Trying New Things

Everything is great. Recent events have led to an unexpected silver lining of feeling very positive about the opportunity to draw a line under that hard stuff and embracing the change. I know the universe does what it will and I'm not owed a thing, but it still feels like good things HAVE to be on the horizon :)

Since my last update, I audited another straightness training clinic, which was fun. This time it was under saddle and practicing some of the groundwork exercises. The groundwork and under saddle work was interesting, but a lot more aligned with basic dressage exercises I'm already familiar with that help improve different weaknesses. I didn't find it quite as useful for myself as the previous one I went to that mostly evaluated different horses at a standstill. The predictions based simply on the picture presented, considering conformation, musculature, and posture were kind of mind blowing to me, after coming at it from a more rider/handler 'in motion' perspective.

While there, at an unrelated event, I bumped into a few old riding buddies I've been terrible about keeping in touch with, and we discussed a coach we all really enjoyed. Turns out she recently retired from her real job and is open to resuming visits here once a month.  I'll sign up for that! A groundwork or in hand trail clinic or two would be a fun thing for the boys this year. Of course if I ever ditch toodling around in the bareback pad for a proper saddle and a plan Sophie could attend group dressage lessons too.

Ready to get out and about! Sorry for the low quality photos - bringing the camera is the next step to getting back to a blogging routine.

Objectively the timing for baby horses was good and I've loved every minute of them, but them turning two years old feels like a milestone. It's really making me happy to think I can start doing a bit more with them. Planning for a riding future seems like an actual long term goal now rather than a far, far away sometime in the future type thing.

I've been gradually expanding the cob boy's educational boundaries. It's been a few years since the last time and I do feel like I'm approaching things differently. We'll see where that gets me. I'm at a weird stage of old school calm and practical getting it done, mixed with being a lot more aware of the value of choice and positive reinforcement. There's something to be said for the breed too. They're so much different than the typical quarter horse I grew up with. Generally much quicker thinking and engaged. Often the trick is to get them to try a little less hard ;) You don't need to build any softness or responsiveness or wake anyone up around here.

Reggie/Tradey is now surprisingly good to longe or long line walk/trot. There are of course little moments that come with being a Baby Horse doing the thing for the second or third time ever, but I think even with another session or two he'll be solid.

 He's proving very easy, he's one that's just naturally both confident in himself and also tuned in to his people and happy to be given a job. How lucky did I get with that? A: Not lucky at all probably because I think his breeder knows what she's about as far as making sporty, ammy friendly cobs.

Just wanders off and happy in his own company. This is not far away, but as far as Sophie and Buck are concerned it's a moon landing ;)

Tradey's 'brother' Buck is currently going through a Wild Dolphin phase. It's actually hilarious because he absolutely has to vocalize a 'WHEEE!' and then you know the leaping dolphin routine is up next. I've inadvertently created a funny quirk when I'm leading or handling him and he desperately wants to play - he knows my bubble is for safe grown up pony behavior, and his little built in warning system gets things nipped in the bud. So I just hear a lot of quiet 'whee' and tiny squeals under his breath, like almost inaudible while he walks along seemingly quietly. I just love him. He's different to Tradey for sure but he's absolutely fantastic in his own right. I think he just needs a little longer for his brain to fully install before we try learning too many new things :)

WHEEE. Currently his favored way to move quickly is by leaping place to place like a frog/dolphin. I'm trying to reassure myself this is not his permanent interpretive version of canter :D

Obviously I have at least a year or two before we're even thinking of having grown up pony expectations of them. So, they have very short sessions with the emphasis on having a job and learning things being fun, just setting the foundation for a ridden pony life. The absolutely wonderful thing about having them at home is that 5 minutes here and there is what they need and it's also exactly what I can easily do....there's none of the feeling like I should put time in since I drove all the way to the barn (or didn't put any time in because I didn't have enough).

Baby Buck for tax, since I'm well aware I shorted you on media this week.

Sophie's new thing to try is of course a saddle. I'll update that next...we're still in a trial period with a kind of out of the box solution and I don't want to jump the gun declaring anything.

Peace

Thank you for your kind comments on the last post. 

The silver lining to everything is that I'm back with a renewed appreciation for the happy life I've crafted as an adult and all the good people and things filling it. Younger me was way stronger than she ever gave herself credit for. 

I've been spending a ton of time out at the barn. The sun has been shining and it feels like spring! Everyone (except me) is shedding like crazy.

Signs of spring here and there. I really need to get the vegetable garden tidied.

Sophie finished her round of Gastroguard and sucralfate a couple of weeks ago and scoped clear. I didn't do a follow up scope last time (we did the initial and the 30 day one, then gave the extra 30 days treatment and crossed fingers) and regretted it because the assurance they were really gone would have been valuable for easing my own stress levels. It's nice this time to know we're on the right track this time. I've just being doing groundwork with her since, getting her back into shape, partly because no, we have not solved the saddle issue (more on that soon). We have a follow up vet appointment next month to investigate a couple of other small things to get her feeling her best again.

Vet also said she's too round, it's a fun line to walk with needing forage 24/7 but also being a pony.

The boys are both looking fabulous. It's time to start considering some revamped barn layouts, though. They still get along and play and roughhouse all day long, but they're starting to get more serious when there is food involved. Buck in particular is wearing a few more teeth marks than I'd like. They have hay 24/7 but it's in a shared shelter. I have enough paddocks, but adjustments need to be made so everyone can have a non-shared shelter/hay space on rainy days. 

Trying out borrowing Sophie's house in the daytimes. He approves.

She also approves because the middle winter paddock has grass right now, and grass>house in her opinion.

I've been doing a little bit more with the boys. They're learning how to longe in a way. In a way because I'm paranoid about young horse legs and repeated circles, so it's more walking and trotting on a longe line as I walk alongside. That has been surprisingly easy with Tradey, and complete chaos with the baby dolphin we've somehow acquired over winter (Buck). He's a good boy, but his brain is short circuiting this spring and he's also going through a stage where being velcro'd to me would be far more preferable than experiencing the world isolated and excluded a whole 8' away on a longe line :D. 

The state of them

Honestly, they're both generally a little too feral and pushy at the moment - we might argue as a product of their age and gender, but really it's a result of my own lack of discipline this winter. Also, the things I let slide because 'they're babies' somehow seems less valid now they're days away from being two year olds. If I'm really outing myself, Sophie wasn't much better a couple of weeks ago. So, I needed to step up, because we all know it's not going to be perfect all the time, but scoring three out of three on badly behaved ponies in one day means we might need to start getting judgey about their handler ;)

Random lake interlude to break the text wall

I'm easing my way back into being part of the local horsey crowd by auditing a straightness training clinic this coming weekend. I'm also organizing a saddle fitting weekend put on by a lovely lady I was in contact with regarding training and educational resources. She offered to come here for a visit, so that's a win for our little community.

going to the gym again

On the saddle fitting topic, I've got my SMS Trainee status now. So, I'm 'officially official', but with recent events I took a little break and don't have anything new in the calendar for training milestones as of yet. I went into this thinking I'll do what I can when I can and refrain from setting goals or timelines and I think that's the wise choice. 

The day I find something this pony and I both approve of, you'll just need to hand me my Master Fitter credentials already ;) Everyone is like "Oh she looks fairly straightforward!" when I send a conformation picture. Then the tracings are met with silence because the picture lies and she is tiny IRL plus she is extra wide AND a little curvy AND there is 15" of saddle space AND she is shaped like a wedge of cheese with a big hind end and narrow shoulders just waiting to suck that saddle forward lol

A Short Intermission

It's been a couple of weeks. 

There have been a few no good very Bad Things happening that are tough subjects. 

Someone important to me passed away recently. It was a complicated relationship.

Life would be easier if the villains in our stories were always irredeemably evil. But in this case, and I'm sure as with many real stories, it's far messier than that. 

Mostly I'm just left feeling sad. I can't change the past. I don't have many regrets about that. But now the chapter has ended, there's no resolution, no redemption arc, no one lives happily ever after? That's hitting hard.

So, bear with me while I take a short intermission to wrap my head around things, deal with some of the logistics, and let the sunshine back in. There is so much sunshine here - the ever wonderful G, all our fun adventures, and of course the horses to keep you updated on. I'll be back soon. 

This spoke to me today - change the future with positivity in the present <3

Tow Mode

In a case of me feeling old as dirt, our 'new' truck is somehow 15 years old. The mechanical issues are starting to creep in. Living where we live - where local hauling isn't much of a thing and it's hours to anywhere - I'm feeling like it's time to start searching for something mountain road trip adventure reliable. I had honestly hoped to push a purchase out to 2026, but our truck is currently giving signs of imminent death and I'm definitely keeping tabs on what's new on the dealer pages.

We live at the top of this hill that includes multiple switchbacks, so really, even for local hauling I can't have anything under powered.

What I'm replacing: a 2010 F-150 with V8 gas engine and 'max tow' package. I think at the time that meant upgraded brakes and transmission cooler, plus the integrated trailer braking. It's rated for around 12,000lbs. My trailer is 3000, plus ponies, plus gear. This truck served us well. For the Coast Mountains/Coquihalla and the Rockies it was absolutely fine, but I would not have wanted any less as far as horsepower and braking abilities on those trips.

What I'm replacing it with:

LOL. I don't know. I thought I'd pick the blogging community hive mind? I may need to suck it up and sell my two horse and replace it with a 3 horse trailer, so leaving options open for that I think it's best to upgrade to a 3/4 or 1 ton truck.

Top of my current list is a new Silverado 3500

Likely looking new, only because it seems impossible to find a low mileage used one. There are 2023s and even 2024s right now with 60,000-100,000km on them. I guess they're probably leased or used commercially but that feels insane, especially for nearly new prices. While we're talking prices, my budget does not extend to high end trim packages unless the elusive used and low mileage unicorn presents itself. Dodge, Chevy, and Ford all come in at pretty much the same price point when I build and price similar options and trim levels and I'm not brand loyal.

Anyone been truck shopping lately and have any recommendations? My mind is a little boggled by the choices. I'm sure any one ton truck with a hitch can do the job, but the extras and the gimmicky stuff between brands seems a bit overwhelming. Power folding mirrors for sure, because the ferries do love to play Tetris with vehicle loading and we've said a sad goodbye to a protruding mirror twice now. Diesel is a no, just because local gas station logistics for such are annoying. Is a trailering app actually something I would find useful, ditto the 360 degree camera views, etc.

 So, Blogosphere, tell me about your tow vehicle. What do you love? What do you dislike?

Learning is Fun

 Here are some handy links with free educational resources I've come across this week.

- Is your horse "off" but you struggle to say where (or if it's even real?). Never fear, the Lameness Trainer is here. It's set up as a game, so it starts out 'easy' with obviously lame/not lame examples, then the idea is that as it progresses through the levels, you're training your eye to see even subtle lameness and reliably identify where.

- There are a bunch of saddle and bridle fitting videos here. Plus some chats about social license to operate, horse welfare, and biosecurity. They're geared a little towards promoting various people and programs but there is still some good, free, information.

- FEI Campus You need to make or have a free account for this one, but there are a ton of topics covered. I ended up here after googling some equine biomechanics questions that led me to a frustrating loop of 'it's Sooper Sekret and we are the only ones who know, but we can't tell you without a paid subscription' websites. Maybe I'm the last person to know the FEI has a bunch of free 'courses' but here it is, in case you didn't know either.

The educational process for the SMS saddle fitting has been initiated and the next step was to apply for "Trainee Saddle Fitter" status. I checked that off the list last week, and from here, there are choices to make. There are some definite milestones and goalposts to look and plan for, but you're fairly free to pick up education and experience as you can (outside of the 'must-haves' the SMS requires if that's the certification you want to pursue). There are a number of options and timelines and it feels a little bit like first year university all over again, where you sort of know your interests and end plan but also there is the angst of picking the right path for yourself. 

Sofa Loaf-a Update

 I absolutely cannot be trusted with names and here we are - Sophie tuned into Sofa years ago, more recently Sofa Lofa and sometimes just 'The Loaf'. And to think she came with Vanna (her real name is Sovanna) and I changed it to Sophie because I was worried Vanna Banana would be irresistible to me. Surprise, everyone, I only made it worse.

Anyway, have I mentioned our proposed property purchase lately? It's...complicated. It is a time sink with the city planning and zoning approvals needed prior to sale. I am also feeling nervous now that current political events are going to impact real estate values.  I feel like there is a high chance it's not going to work out, so I panicked about not having that extra space this spring and reached out to a training and sales barn to sell Sophie for me. They asked a few questions, I answered honestly...and then they ghosted me :D In fairness it could be me they didn't want to work with, but equally they didn't ask me about MY bad habits :)

Will stalk you for chin scratches

For the record, she doesn't have any terrible ongoing bad habits but she is smart and very busy minded and liable to get herself into trouble if she's bored.  I've been pretty transparent about all those adventures here. I 90% trust she'll probably be fine, but also if there is a bad choice out there, she's probably tried it at some point so I couldn't honestly say she's never done/would never do it again. I can see how she might now be everyone's cup of tea and an easy sale, especially being pony size but not child appropriate. 

I felt stressed about it all anyway, so haven't pursued other barns or options. There's a chance the days of me actually being able to sell a horse might be behind me. I'm obviously really attached at the best of times, but when they live at home it's exponentially worse. Logic falls by the wayside.

Which brings me to another update. It's been past time to sort out a saddle. I've been trying a few. Mare is girthy. So, so annoyed with me. Which (sadly) for a while I've been kind of writing off as part of who she is. It's fun when it's your own horse you see every day - the obvious sometimes isn't as obvious as you hope it should be and things escalate over time without you really noticing as much as you should. But, (finally) I got to thinking a little harder on it - riding has been super intermittent this year, is she really still upset over that saddle that no longer fit, or is it more? Hmmm. Then the past week she was a little off her food, acting a little colicky, doing the 'quirky' things she does a little more. And so I called the vet and we are treating for ulcers (again - I had to look it up but we last treated two years ago).

Ponies. Fat and dapple-y and still ulcery

She's been managed and fed quite carefully to prevent recurrence, but here we are. We're doing the treat, then scope, plan but I absolutely hated the scope part for her last time, so we'll see if we can get the vet's approval to just treat. I think it works out the same cost wise just buying the gastroguard and sucralfate for two months vs treating/scoping/getting the second month comped with their promotion.

ANYWAY. She's been causing me a ton of anxiety lately. I just want happy, healthy horses but we all know that sometimes that's a big ask from the universe. 

In positive news, almost 7pm last night and still a bit of light in the sky.

Anyone have any great tips for giving tubes of meds to horses who are violently opposed to said things? I've been doing/have done the applesauce thing but she's smart enough to need to smell/taste contents before allowing it closer - I can sneak in a deworming or two a year this way, but daily doses were a challenge and a half last time. Last time I resorted to hiding it in apples and other high value treats but obviously the ideal is she gets the meds without food.

Wish me luck on the saddle fitting too, I need it :)

 

Busy, Busy

 

It's supposed to be winter hibernation time. Even here on the Wet Coast I swear it's a thing. Somehow I feel like the days are more full than they ever have been, though.

These two are enough to keep anyone busy

I'm probably the last person on earth to jump on the smart watch bandwagon. Honestly, I'm not sure I can even say I'm on the wagon when 99% its on my wrist with the sole function of being a cute digital clock saving me from compulsively pulling my phone out of my pocket every 5 minutes to check time. Busy, busy, rush, rush, I'm late, on to the next thing and all that. The one thing I was surprised about is that I was prepared to be completely demoralized about my activity levels on my desk job days. But hey, I've got horses (and lets be real, a problem with sitting still) so it turns out I cover way more miles than I thought I did, even on my laziest of days. Thanks for that, horses (and anxiety).

Imagine if Tradey had a smartwatch

He covers a lot of ground in a day

So much so that he's had no hoof to trim for months (appreciate the discounted farrier bill, buddy!)

The horses have been loving the cold weather. Not that it's cold by many Canadian standards, but for us -5 to -10c overnight is slightly panic inducing with everyone suddenly remembering about outdoor pipes and garden plants that maybe aren't that cold tolerant. For the horses, I think they find it just about perfect. Most of the snow from last week has melted here but the ground is still frozen/icy and not overly safe for horsey activities. We are lucky, though to just have the frozen ground and bits of snow. Some neighborhoods got buried in literal feet of snow and are still digging out. 

It almost looks like Canada here

I am actually dreading the return of the rain storms (this weekend) and the mess of mud and muck that is going to create. This is the hardest time of year here, there really isn't any great turnout and I feel bad for all the horses in their paddocks until the ground firms up again in spring. This little interval of snow and frozen ground was a welcome for a midwinter break for our local equines.

Winter Break and Saddle Fitting

 We normally get about a week of winter-ish weather here. I had high hopes we might not got any snow at all this year (sometimes it's just freezing temperatures), but no such luck - we got pummeled.

"Winter is coming"

 We are now enjoying all the chaos that goes along with living in probably the only place in Canada that is forever surprised when it's actually cold or snowy. I've come to believe no one who lives here is equipped to function in actual winter.  I swear I drove by a city snow plow yesterday, but there was no blade where the actual plow part should be (and definitely no plowing of roads has occurred the past few days) so I don't know. They had the lights flashing and stuff, so it did at least LOOK nice and helpful :D

Our other toxic habit here is for everyone to update their social media with "look!snow!" pictures

Yesterday was the annual bingo card of closed/blocked roads, power, internet and water outages and people confidently driving their small cars with summer tires. I've never been more grateful to work and have the horses at home. 

In a great stroke of luck, the tack store had winter and winter-ish gloves on sale last week because they thought spring was coming. To be fair, I did too, but I bought a few pairs 'for next year'. I don't find these ones exceptionally warm, and the advertised touchscreen friendly finger doesn't work for me/my phone BUT they do keep my hands dry and I can do things like thread hoses to taps and untie hay nets with them on, so that's huge. My old pair literally froze to the faucet (and my skin) a couple of days ago so these are making me very happy right now. 10/10 would recommend at half price.

It looks like we're going to get another week or so of below freezing temperatures, so Sophie gets a vacation. That's fine, she was actually going to have one anyway because that saddle I waited so long for and had so optimistically hoped would be an answer didn't work. Honestly I know keeping them in some sort of work is healthy but my motivation to do groundwork, poles, and and longeing took a hit with that so I don't mind an excuse for a little downtime.

Absolutely in her element and loves snow days

I've gone deep down the rabbit hole as far as fitting myself (needing a 17-17.5" seat) and the very short backed (15" of usable space) pony, and I feel like I've tapped every resource I have and tried a multitude of things. That could be a topic for another post. 

I think since Sophie likely isn't staying with me forever and the coblets are getting ever closer to riding age, I'm (finally) not overly emotional about it, more just curious about the problem itself. What might the science might be behind rider weight on shortened panels? How does that affect balance and weight distribution? It seems like a fairly common topic with different opinions and studies contradicting each other. It seems like everyone isn't even in agreement that rider weight can't go past T-18.

Long story short, with that question (and several others) over the past few years I was eventually so far down the rabbit hole, so completely off track from my original questions, and yet still so interested, that I started signing up for actual education in the matter. Which lately has led me to starting the SMS (Society of Master Saddlers) saddle fitter training and qualification. I know there are other organizations and opportunities out there, but this path is the one made sense to me (and my like of UK made saddles (and ponies!) didn't hurt).

Do the color coordinated house and feed buckets make me look obsessive? (I seriously JUST noticed I did that thanks to this picture and now it cannot be unseen). Or is it my tendency to go all in on any thing that interests me?

It's reasonably an 18 month to 3 year process for someone totally invested, but at this point in my life that's realistically not me. I'm just going to see where it goes and take courses and get experience as and where I can. I have a career outside of horses that I'm not looking to replace (and I have big time Imposter Syndrome even starting down this path) but also I do think I have space to add something that I'm really excited about and interested in, whether it leads to any long term credentials or not.

Good night, ponies! I love how the paddock spotlight lights up their little window and I can see them in there from the house, makes it look so cozy on miserable nights.

Support System Appreciation

 I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but I am absolutely spoiled by my husband. He's always been 200% in my corner any time I need anything. Sadly for him, I am a very independent and self sufficient person that hates asking for anything, so that's awkward. I used to feel like I owed him every time he did anything and I wasn't comfortable being in 'debt' if I felt like I couldn't return the favor. But, as the years have gone on, I'm more willing to let it go (at least with him, the rest of the world remains a challenge).  

Speaking of time going on, Tradey sometimes looks surprisingly grown up.

But no, never mind, that is definitely a baby horse bottom :D

G retired quite young (lucky!) last year. I'm 10 years younger, have a $$$$ hobby and am very easily bored so I'll be staying gainfully employed for the foreseeable.  Current status is that he's got all the free time in the world and I have very little. So, he's started feeding and doing morning pony paddock mucking out. That works nicely because he actually enjoys it and I can instead fit in a quick workout and start work an hour early(that means I am done early and get an hour of late afternoon daylight to enjoy even on the darkest mid winter day).

Light until 5:30 right now! (Tradey was absolutely not interested in putting his ears up or posing.)

BUT. But. G had a minor surgery last week and is taking a vacation from being Chief Pony Caretaker for a month or two. Here I am again, up well before the sun, being accountable for my own stupid equine hobby :)

Frosty morning sunrise

I'm not actually complaining, because I enjoy seeing the horses first thing and they're really not 'work' for me. I'm THAT person, the one that likes all the day to day probably even more than I like riding. Plus, I don't mind an excuse to skip a work out now and then :)

Buck is the 'quieter' one but every morning I wake him up (literally) and then he NEEDS to run around and go nuts for 20 minutes. It's hilarious.

To be fair though, G deserves the world's biggest shout out - there is a lot of work that goes into keeping horses, especially keeping horses at home and I honestly don't think I'd have three of them if I was the sole person looking after them. 

Look at their sweet little faces. Don't be fooled. The more I feel like I need to hurry, the more chance these two dump that wheelbarrow.

In fact, that discussion was had again recently. I purposely haven't made any Sophie related plans or goals because I was leaning towards sending her out (to a trusted person) to sell. Horses are expensive, and one of my 2025 goals is to save money for a new truck. But, turns out that once again G refuses to vote Sophie off the island. 

She's a smart mare...she's SUPER sweet with G, lol. She loves him, but is less than polite to me if she thinks she can be.

My vote is never a consistent one, I waffle back and forth. With Chief Pony Caretaker status, G gets a full vote these days. I joke she is his, now.  So, she stays another year at least. It's easy to question things when I'm not doing much with her (that saddle to try is STILL sitting in a warehouse somewhere waiting to be delivered) and I know she'd thrive with a full time job and her chosen person, but it is nice having her around to putter away with while the cob boys grow up.