seem to be the case.  I'm still learning everyday, be it with horses, dogs or humans.

5.    My favorite part of being older is having four wonderful grandchildren. I should have had them first and skipped my children's teen-aged years altogether.

6.    I feel that anyone who mistreats an animal or a child should have the same done to them a thousand times over and over and over…

7.   I feel privileged most of the time to be able to have horses of my own and love interacting with them.

Well that was hard and I'm sure very uninteresting to you. Now for passing these awards on...

Okay, here's the deal, I've seen this award traveling around the blogs for a while now, so I'm sure most everyone has it already.  I simply don't know who does and who doesn't so my thoughts would be, if you think you would be interested in having this award please feel free to take it for yourself.  In my opinion you are all Stylish Bloggers and deserve the award.

Until next time

Quote for Today

Ride a wild horse against the sky-
hold tight to his wings before you die
whatever else you leave undone 

once ride a wild horse into the sun.

My Thoughts Exactly

I received this in an e-mail this morning and thought I would share it with everyone.  Hope you all enjoy it as much as I did.

JANE SEABROOK is an illustrator and designer who lives in Auckland, New Zealand .  In recent years, her artwork has focused on paintings of wildlife for the Fury Logic series of books.  She shares her life with her husband, two teenage children, and a growing menagerie of assorted animals.  Following are some excerpts from her Fury Logic books.


Who can argue with this wisdom?

Until next time

Have a Fantastic day!

Thoughts for Today

There's always a lot to be thankful for if you take time to look for it. For example, I am sitting here thinking how nice it is that wrinkles don't hurt..
 
Being happy doesn't mean everything is perfect. It means you've decided to see beyond the imperfection

Dusty's Strange Behavior

"Dusty"

For the past month or so, Dusty has been exhibiting some very strange behavior that has us baffled.  When she is ridden she acts as if she’s forgotten everything she’s been taught up to now and runs around not listening to rein or aids.  When I say she runs I mean she’s trotting at mach 10 and there’s no slowing her down.  The weather could be a contributing factor, but
I don’t think that’s the case here.

Her other odd behavior is what really has me worried and scratching my head. At night when the herd comes up to the gates to be brought in for the night she turns herself around and heads back out by herself.  She refuses to come into the barn. 

Sometimes Mellon, Donnie or Grady will follow her and spend the night out with her.  Most nights they all want to come in, but not her, she will stay out in the dark by herself. She’ll call to them and they’ll answer her back but she won’t come up and, if on occasion she does, she won’t be caught even with a bucket of feed as a bribe. Normally Dusty loves to eat and lives for treats - who doesn’t right?  This is one of the reasons that I’m worried about her. I might also add here that traipsing out after her does no good because she will mosey just fast enough so it is impossible to catch her.

There is only one new circumstance that I can think of that’s affecting her personality change.  She was tested for thyroid hormones and her blood test came back a bit on the low side so the vet suggested giving her a thyroid medication.  Which we did and she did lose some extra poundage that wasn’t doing her any good.  So that may account for her extra energy when being ridden.  But I don’t think it would change her personality to this degree.

Yesterday I had the vet out to take more tests, her usual Lyme, leptospirosis, thyroid and a CBC/chemistry panel. Her physical exam turned up nothing out of the ordinary.  He seems to think her behavior is unusual too.   Any thoughts on what it could be that maybe I haven’t thought of or had checked?  I’d appreciate any input.

Until next time

Quote for Today

It is the difficult horses that have the most to give you.

Opened the Door

this morning and what to my wondering eyes did appear but a snowy winter wonderland covering the landscape!  We have the distinction of being the county hit the hardest in our area.  27 inches so far and it’s still flurrying now and again. Yeah, we win!  Too bad the prize isn’t exactly what I wanted to be awarded today. It’s my own fault for jinxing us.  On Christmas day I remarked how we hadn’t had too bad a winter yet, no snow and warm temperatures. Should have kept my mouth shut.

We’ve now had three substantial storms in as many weeks.  I have nothing against snow, it’s white, it's pretty, it’s twinkly in the sun; it makes everything look spotless and pristine.  What I’m tired of is feeling as if I’m living in a snow globe and the snow gods keep turning me upside down and shaking.  

 

"How do you expect us to get out there for our morning ...um...stuff "?!!