Bridget, Is That You?

The wet, miserable weather continued last week. The horses have been in their winter paddocks about a month now, and in the space of a week they've gone from nice and dry to a muddy mess. This is why turnout is limited in the bigger fields during the winter here - our climate means eventually the water table is basically at the surface much of the winter. At my own place, I spent money on dump trucks of gravel to keep things as tidy as possible, but I'm boarding now and beggars can't be choosers.

The grass is getting quite green out there again, though!

Bridget's made it clear she's Welsh and therefore this is her best season. She's quite happy in the wet and cold:

Despite Bridget's confidence in her ability to withstand all weather, I'm not a fan of currying off tons of mud, or treating the inevitable rain scald she'd likely get (been there, done that) So, it was time for her rainsheet to go on:

It's blue!

Feeling like a good, responsible owner, I finished up my chores and started packing up to go home for the night. Until I heard Sophie running around like an idiot. We've had a few bears hanging around, so I thought one of those might have startled her.

Until I noticed the object of her attention was...Bridget?

Oh goodness. She seriously didn't know what to think of Bridget wearing her new blanket.

Every time Bridget moved, Sophie would spook and run. So much for my sensible baby pony, lol

When I left, Sophie was keeping a very suspicious eye on the situation, while Bridget seemed completely oblivious of the drama she was causing. 

She's getting closer to Scary Blue Bridget, at least.

Life with horses, I guess. You win some, lose some. Keep one pony warm and dry, traumatize the other one.

Growing a Backbone (slowly)

The barn has been a bit of a stressful place of late. Its not due to any one thing necessarily, just a bunch of little "mean girl" type things. I'm doing my best to be an adult and deal with everything fairly and immediately, rather than my introvert default of hiding and nurturing hurt feelings. Its hard though...inside I know what I want and am probably stubborn to a fault, but I'm also the person who is just overly nice and then walks away and does their own thing rather than actually just dealing with confrontation and resolving whatever bothered me. Changing patterns is hard!

I'd never say being kind is a mistake, but using it as an excuse to not be more assertive when needed probably is.

Fingers crossed, I've effectively communicated some boundaries, and will keep my head down and mind my own business. I'll do my best to not hold grudges (another thing I need to work on, lol) I love how this is probably stuff every adult human deals with in life, but for me it took people messing with my happiness at the barn to finally get proactive about it :) Dealing with it head on didn't come easy to me, but I feel better knowing I've tried.

The snow is finally melting!

My rides on Bridget have been pretty "meh". She's feeling out of shape and all discombobulated again. I've never had a pony where it was quite so important to keep her working properly...long rides out on the trail are fine, but too much of that and she starts to forget how to carry herself in the arena.  I guess I've always been lucky in that my previous rides have maintained a decemt fitness base even without much focused help from me. The days are getting ever longer though, so fingers crossed we'll get Dressage Bridget back with more dedicated work.

One of the few rides on B where I thought I might actually die. She was feeling very playful, but the snow was icy underneath and honestly she's a clumsy creature at the best of times!

I'm also thinking she's due for another check of those hocks, and a visit from the saddle fitter. We might not have any big show plans this spring, but that's no reason to put off the little things or not try to be our best selves.

B attempting to help me muck her paddock.

Sophie...little Ms Sophie did me proud this weekend. I'm at the very beginning stages of learning to trim her feet, and therefore she needed to stand tied patiently and bear with me working on her (and the two people teaching me) off and on for well over an hour on Sunday. I think she tried to take her foot back from me once in all those minutes of me fumbling around and got lots of compliments on her manners.

Pretty sure I've used this one of Sophie and her herdmates before, but I neglected to take any pictures of her this weekend!

She apparently can be a bit of a naughty girl at times, but I've yet to see it so I'm not sure what I can do about it. I suspect she's just being a baby and testing boundaries. Her and I probably figured our whole dynamic out a while ago, because from my viewpoint she's been super easy and hasn't even hinted at anything really "bad".  I hope the more people she deals with, the more she realizes the same basic rules apply for all humans.

Changes

I've been away for a nice getaway in the Okanagan. I don't even like wine (I know, that's crazy talk and you just lost even more respect for me) but we had a great time and spent a couple of days wine touring and just generally enjoying a lack of real world responsibilities.

Mission Hill was pretty spectacular, but my favorites to visit were the smaller wineries.

Sadly, even in the middle of our getaway, I was getting barn drama texts. It might have actually been a good thing, because I finally realized enough is enough and I can't manage everything all the time. I've made arrangements to move Sophie elsewhere. Exact date is pending, but it will probably be soon. Bridget is beating up on her a little, and the barn owner isn't too keen on Sophie having her own paddock. While I really enjoy having her at the same barn as Bridget, and having so many amenities nearby, the recent move to small winter paddocks isn't working well for Ms Sophie or the barn owner, who I'm pretty sure would love to not have Sophie being generally rambunctious and destructive! I'm also not a fan of being THAT boarder with THAT horse, so I think everyone will be happier.

Look! I even have pictures of the fields at the 'new' barn, because Ginger and Bridget were both boarded there at one point!

I'm thinking they lived there way back  in 2012- 2015, before I moved them to the lower coast where my work is.

     

Sophie is a good girl, she's just very babyish still. She's got a lot of energy and is easily bored, so I think she'll enjoy hanging out in a big pasture with friends to play with this winter. The new place is full board, which is money I don't want to spend, but honestly, with the days already getting shorter, one less paddock to muck and horse to feed and exercise will make my days a lot easier! The new place is pretty short on amenities like riding arenas and round pens, so I'm a bit sad that this move will put a temporary end to taking her out on the trails with Bridget or playing in the arena. However, the care is top notch, and Sophie is only 2.5 and knows all the baby horse basics - a winter off to grow up with lots of pasture and room to run might even do her some good.

Ginger hanging out at the barn, back in the day :)

They both got very round on all that pasture, which is why Bridget will not be making the move with Sophie, lol

Hopefully, I'll be back with proper riding adventure and lesson updates next week. The past couple of weeks have been super busy and while I loved having a mini vacation, I'm really looking forward to settling back into a routine of some sort and getting Sophie moved to her new all inclusive resort.

Hope they're ready for this amount of baby pony trouble :)

Sophie Monster

There can be much drama where I board. Some of it is not relevant to me at all, and I do my best to just ignore it. Some of it does directly affect me, and I do my best to handle it like a grown up, even though I want to basically throw stuff around, load up the horses, and hit the road..

However, being annoyed by the barn drama feels a little hypocritical, because much drama at the barn also originates from a blonde pony. More specifically, an adorable blonde pony I happen to own.

Doesn't stand still for photos very often. on the plus side, she gets Bridget moving too every once in a while/

She's generally very sweet and respectful of people, but oh my, does she play hard and have an excess of energy. She's hard enough on things that I've been budgeting an hour once a week to repair/replace things she breaks. First victim: fence boards (and yes, there is electric wire up too, but her kicks as she's running and bucking are deadly accurate). Also, at this point she's smashed numerous water buckets. I've ordered some tub trugs from the UK so hopefully that solves that problem.

 More recently, she bent two tie rings in the grooming area.  Barn owner is not impressed. I'm not impressed. Pony ties, until she decides she's done. She's never escaped on my watch, but I suspect she must have at some point in her life, because it's not panicky jumping around/scared of pressure, it's pretty deliberate "OK I am bored now, pay attention to me" sitting on her bum and setting back against the halter/tie. A smack on the bottom gets her to step back up, but yep, I foresee a lot of standing tied all by herself and being patient in her future. Also, I foresee some new tie rings in my budget. I feel like I need to put out to the universe that I'm grateful that the barn owner continues to tolerate my little monster of a 2 year old pony!

Zoom

Yesterday, G volunteered to walk the sassy pony to the ring while I rode Bridget. He's super with Sophie, so I never say no if he wants to take her for a walk. Yesterday, although she was trying to keep a lid on her excess energy, there was the perfect storm in that the metal recycler guy was using his forklift and dropped a big pallet of used propane bottles on the road, one of which started hissing. (Have I mentioned this guy before? He's super nice, but clueless about horses. He randomly has this little area right on the side of the road, on farmland, where people take scrap metal to him. He loads it in a truck parked on the road and I think drives it to the city to recycle. This operation involves a big rattley truck, an ancient forklift, and metal shipping containers that he's usually inside rummaging around as we ride by. Often he's using the forklift to dump stuff in the shipping containers as we ride by. It's loud! He's the best at bombproofing my horses. He also owns a field elsewhere he lets me ride in, so I never complain!)

On the plus side, you'll notice she pretty much ALWAYS has at least an ear or an eye tipped towards me, and is super people oriented in general, so I have a lot of hope this energy will be funneled towards good things in the future.

Anyway, back to to dropped load of hissing propane bottles lying in the road. At that point I turned around and Sophie was past the recycling place but rearing and jumping up and down beside G. Not in his space or anything, but still not cool, so I traded G for Bridget and Sophie and I had a little chat about manners being a thing no matter how much energy you're itching to burn off, or how "scary" the world is (she's actually very brave and curious, and been by the recycling guys place a million times,  so the 'scary' was just an excuse to be silly). She was a little angel for him after that, go figure.

So sorry, please don't hate me.

I've been taking her to the arena once a week or so while I ride Bridget, and sticking her in the round pen to wait for us and learn patience (G calls it the penalty box, which is oddly appropriate, lol). Its really hard for her, because she is all about being the center of our attention. There's consistently about 5-10 minutes of rodeo, screaming, and pony losing her mind and having a temper tantrum, because no one is paying any attention to her. That's immediately followed by standing at the gate and making super sad submissive baby pony faces when she sees you. So, so sorry she is, please let's be friends again. It's a sad, sad, life. Fingers crossed the tantrums disappear as time goes on. I have a feeling they will. I just ignore her, and Bridget isn't one to call back or react to her in any way, so basically she's not getting any reward.

Banana colored at the moment, her coat is already coming in lighter for the winter. I was at a dressage clinic years ago and there was a nice little palomino pony who had the typical beige-y off white winter palomino coat. I don't know exactly why, but when the kid told Steffen Peters her pony was named Mayo, I got the giggles and just couldn't even. I want my own off  white pony called Mayo. No one else thinks it's as hilarious as me, so Sophie she remains. 

It's all just silly baby stuff, and honestly she is a super baby to deal with, and not actually a monster at all. She's just lacking the mental maturity of a grown up pony, and makes bad choices sometimes, lol. The joy of owning youngsters!  I don't think she's ever going to be quiet or easy in the traditional sense, but she's very kind and wants to please, so we'll be fine. I'm really looking forward to riding her and having her in a proper program...I think she's going to thrive once she's physically mature enough to have a proper job to funnel that energy towards.

Scariest Garden Hose

Perhaps unexpectedly, this is a post about me being scared of the new hose at the barn, not my horses hating hoses or water. Or maybe if you've read this blog a while, you're not surprised by the random neuroses of yours truly.

Exhibit A: New hose left out to drain by the barn:

Exhibit B: Example of a garter snake:

Both inhabit the area around the barn, both move around, but seem to prefer hanging out in the long grass near the water taps.

It's freaking ridiculous, but every.single.time I trip over that hose or catch a glimpse of it out of the corner of my eye, I'm like "EEK!"

I don't even mind snakes per say, just not a fan of their habit of appearing unexpectedly in odd places and then slithering around unpredictably. Just pick a spot and stay there so I know where you are! 

New rule: Same goes for you, New Barn Hose!:D

(AND SERIOUSLY, WHOSE IDEA WAS IT TO MANUFACTURE A HOSE IN THESE COLORS?! AND WHY DID THE BARN OWNER BUY IT INSTEAD OF ONE OF THE MANY OTHER COLORS BASIC GARDEN HOSES COME IN? Does no one else see the similarity? I have so many questions :) )

Bear With Me

I know I'm a bit of a broken record over here. Basically, every week I'm like:

-"AGGHH I'm so busy!"
-"I'll post better media next time!"
-"I'm burnt out and didn't want to, but guess what, I did the thing anyway, and it was fun!"

Bridget's nose is always fun to pet, tho

The real story is so much more, but I've been holding out because I thought I'd wait until I had some 'real' things to report. But right now, with things in flux, that amounts to radio silence the majority of the time!

So, let's just go ahead and share, why not?

The barn I'm keeping the ponies at isn't working for me. It's stressful. I'm sad. I haven't come up with a better option yet.

Bridget "Let's get outta here!"

We looked at an acreage. I love it. G loves it. I'm not wanting to get too excited because guys, we've been looking for 10 YEARS and there is always some reason we end up not purchasing. Everything from legit deciding the property isn't suited to us after further thought, to getting outbid, to discovering some crazy covenant on the title. Yes, we're not super motivated, because we like our existing home well enough. So, this is more of a case of waiting for the perfect thing. Perfect things are very rare. This one feels so right and perfect (especially with the timing of the boarding barn drama) that I'm freaking out a little lot. Fingers crossed so hard it works out for us. I'm scared by how much I want this, like actually a bit nauseous just typing this out .

me

My job change is official now (finally!), and my new hours start this week! So, three days away, 4 at home from here on out. I need to come up with a reasonable riding schedule for all the extra barn time I'll suddenly have! Bridget is going to need some gradual fitness work - she's been pretty much on the back burner for a few weeks now.

Bridget: "You're kidding, right?"

I'm going to start mixing in some jumping lessons on Audrey on my work nights. My lower level eventing goals just won't die. While A is definitely Ms Talented Dressage Horse, she's actually more jumper bred and is almost as bouncy over fences as she is in the dressage arena. I'm a little scared, TBH...I am not so great at this jumping thing and A is not the easiest to stay with. #lawndartingisinmyfuture

I'll have to read this book again

Roomies

I know I say this way too often, but I've been so busy! My efforts towards rebalancing my life have certainly helped, but I'm still finding little surprises are really impacting my schedule and my horse time.

The barn owner was recently giving me a bit of (mild) grief, because I guess both ponies were being a little rambunctious this past week while I was away working extra. Sophie in particular is very social and busy, and gets a little silly if she's bored. This week's damages included a fence rail and a water bucket, plus she was apparently "pushy" with the barn owner. She's a good girl, but she's still a 2 year old who makes dumb decisions sometimes. She's pretty immature for her age, so although she knows how to do all the age appropriate domestic horse things very well, she still gets up to all kinds of silly feral pony antics in her free time.

B is the good pony right now, but even she's apparently been a bit cheeky. 

I don't want to burn any bridges, so I've suggested moving barns to somewhere where there is more room for her to run and less day to day handling is required by the barn owners. (Right now the horses have to be put in and out as the weather requires, so along with feeding when I'm away, that's a bit of extra work for the barn owner).  And yes, I'm away working extra right now, so much for my short work week and extra time at home, it's all hands on deck as we're very busy and unexpectedly understaffed.

It's frustrating, but if I can hold on til mid July my replacement at work will have started, and I'll be taking some vacation time. We'll see how it goes as far as barn and riding time goes then. I know the barn owner doesn't want me to leave, but I'm tired of being the problem child :)

The terrible twosome

In the meantime, I moved Sophie in with Bridget, in hopes they'll keep each other entertained and busy. Plus, Bridget is good at enforcing rules. Fingers crossed, this is a good temporary solution, as it keeps Bridget moving around, and gives Sophie some structure. I have no doubt there will be much drama on the part of a certain palomino princess when I separate them again, but for now it's working.

Twins? ;)

As far as adventures, we didn't get up to much this weekend. I worked on Sophie's feet a bit and she was a very good girl, plus she spent some time on the trail with us being ponied off Bridget. A+ for both ponies there, they're a proper team now, even matching strides as we walk along. Very cute.  Sophie's also possibly figured out how to get her halter off? Twice in one day when tied seems a little more than coincidence. I'll have to see if I can catch her in the act and see how she's doing it. At least she doesn't run off, she just takes the opportunity to eat grass nearby. The pony genes are strong in this one, lol.

B has been coughing a bit again, and generally feels a little icky under saddle. My allergies are crazy right now too, and the weather is very hot and dusty. I think she's a little footsore too. This would be a summer for shoes if I was riding on a proper schedule. So, perhaps good timing for her to have a fairly relaxed few weeks. If the cough persists, we'll get her some meds from our lovely vet. I'm a little concerned, but we've been here before and it seems to be seasonal, when it cools off and we get some rain she'll likely be feeling 100% again. As for her feet, we've got boots that work well, but they don't hold up to anything beyond trot - she overstrides a bit and catches them with her hind feet. I'm crossing fingers hard that our newest trial saddle will fit, it would be nice to jump her a bit and get her moving in the softer arena footing when the dust dies down.

I need to measure Sophie again. I swear it was less than a month ago she was 2" shorter than Bridget, yet she looks taller than B in every picture from today.

I'm heading to the Topline horse trials in a couple of weeks, and am both sad and excited about it. Sad, because I won't be riding (and actually my whole show season seems to have imploded...) but happy because it's just as fun to cheer on my barnmates and act as groom. Horsey adventures are always good!

Unintended consequence of them being roomies: Sophie is WAY more sociable than B, but B does not like to share. Therefore B is about 500% friendlier than ever before, and is pictured her trying to cut Sophie off to get to me first lol

You're Fired

Following the hilarity that was our pony ponying adventure, I took Bridget for a much less exciting trail ride to the lake, and she was happy again.

Also on Sunday, we had a less fun adventure in the form of a visit from our farrier, in which I had to suck it up and advocate for my horses so much that I was uncomfortable. I'm well aware he is the professional and I am not, but there really were some things I was concerned about, and so I asked my questions respectfully and with an open mind, while being firm I needed better than a vague answer. The immediate issue was eventually resolved, but I was left with a bit of a bad taste in my mouth, as he made it pretty obvious he wasn't happy with me for asking questions and was very defensive and rude about it to myself and the ponies.

So, I'm going to look into trimming my two myself (with the online guidance and advice of our previous long term farriers who both have moved out of area. Truly, we have no one right now). Both showed me how and let me practice multiple times, so I *think* this is something I can do, but I will of course be educating myself further - I've done a couple of weekend courses previously, and will definitely be looking at options for further education.

As for the farrier who was having a bad day/week/month, in a strange coincidence, later that evening facebook exploded with a bunch of people who were very unhappy with him (in a local area horse group, of course, not actually anywhere the guy could see and respond). While I was a little relieved it wasn't just me who was unhappy,  I really don't agree with trash talking and posting pictures of his work online without actually trying to resolve the issue with him in person. Whether I personally would hire the guy or not, it's his livelihood and when I discussed my issues to his face, he DID attempt to resolve them. Maybe I didn't enjoy having to have that conversation in person, but ughhh, I'm pretty sure facebook isn't the way to go.

Anyone else had a similar experience? How did you handle it? Do you tend to ask questions and discuss concerns with your horse professionals, or do you just let them get on with their jobs and not call them back if you're unhappy with their work?

And...enquiring minds need to know...how many of you trim your own horse's feet? Any good resources you'd recommend for learning?