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Wednesday, October 17, 2018

New Boarder

Long time no write, eh? I'll be frank, life has been very chaotic for me and my desire to write in this space has been nonexistent. The short of it is:
  • I had travel for work and followed by a short personal vacation
  • Work ate me up when we got sued [again] on a project I've been dealing with for 5 years now
  • I took a mental nose-dive due to work being a complete stress-fest (18 months and counting!) and fully embraced my burnout and opened up about it (so very wonderful to receive so much support!). Immediately after this...
  • I headed out on a vacation determined to get my head firmly back in place and return with actionable solutions to carry forward in a better light....
  • Only to have my mountain bike stolen from my car on the very first day of my mountain bike centric vacation (Fuck You, Louisville.)
  • The rest of the vacation didn't fare much better: found out we were missing a key component for our stove and couldn't cook as we'd planned; it rained the whole time we were in the desert which botched any hopeful plans of doing what we wanted to do without bikes (climbing); we were delayed by 6+ hours on our trip home due to snow and a impressively flat tire (biggest blowout I've ever had!) And thus my goals of becoming less stressed were completely obliterated.
But I'm home now. And ohmygoodnessgracious, IT FEELS SO GOOD. I'm never leaving again. I swear. (Not really.)

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Behold. A very filthy pony thanks to so much rain this year. In the months since the horses have been living in Canaan, we
 have had 29.9 inches of rain. For reference, last year's total annual rainfall for Canaan was 65.58" and this year's total as of
yesterday is already 65.76"

But seriously, I had THE GREATEST first day home ever. Everything settled beautifully back into place and I tackled my WHOLE to-do list - and it was a whammy!

One of the bigger things on the to-do list for my first day home was to put the wheels in motion to get the horses integrated into their winter boarding situation (i.e., move them down the road and get them introduced into a new [huge] herd). 

So, color me shocked when I not only set the wheels in motion but tackled the whole damn thing! BAM.

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An even more disgusting Stanley. With a freshly banged tail because kid
has SO MUCH HAIR and I'm sick of dealing with it + mud.

Just like that, I find myself a boarder again (as opposed to self-care at a friend's place as I had been since June). And damn, it feels SO good to have them in a situation like this for the winter. Don't get me wrong, I LOVED caring for them and doing it all myself - truly! Caring for them myself gives me so much peace and helps me wind down at the end of the day. BUT! The mish-mash of a setup I had wasn't the easiest ever, and while I am BEYOND grateful I had it, I'm glad to not have to worry about needing so much foresight and planning to accomplish small tasks for awhile.

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And, ironically, the grey horse is the cleanest in the group!

The horses introduced to the new herd easily enough, which I'm so very grateful for because this is  the biggest herd any of them have ever lived in at 20-some horses. The other horses are composed of 2 different herds (owned by the same people) and were only thrown together yesterday - so the entire social dynamic is very up in the air right now, which is damn near perfect for my three entering such a new situation.

The first thing all three of my horses did upon turnout was to gallop a few strides, add a couple of bucks for good measure, and then immediately drop and roll (the other horses were on the far side of the field making zero attempt to approach my three). After rolling, my three ran to the closest group of horses where they did the initial circling-of-the-wagons circle trotting and smelling ritual. After that they quickly separated themselves from the others and began grazing with no drama whatsoever.

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Another shot of his new shorter tail. I regret nothing.

The herd will be in the big field for a month or two until the weather becomes too inclement. At that time, they'll be moved a couple miles back up the road to a barn with an attached arena for the winter (and the herd will be pared down and separated once more into two locations). They'll come inside every night and be outside every day so long as the weather isn't total arctic hell. They'll receive their hay ration in stalls every night and get grain in the AM and PM. With the exception of Stan, they've never had such a royal setup for winter!

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In the new field! And choosing to walk away from the boys to greet me.

I'll be able to work off some of their board by mucking and the like this winter. This is fantastic because I plan to be out there an awful lot anyway and it'll be great to knock the cost down and get a workout in the process. I used to love mucking stalls - it was my first job! And how I met Stan.

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Also choosing to come greet me!

But the biggest excitement? That damn arena. Helloooooo winter workouts and lessons! No woes about arctic winds, snow, or light if I want to ride in the evenings any more. I don't mind the cold, but those other elements are definitely what keep my riding motivation in check most winters.

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No interest in saying hello. Also dirty again.

If I have my druthers, Griffin and Q will come out of winter with a beautiful fitness base of dressage and arena work and be ready for a new year of competition possibilities in their respective discipline realms. Stanley will hopefully get his fair share of riding as well, but with few to no competition goals he will mostly serve as an escape for me and a steady eddy for friends that are adventurous enough to wander about the winter wonderland with me.

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Happy horses grazing in their new field.

I'm excited for this change of pace and am eager to get in some lessons through the winter months. This will be the first time I've had an indoor arena to enjoy since owning horses! Fingers crossed for a fun, riding-filled winter!

30 comments:

  1. yay that sounds PERFECT and they are still close to you but arena and care. Umm maybe I am a bit jealous:) HA! but really yay for you. I am sorry your stress and life and vacation was so tied up together. That sucks. I am still pissed for you about your bike:(

    And Remus's

    tail is about to become Stan's length.THE MUD means it is trailing mud most days out of the tendrils. ICK. that can't be good right??

    happy for you. If i have my way I may find somewhere to put Remus for a month or so with an arena....cause i can't ride here if the mud is so deep that the wheelbarrow is stuck LOL

    Congrats again on the new place:) sounds perfect!

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    1. And mud will only turn into mud + ice soon... Just no. I tie them up and wrap them in the winter, but still. I don't need to start my winter in the hole! And mostly, I don't have anywhere with hot water to bathe them. I may very well haul them all up to my house to really wash those tails well before the snow flies lol!

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  2. Ugh, what a terrible vacation! I am sorry that it didn't help. But everything with the horses sounds great. :D

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    1. The horses are definitely my shining light lately!

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  3. What a steaming pile of crap you've had to deal with, so sorry about that and I sincerely hope things turn around for you. Sounds at least like your barn situation is fabulous and your herd will be a perfect escape for you. Hang in there, sending happy thoughts of good things coming your way!

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    1. Thanks, lady. The horses are a great escape and help ground me of late.

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  4. I love mucking stalls too, I find it very cathartic. Sorry to hear about all the stress lately :( Hope things will turn around!

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  5. Glad the move went smoothly! Sounds like you needed a break from that vacay!

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    1. Haha, yes, most definitely need a vacation from vacation.

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  6. Excited for what the winter holds for you and your herd this year!! YAY ARENA!

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    1. YAY ARENA indeed! Ground pole exercises for dayzzz

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  7. Sorry about life piling it on you of late. And the bike thing just blows. People suck. Burn out is real and is awful to work through. I’m going through it right now and the energy is zaps makes it hard to find the motivation to make the changes needed. I hope you find a way to have some peace in your life.

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    1. Hugs to you! Burnout is kinda the worst. I hope you're able to implement some of the changes you want to make.

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  8. What a relief the move went smoothly - and even better that you can work off some board !

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  9. Sorry the vacation didn't go as planned, but your winter boarding situation for this year sounds great.

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  10. Sounds like a gorgeous set up for the winter! I can't wait for more of your beautiful snow riding pics, too!

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  11. Boarding them for the winter sounds like a great way to get things off your plate - looks like they settled in real well too

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    1. Stan settled in too well... he's now herd boss. Meep!

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  12. Im sorry work life is so sucky and your much needed vacation didn't go to plan. I'm loving boarding S this winter too - it's really taking some of the load off and is a nice change. Your horses all look fantastic :)

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    1. Crazy how relieving it can be to have the load taken away for a time!

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  13. Glad you're back home AND that your first day back was so fantastic! Sounds like a great set up for the horses for the winter!!

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    1. I'm so psyched to be less limited by the daylight hours.

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  14. I want the ability to have horses at home in self care.....but LOVE being a boarder at the right time in the busy seasons of my life. Burn out takes forever to resolve so take care of yourself for....a couple of years. It was six years for me after one job. It was awful. But you do get to the other side. Also I know a little bit about having bad things happen for what seems like forever. I’m not on the other side yet, so I can’t give any advice beyond I’m in the trenches too and some days I do see the light and I’m convinced life will get brighter at any point.

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    1. Thank you for sharing your experience with burnout, and I am so sorry to hear that you've been dealing with it for so long! However, it's really helpful for me to hear how others have tackled it/are tackling it, so, once again, thank you for sharing. I anticipate needing a couple years, too, but can usually see a light at the end of the tunnel these days. The length of the tunnel is indeterminate is all!

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  15. I love fluffy banged tails, and if you're gonna do it, do it like that, well done: ) It seems to be a thing with the Icelandic horses around here, most of their tails are that short. I also have a pet peeve - those tails on show Arabians that drag on the ground. Freaking ridiculous.

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    1. Looooong tails are beautiful but I am wayyy to lazy about upkeep to make one work out. I don't know how the Arabian or Gypsy folks manage!

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