cadencedhoofbeats

2011-07-09T21:56:00.002-04:00

Some recent happenings have made me think more about the many ways in which we care for our horses. There are so many different viewpoints, so many different opinions, and so many different methods. Every horse is different, and every horse owner is different.

We may agree or disagree on things like feeding and turnout and training methods and which tack and grooming products to use and which vets and farriers to use. One way may work well for one horse and not so well for another.

I think it is important to be an educated, open-minded horse owner, but it is also important to know your horse and know yourself and stick to your guns when necessary.

I think it is also important to work WITH your vet and farrier, not against them. Of course this means finding professionals with whom you and your horse can do this, and one vet and one farrier may work for one horse and not for another. I myself have used several different vets and farriers over the years, and I now have a much better idea of what my horses and I are looking for.

So those are my thoughts for my first blog post in a very long time.

2010-12-09T21:43:00.002-05:00

I'm feeling rather unmotivated tonight. I think it's the cold weather we've been having along with the lack of sunlight. Anybody else really affected by the short days? Luckily only a couple more weeks until it starts getting lighter again, although we won't really see a major difference until February, maybe.

The ponies are eating a lot of extra hay with the cold weather. I am being careful to monitor their water intake, too. Always important in the cold weather.

Almost finished with my Christmas cards and presents! Just a couple more to go. I've been busy making personalized cards, and I hope everybody likes them.

I can't wait for the Christmas weekend!

2010-11-29T21:19:00.003-05:00

I got most of my Christmas shopping done today. I don't have a lot of people to buy gifts for, so it is quite easy. I do try to get people things that I know will be useful to them. Not useful like dishes or batteries or a flashlight or something like that. Useful but fun, too!

So now comes the wrapping of the presents and the making of the Christmas cards. How exciting! I do love the Christmas season. I love Christmas carols, and I love Christmas presents and Christmas cookies. Just have to find a little free time to get it all done! Every year I try to personalize all of my cards, but luckily I don't make too many, so I usually have time for that.

Meanwhile, the ponies are fat and fuzzy. The ground is frozen outside, and the pastures are pretty much dead. They like to nibble the frozen grass, though, and I wonder just how good that is for them. People say frozen grass has a lot of sugar, so it can be bad for them. Hmmm...

2010-11-07T18:56:00.002-05:00

Wow, it's that time of year when the days can be anything from sunny and cool and crisp to downright grey and cold and raw. It gets dark so early, and it's also dark when we wake up in the morning. The ponies are so fuzzy now, and they have already started eating a lot more hay as the pasture dies off. Brrrrrrr! Winter is on its way!

It puzzles me how it became November 7th so quickly. Seems like summer and fall just passed me by. It's time to get ready for the holidays now, including wrapping Christmas gifts and making Christmas cards. I also love Christmas carols and can't wait to listen to them as we really get into the season.

But right now, a nice quiet, relaxing evening is the first thing on my agenda. I sure wish weekends were longer.

2010-09-12T21:35:00.003-04:00

This is my first blog entry in forever, and I am going to complain about the rain!!!!!!!!!!

We have had a very dry summer. Every time the weather people said it was going to rain, we would barely get anything. Tonight they said chance of a shower.

Well, it has been raining steadily for ALMOST 45 MINUTES.

Of course I put all the horses' hay outside.

Now if I had put the hay inside, we wouldn't be getting any rain. So since the pastures are crunchy and brown, I guess I'll take the rain.

BUT IT STILL ANNOYS ME!!!!!!!!

2010-01-22T21:03:00.003-05:00

Sometimes there are people in this world who only care about the way things look on the outside. They don't care about the heart inside or underneath. All they care about is the superficial image. All they care about is the money. All they care about is themselves.

When you're constantly surrounded by this attitude day in and day out, it can be extremely difficult to keep yourself from becoming corrupt like that. You have to stay away. You have to distance yourself from that toxicity. Otherwise you have no hope.

It's sad, really.

Thank goodness for Fridays and cute furry ponies. :)

2009-12-06T07:51:00.000-05:00

Ahhhh, a beautiful, quiet Sunday morning. It snowed last night...not much, but just enough to cover the ground and the trees and make it so pretty outside. The sun is coming up this morning, and the horses are munching their morning hay -- ha ha, and running around! They love playing in the snow. Ahhhh, this is the life!

The snow also gets me in the mood to make Christmas cards. I spent most of the day yesterday working on Christmas cards and plan to finish them up today. I only send a few Christmas cards, but since I print each card with my own photo and write a personalized message to each person, it takes me quite a while! :D

I also have to get a couple of presents organized. I only do a few presents, too, and last year I was completely prepared with what to get everybody. This year, not so much. I have no clue what to get people, so I'm thinking about giving them a variety of goodies. Maybe some chocolate and some other little stuff.

Happy Holidays!

2009-10-24T21:20:00.002-04:00

I am feeling kinda gloomy tonight, and for some reason, that always means I feel like blogging. I don't know, maybe it is the lack of sunlight recently, the fact that the days are indeed getting shorter, maybe it is the weird weather (back and forth between warm and cold, and now it is currently POURING), but whatever the reason, I am feeling gloomy.

Part of it is the fact that the weather is terrible, and I am not getting any riding in whatsoever. Not to mention the fact that my little pony has been slightly lame the past couple of days. She is constantly resting her left hind and is having trouble picking up her other feet due to the fact that she doesn't want to weight her left hind. It doesn't feel hot, and the only swelling is just from being stocked up. That's no surprise since she's standing around all day due to the rain, and as soon as we walk her, the stocking up does go down. She is a little stiff but nowhere near three-legged lame. She can walk and trot pretty well. We thought it might be a hoof abscess, so I stocked up on epsom salts and ichthammol. But today she seems a little better. So we'll just keep watching her, especially once this rainstorm gets out of here.

So yet again, I am not doing any riding. It is kinda frustrating, but I console myself by saying that I cannot control the weather, and as for the lack of time, well, that is part of caring for your horses. They say that if you do self-care of your horses, then you have less time to ride. I believe that is absolutely true! I must admit that I am jealous of other people I know who are riding much more than I am. However, after some of our horrible boarding barn experiences, I would much rather have full control of my horses' care. In case you hadn't noticed, I am VERY particular about my horses' care, and part of that is due to the horrible boarding barns we were in. I am always on a mission to take care of my horses better than those barns did! Trust me, I think I have fulfilled that mission. :D

So now I will go wallow in my gloom by watching CSI: Miami reruns. Good night!

2009-09-07T20:57:00.002-04:00

The nights are getting chilly, and the ponies are getting fuzzier! I can't believe the summer is over already. The pastures are getting low, and the ponies are starting to eat more hay. I actually find their hay patterns really interesting.

I feed anywhere from 10-25 pounds of hay per horse at various points throughout the year. Usually in the summer, they are on pasture in the mornings and early evenings with a little bit of hay during the afternoon and then more overnight. Then during the winter they eat all hay, up to 25 pounds on the coldest winter days.

I find weighing hay to be VERY important. The 10-25 pounds translates to 5-18 flakes sometimes depending on the bales. I know many people can estimate the weight of flakes just by feel and vary according to that, but I also know barns that feed a flat number of flakes a day, no matter what the horse and no matter what the weather. I mean, how on earth can you do that if one flake weighs 1 pound vs. 5 pounds and depending on if it is summer vs. winter?!

2009-08-25T21:29:00.002-04:00

Well, we're still in the heat wave, although this week hasn't been nearly as hot as last week and the weekend. Still quite warm, though, with a good amount of humidity (although not as oppressive as before). Unfortunately, it's all coming back tomorrow! HOT AND STICKY!

The horses have been doing okay, but they have seemed quiet. Not really up for doing much. I haven't ridden at all through this heat wave. I think this weather is supposed to break soon, so hopefully they will feel more energetic. And hopefully I will feel more energetic!!!!!

2009-08-23T21:35:00.003-04:00

Wow, after a cooler than normal summer, we have had nonstop heat and humidity for over a week now. Ugggggh, it is horrible. The air conditioners are working very hard, and I am hosing down the horses every day (at least we're not in a drought). It is finally supposed to break later this week. I can't wait!

Despite the heat and humidity, it was a busy weekend, and I am tired, especially after working outside in this crazy weather. And of course I didn't get everything done that I wanted to...how come the weekends are so short?! I didn't even ride (JUST TOO HOT!), and I still didn't have enough time. Sigh. :P

2009-08-16T14:50:00.004-04:00

OH, MY GOODNESS, IT IS SO HOT!!! Today is definitely the hottest day of the summer so far, and apparently there is more heat on the way for early this week. I tried to ride the ponies this morning but couldn't do much more than walk and a couple of circles at the trot.

I have spent most of the day inside with the air conditioning. The horses seem okay outside, and they are actually out in the sun nibbling grass right now. In the early morning, they do go down in the pasture which is in the shade. And later this afternoon, I will give them a quick rinse with the hose before turning them back out into a different shady pasture.

I can't wait for the cool, crisp autumn season!!! :D

2009-08-10T21:20:00.002-04:00

I am eating mint chocolate chip ice cream right now -- and LOVING IT! MMMM, SOOOOO GOOD! I haven't felt that great today...must be the heat, humidity, and the fact that it's Monday. The weather is really miserable out there today. I can't believe we had such a gorgeous Saturday, and now it's hot, humid, and hazy! We're supposed to get some thunderstorms tonight...not sure how much that will cool things off!

Today something reminded me again of how lucky I am to have the horses under my care. I can't remember exactly what prompted me to think of it, but despite all the work and being out there in the heat and humidity (not to mention the snow, ice, and cold), IT IS ALL WORTH IT!!!!!! :)

2009-08-09T21:48:00.003-04:00

TWO BLOG ENTRIES IN A ROW!!! YAY!!! Today's weather wasn't nearly as nice as yesterday's, but I did get plenty of stuff done. I rode my pony this morning and opted not to ride my other pony, as she still looked like she was favoring her leg. Not dead lame by any means, but just a little off. I cold hosed it in the morning and the afternoon, and by the afternoon, it was looking better. I was considering adding this ColdFlex Vet Wrap to my first aid kit...anybody ever tried it? It sounds like it might be a good thing to have, just in case cold hosing isn't possible.

After my ride and taking care of my other pony, I got some stuff done around the house and ran some errands. I also checked on the yellow jacket nest...I think we got most of them, but I sprayed again just in case.

And so here I am taking a break and blogging. I can't believe the weekend is over. In fact, I can't believe it's the middle of August already. Where did the summer go? I love the fall season and am excited for it, but at the same time, I wish summer hadn't gone by so fast!

2009-08-08T21:32:00.002-04:00

Today was quite possibly the most beautiful day of the year. I don't think the temperature got above 75 degrees, and it was sunny and NOT humid and with a gentle breeze and a blue sky and puffy white clouds...ooooooooooh...just wonderful!!!!

I had a great ride on my little pony this morning, but we think my other pony got stung by a yellow jacket. :( She came in from the pasture and stood there holding up her right front. At first we thought it was puffy in the forearm, but now we see that her knee is a little puffy. We have been cold hosing, and I probably should have given her some banamine, but I hate to do that with her past stomach issues. I will give her some tomorrow if it is still swollen.

She can bear weight on it, and she walks fine, but she favors it a little bit at the trot, and sometimes when she turns, you can see her favor it. When she first came in from the pasture, she looked so sad, but now she has perked up, and she is eating just fine and is normal with everything else.

And when I went to mow the pasture, I found a GIANT YELLOW JACKET NEST!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! Luckily I did not get stung, but unfortunately, my poor pony must have stumbled upon it, too. We have sprayed some yellow jacket killer spray...I hate to use toxic chemicals, but this nest was REALLY BAD. We are going to check it again tomorrow. If anybody has any great tips for getting rid of yellow jackets, please let me know!

Tomorrow's weather forecast is not supposed to be as nice, but I'm just glad it's still the weekend. If it rains, I'll use the day to get some stuff done inside. Little by little, I am working on cleaning my room...I try to do a little bit each night (inbetween blogging and Internet surfing!). I just have so much stuff, and I really need to get rid of some of it and de-clutter, but it is so hard to find the time, not to mention the motivation. Plus I have a lot of stuff that I just can't bear to part with! :D

So off I go to tackle tonight's cleaning session! Better get a move on before I lose my motivation. :D

2009-07-19T21:39:00.002-04:00

Good evening! It has been quite a while since I've been on here, but I wanted to write a blog entry and mention that MY RESCUE PONY IS DOING AWESOME!!!!!! It has been just about three years since we brought her home, and she has come so far. She looks fantastic, but there was this constant mental block under saddle that we just couldn't overcome. But in the past few weeks, we have made a huge breakthrough under saddle, and we had the best ride ever this morning. I am SO happy.

It was also a beautiful summer day -- not your typical hot and ridiculously humid July day, but rather sunny, warm but not too hot, and low humidity with a gentle breeze! JUST PERFECT!

I am heartbroken that the weekend is over now. :(

2009-06-12T20:08:00.002-04:00

I am so tired tonight. It was an unbelievably long week. Very very busy at work and not helped by the weather. It rained literally alllllllllllll week. The sun just came out a couple hours ago, along with massive swarms of horseflies. Oh, man, the bugs are SO bad this year. I have tons of fly tape up in the barn, and there must be hundreds and hundreds of horseflies stuck...it's so gross.

So after I finish nightcheck on the animals, I'm just going to hang out tonight. Maybe get some stuff done inside, as I'm hoping the rain will finally let up this weekend, and I can get some riding in. The horses haven't been worked since last weekend! I had some great rides on Sunday...it figures...as soon as we start doing something great, then we take a week off. :P

I am also getting worried about the hay season. It's mid-June now, and no one is cutting because it's raining NONSTOP! Grrrrrrrrrrrrr. I'm starting to get down to the end of my hay supply, and some of the bales are moldy...ewwwww, I HATE MOLDY HAY.

Good thing the rain is helping the pastures grow like crazy. I need to increase the time on grass for the horses. I'm always VERY careful with letting them on spring grass, but sometimes I can be too careful. Need to be better about increasing the time slowly but steadily.

Good night! :)

2009-06-01T21:16:00.003-04:00

I need to find a way to get rid of mosquitoes!!!!!! It has been a very wet spring, and they are ferocious out there. Any ideas?

We don't have any ponds or major standing water on the property, but we do have woods, and since it has rained so much, I'm sure there are plenty of puddles and wet vegetation for mosquitoes to breed in.

I have a variety of animals here, so I don't want to use anything toxic. I have heard of using garlic granules/sprays such as Mosquito Barrier or Mosquito Beater. Any comments on those and their effectiveness?

I've also heard of using natural repellents such as citronella, lemon juice, cedar, apple cider vinegar...I think there are some sprays with those ingredients that you can use? I wonder if you have to use massive amounts, though.

I don't really have anywhere to plug in a Mosquito Magnet. I've heard mixed reviews about them, too. Not sure what I think.

All I know is that I want the mosquitoes to go away!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-04-10T21:30:00.002-04:00

I listen to the sound of the rain fallin' down my window
Prayin' for a gentle wind, to bring my baby back again

It's an old Celine Dion song, I think. It sort of describes what I'm doing right now, except I'm praying for a gentle wind to dry out my paddock and riding arena! Ha ha ha! I wasn't sure if I wanted to put the hay in the run-in shed tonight, and now I'm glad I did, as I listen to that rain out there.

I'm sad that it's going to rain most of Easter weekend. It figures that today was a beautiful day, and I had to work!

Well, I'm off now for some quality Friday night vegetation. Good night! :)

2009-04-09T22:03:00.003-04:00

I am going to entitle this post "THE BENEFITS OF FRESH AIR."

I work in an office job, and it's a pretty good job...of course it has its moments, but I guess it's okay overall. BUT THE AIR IN THE OFFICE IS TERRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!! I am so so so so so thankful that I have an office with a window. However, usually this window stays closed, as my office mate is always freezing.

However, today my office mate was not in the office, and the window WAS OPEN ALLLLLLLLL DAY LONG!!! It was a sunny, breezy, fairly warm spring day, and I cannot even describe what a difference the fresh air made in my energy level.

I have a lot of trouble maintaining a high energy level all day long. I work HARDER THAN ANYONE between the hours of 8-12. But in the afternoon, I start fading. However, today, with the fresh air blowing in, instead of yawning and trying desperately to stay awake in the mid-afternoon, I was still working hard.

Then after I left work, I had the energy to go outside and muck the whole paddock, play with my ponies, and do other barn chores. I almost NEVER have the energy to do this after a work day, and I swear it was the fresh air.

I don't know why they don't make more offices with windows. I don't know why we have to spend day in, day out chained to our desks in dismal offices. We lead extremely stationary lives indoors, and it's really not good.

WE SHOULD SPEND MORE TIME OUTSIDE RIDING HORSES!!!!!!!!! :D

2009-04-06T21:57:00.002-04:00

What a dreary Monday. As if Monday itself weren't dreary enough, it rained almost all day today. The ponies stayed in the run-in most of the day, but tonight it finally stopped raining, so they came out. The grass is turning green green green, and it is growing, well, like a weed! I think they will start refusing hay pretty soon. It will be a while until they're on pasture for a significant amount of time, but they tend to go on a hay strike right around April and May. That's okay, though...they are plenty chubby!

Work was quiet today...I love it when it's like that, but sometimes I get worried because it's almost TOO quiet. We tend to go from one extreme to the other, either DEAD QUIET or COMPLETELY MANIC. And we often do that in a matter of minutes. I wish we had a happy medium!

2009-04-03T19:49:00.003-04:00

Does anyone else ever enjoy a really quiet Friday night at home? I mean, I know you're supposed to go out and see friends and party late into the night, but does anyone else just NOT have the energy to do this?

I mean, by Friday, I'm just exhausted! There's nothing I'd rather do than curl up on the couch and watch TV or surf some horsey websites or blog a little bit. And sometimes I use Friday night to catch up on little things that I just haven't had time to do during the week...like read my mail.

Now many of the people I know who stay out late on Friday night are NOT up early on the weekends to feed horses, muck stalls, and do farm work. But I do know a couple people who do that...I wish I had their energy!

But since I don't, I think I will enjoy this quiet Friday night. :)

2009-03-15T07:38:00.002-04:00

I am FINALLY feeling better today. I have been sick ALL WEEK...very queasy and just completely exhausted. It was horrible.

BUT I would like to add that my horses got fed well every day, and most of the mucking got done, too. In reference to my last two posts, one thing that also bugged me about boarding barns was when the barn staff got sick, there didn't seem to be any backup. Now with only a couple horses, that's not so bad, but I was always surprised that there was never any plan for getting sick when you had 20-25 horses to care for!

Anyway, this weekend I am catching up on some stuff that I missed all week. I'm sure I'll be very busy at work tomorrow, too, as now I'm an entire week behind. Oh, well. When you are sick, I believe you should take the time to get better! It doesn't help anyone if you spread germs around the office, and yet there are so many people who come to work sick anyway!

I am disappointed that I'm not riding this weekend. It is pretty nice weather, but my little riding area is mostly mud, and I just don't really feel well enough to get up on the back of a critter with spring fever!

2009-03-04T22:05:00.005-05:00

What to look for in a boarding barn, Part II !
(see Part I here)

ATMOSPHERE is very important to me. I've been at big barns and small barns, and I'm more of a small barn person. That said, I also do not like any barn with a lot of nasty people. I was at one barn where the boarders and clients were SO nice to each other. Very respectful and thoughtful, always encouraging each other with their riding, and everybody listened to each other. I've also been at a barn where the barn manager was rude and made fun of people...way to encourage a great atmosphere. Another thing that I've noticed is the mix of disciplines. I personally have ridden dressage and hunter/jumper, and I always love a good trail ride. However, I was at one barn that was ENTIRELY trail riders. As much as I like the trail, I also enjoy schooling in the dressage arena. However, there was nobody else there to ride with. :( I am also more of a backyard rider...I don't do a lot of shows and prefer to take occasional lessons and work on riding on my own. I found it hard to be in a barn where people were going to shows alllllll the time. I'm sure some of them were wonderful people with wonderful horses, but sometimes it made me feel left out.

Now don't worry, the boarding barn FACILITIES are also important to me! Safety of barn and fencing are definitely crucial, but I do believe that you can find a diamond in the rough. One of the best barns I've been at was older and not necessarily beautiful, and one of the worst barns I've been at was BEAUTIFUL with brand-new stalls, fencing, indoor/outdoor arenas, etc. Honestly, an indoor arena is not that important to me. Sometimes in the dead of winter, I do wish for one, but as I have almost never had one where I've been, I've gotten used to it. I do know a couple of people who would die without their indoor, though! :D

I am rather obsessive about MANURE MANAGEMENT, and I think I have only been at one barn that was also obsessive (for both stalls and pastures). That place also had the fewest flies! All barns did daily stall cleaning, but almost nobody managed their pastures. And since I wanted my horse to spend less time in a stall and more time out in the pasture, I would have liked her pasture to NOT resemble a sea of manure. I understand that keeping up with the manure with a lot of horses is very difficult, but with the small pastures in this area (no 100-acre pastures here!), I would have liked to see more frequent pasture cleanings. Manure is just a part of having horses!!! :D

Oh, one thing I forgot to mention is BARN HOURS. I'm really not crazy about them. I thought I could deal with a barn being closed one day per week, but I was so wrong. I thought, oh, I'm going to need a day off from going to the barn anyway. Well, of course that day the barn was closed usually tended to be the nicest weather or when I had the most time or when I had the most energy to ride. Also, I found some of the times to be very limiting. I am NOT going to show up to the barn at 2 AM (unless for an emergency)...I do try to respect the barn owner's home!!! But on a hot summer day, I like to ride at 7 or 8 AM. Or 6-7 at night. When the barn opens at 9 and closes at 4, that doesn't work. :(

Well, those are my thoughts for tonight. Perhaps you think I'm crazy, and you would never want me to board at your barn!!! Well, maybe so. But before I came to your barn, I would try really hard to see if we're a good match. I have tried to think really hard about what my horse and I can deal with. Maybe we'll fit in your barn, and maybe we won't. But at least I will be honest with you about it!

2009-03-03T21:43:00.014-05:00

As I was outside feeding the horses tonight, I thought about how thankful I am that they are in my care. I have boarded at a variety of barns and did not always have the best experiences. I realize that boarding horses is tough! You do hard work for long hours and deal with a lot of different horses and a lot of different people with a lot of different demands.

Recently "what do you look for in a boarding barn" has been a hot topic of discussion. I thought maybe I would start writing down some of my thoughts here. I'm not sure how coherent this will be, but I'll try!

While I was boarding, I think the most important realization that I came to was: What can I live with, and what can my horse live with? Things that I thought I would be okay with, I wasn't. And neither was my horse.

For example, TURNOUT. I am a huge advocate of 24/7 turnout, and so is my horse. I realize that this is not always possible for everybody, and not all horses like it. At one of my boarding barns, they did 10-hour daily turnout and in a stall overnight. I thought this would be fine, but I was wrong. My horse hated it...she was restless, and she didn't like being led out in the morning and being led in at night. She would be led into the stall, and then she would try to run right back out again. The barn also failed to follow through on the 10 hours...some days it was 5 hours, and some days they didn't go out at all. Now just because my horse and I hated that routine doesn't mean every horse and owner would hate it! You have to find the turnout routine that works for you. Some barns I know offer both daily turnout AND 24/7 turnout. One thing I don't like, though, is when my horse is on 24/7 turnout, but all others are stalled. Then mine spends the whole night screaming for her buddies...that's not good either. :(

Also, TURNOUT BUDDIES. My horse grew up in a herd of about 8-10 mares turned out 24/7. She was not turned out with geldings, and at one boarding barn, they turned out in mixed groups. I was game to try this because I wanted to follow the barn's routine, but that DID NOT WORK for my horse. The geldings beat her up and tried to mount her, and there were NO OTHER MARES at the barn, so my mare ended up in individual turnout. Not something that worked for a mare who always lived in a herd. :( That said, I have friends whose horses MUST have individual turnout and other friends whose mares go out with geldings. It all depends on what works for you and your horse! I also recommend knowing what your horse's position in the herd is...my mare is very low in the hierarchy, completely non-alpha, so the geldings just beat her up, and being alone didn't work for her either!

FEEDING became quite an issue for me at several barns. I buy all of the hay and grain for my horses now, and I know how difficult finding good quality hay can be. I don't expect top quality, soft, green, leafy hay all of the time, but I also don't expect yellow, brown, coarse, moldy hay either. And I don't expect to be LIED to about the hay. If it's a tough hay season, please tell me. And if you're having trouble finding hay and think you won't have enough for the winter, please don't buy two more horses.

FEEDING AMOUNT is also important to me. I support more hay, less grain. I like when people talk to me about my horse's diet, I like a consistent diet, and I like to know what my horse is eating. (I know other owners who could care less.) One barn stuffed my easy keeper full of grain and very little hay without my permission. They also changed the type/brand of grain quite frequently. As I mentioned above, I understand that hay can be scarce some years. Maybe we will have to find a forage supplement...maybe we will have to increase the grain a bit. But please talk to me about it first! Also, please make sure that my horse is actually GETTING the allotted amount. When she was stalled, that wasn't a problem, but unfortunately, the stall was the problem! So when she was turned out, it was harder to make sure that she got her share. I know horses will be horses, and dominant horses will chase others away, but please keep an eye out during grain time, and please put out enough hay piles so my submissive mare can eat.

FEEDING ROUTINE is also important to me. Now some people encourage varied feeding routines for horses so they don't expect a meal at the same time every day. If that works for you, that's great. I really like feeding on a schedule, and that's how my horse grew up. When one barn fed anywhere from 4-9 PM, she became quite panicky and nasty and food-aggressive. That didn't work for us. :(

Well, I still have plenty more to comment on, but I think I'm going to stop here for tonight. I've always had so many boarding barn issues, but I've never put them down on paper (er, blogger) before. It's interesting for me to write...I hope it is interesting to read!

2009-02-08T21:31:00.002-05:00

It's just about that time of year when I start getting impatient to ride again. I don't mind taking a couple months off during the winter, as the weather makes it impossible to ride, and I'm usually busy getting the winter hay supply in, and I'm busy with friends and family around the holidays, etc. But now it's February, and I'm ready to ride!

Unfortunately, we still have tons of snow and ice on the ground, so it looks like riding will be delayed another couple of months. In the meantime, I can start PLANNING to ride. I have absolutely made the resolution to MAKE TIME to ride this summer...we'll see how that goes...usually I do a great job in May and June, and then I sort of get burned out, and it gets hot and humid and buggy...blah!

I'd like to try to ride my little pony 2-3 times a week this summer. I'll probably be lucky to get 1 ride in per week on my other pony...she's my rescue, and she just takes so much longer and so much more patience. So if I ride the little one twice and longe once, and longe the other one twice and ride once, then that's six days per week. And I will definitely need one day off...if not more! :D

I'm not sure if I can keep up with that schedule, but I'm going to try!

2009-01-29T21:47:00.002-05:00

I've been doing a good job of feeding less hay, and my rescue pony has been doing a good job of NOT beating up the little pony due to less food. She has really turned a corner this past year. There is more sharing of hay piles and fewer nasty faces...she is MUCH LESS protective of her food.

It has been almost three years since we rescued her. It has been that long, and she still continues to improve. I can't imagine how messed up she was both physically AND mentally.

In a way, I have turned a corner, too. I have relaxed a little bit knowing she is safe and has plenty of food (although I am still a worrywart horse mom!). When I brought her home in such bad condition, I was pretty mad at certain horse people for leaving her that way. I refused to discuss any horse care issues with anybody in fear that they would tell me I was doing things wrong with her.

Now I have made a little contact with some of my old horse friends. Maybe now I will be more willing to share horse stories with them, and maybe now I will make fewer nasty faces, too. Ha ha ha. :D

2009-01-23T21:52:00.002-05:00

I only fed the ponies 40 pounds of hay today! GO ME!!!! Now I'm sure you're asking yourself, why on earth would anybody be so happy about feeding less hay? Well, you see, my ponies are very chubby right now, but I have been too afraid to decrease hay because my rescue mare tries to beat up the little pony when there is less hay. But so far she is doing well...I'm crossing my fingers that it stays that way!

I am so glad it's Friday. This was a tough week at work. Right now I am blogging and eating chocolate...what a great way to spend Friday evening! :)

2009-01-22T18:34:00.003-05:00

My ponies are getting so fat! I must cut down on the amount of hay I'm feeding. I usually feed about 45 pounds per day for the two of them, so I think I'll cut that down to 40 and then see if I can cut anymore. I probably can...they are little pork chops! :D

I highly recommend weighing hay. I know that this is not always possible in a big barn with a lot of horses, but since it's just my two ponies, I find that it helps me manage their diets so much more consistently.

It's tough because my former rescue pony gets worried when there's less hay, and she'll start beating up on the other one, but she is no longer a rescue, and she is plenty chunky, and without much exercise (24/7 turnout but no riding due to snow and ice!), she needs to eat less!

Tomorrow I will start feeding less hay...YES, I WILL!

2009-01-16T21:45:00.003-05:00

O, glorious Friday night! I am SO glad the weekend is here. We have just been running nonstop at work, and I need a break. Although I'm not sure how much of a break I'll get this weekend!

It is currently 1 degree Fahrenheit outside right now, and there's a snowstorm on its way for the weekend. So before that happens, I have a lot of work to do outside at the barn, and I'd sort of like to SEE my horses in the DAYLIGHT. Ugggh, it's that time of year when I feel like I just don't see them...I feed before sunrise, go to work, come home, feed after sunset...it's a tough pattern.

But for now, a nice quiet night surfing the web and watching silly YouTube videos. :)

2008-12-31T21:34:00.003-05:00

Happy Last Day of 2008! My New Year's Resolution is to buy a new hairbrush! Mine has definitely seen better days. I wonder what the life expectancy of a hairbrush is...ha ha ha.

It is cold and windy tonight, and it snowed all day! The ponies are in the run-in with plenty of hay. My little pony is also wearing her blanket, as the wind chills are supposed to be well below zero, and she doesn't have the coat or the internal furnace that my other pony does. She wears a Weatherbeeta Orican, and I am actually impressed with the blanket. I know horse blanket shopping can be quite a chore, and it took me a long time to decide on the Orican, but now I am glad I did!

Also, I made peanut butter cookies with Hershey Kisses today, and they were DELICIOUS! Mmmmm!

Happy New Year!

2008-12-28T15:46:00.004-05:00

Today is just one of those days where I don't want to do anything! It's kinda dreary and damp today...it's unbelievably warm for December 28th, but it's just so warm that it doesn't even feel right. The paddocks are complete mud which I think is better than complete ice, but it's still not great! AND...I saw FLIES out today! Now that is just wrong!

I don't even have the motivation to handwalk my horses. I've been good about that this weekend...getting them out and walking up and down the driveway and around the yard. It's good exercise for everybody, and it's mentally good for them to get out and see the surroundings. But today I just don't have the energy.

So here I am inside writing a blog entry. I'm also depressed that the holiday weekend is over. It seems that no matter what I do, I just never have enough time off from work. Luckily we have another long weekend coming up for New Year's Day, but I'm sure that will fly by, too.

I'm getting really sick of work and the attitudes there. I think I will need to take some extra time off just to get away from them for a while. It's been busy, but that's not the real problem...the real problem is everybody's rude attitude!!! I mean, geez, haven't you ever heard of the holiday spirit?!

A better attitude would be a much better gift than some of the little trinkets I got from coworkers. I don't like how people give out STUFF. I guess it makes them feel good, but I wish they didn't give me useless stuff. I think I will either be donating a lot of stuff -- or trashing it, if necessary.

Uggggh, I guess I am just in a grumpy mood. :(

2008-12-21T21:50:00.003-05:00

This was a nice weekend, and I'm so sad to see it end! We were snowed in the whole time, but it was light fluffy snow, and it wasn't a bad storm as long as you weren't out on the roads.

Which I wasn't! I was either cozy inside or outside in the barn taking care of the horses. They played a lot in the snow, although not as much as I thought they would today. For most of today it was snowing/sleeting pretty hard, so I guess they didn't want to be out in that. They weren't crazy about being inside...they just kinda picked at their hay all day, and I was concerned that they weren't eating. But tonight the weather calmed down, and I put the hay outside, and they are outside chowing down! Silly horses...I guess they just wanted to eat outside!

Back to work tomorrow, but not for long! I can't wait for the Christmas holiday. :)

2008-12-19T22:08:00.004-05:00

It's SNOWING tonight as I type this blog entry! The ponies are tucked in their run-in with plenty of hay, but I'm sure tomorrow morning will mean PLAY TIME!!! They haven't been able to move much in their paddock due to frozen muddy ruts, but now it's a nice flat blanket of WHITE STUFF! I've got to get the camera ready!!! :D

We got let out of work early this morning which was very nice because I am scared to death to drive in snow. Plus it just makes sense! Why should non-essential, non-emergency workers be out on the road? This time they let us out in plenty of time before the storm, too...sort of makes me wonder why we bothered to go in the first place. :D

So while my ponies are tucked in tonight, I am nice and cozy in my room, too. I'm straightening up a bit, sorting some papers, surfing the Internet, blogging, and just enjoying a very quiet, snowy Friday night.

I finished my Christmas cards and presents last weekend (before all this snow provided a lovely background for Christmas photos, of course!). I mailed them out on Monday, so I hope everybody has received them by now, and I hope they liked them!!! :)

2008-12-10T21:48:00.003-05:00

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually wish it would SNOW! First of all, there are only two weeks until Christmas, and it doesn't FEEL like Christmas...I think some snow would help.

Second of all, the weather has been completely bizarre. Today it was 60 degrees, and it RAINED AND RAINED AND RAINED. This does NOT make for a nice paddock. The horses have been hiding in their run-in shed, but they WANT to go outside, but then they go outside and get rained on, so they head right back inside! Some nice, fresh, fluffy, white snow would help a lot with the footing out there. Right now it's just a dangerous mudslide!

Third of all, a lot of snow could mean a SNOW DAY AT WORK! Yay!!! I love snow days! Work has been pretty busy lately, and I'm tired of it. I'm tired of people freaking out about things when there just really isn't anything to freak out about. Also, a snow day this week might mean cancellation of the holiday party! I guess I wouldn't feel so anti-holiday-party if I didn't work in a place where they are CONSTANTLY throwing parties just to throw a party. One of my fellow coworkers once told me that they hold parties just to make themselves feel good, and it's true! There is no sincerity behind it.

And finally, snow would mean I could finally get some good winter photos for my Christmas cards. I was all excited about working on my Christmas cards and presents, and now I have gotten busy, and now I'm behind! I better get moving!

2008-12-06T08:17:00.003-05:00

I love Saturday mornings. :) I like feeding the horses without having to rush out the door to work, and I like eating my breakfast and watching a little TV and checking out some Internet sites and then wandering outside to do barn chores.

Mostly I just like doing all of that in the DAYLIGHT!!! I'm one of the lucky people with a window at work, but the sun never shines directly in, and I spend ALL DAY in the office, so I still feel like I'm lacking daylight. I have no idea how the people who DON'T have a window even function. It's so depressing!

We might get some snow tonight, and while that is also somewhat depressing, it might fill in some of the frozen ruts in the paddock, and I'm hoping it will give me a chance to get some good Christmas card photos! Ha ha, the ponies love snow! :)

2008-11-30T21:48:00.002-05:00

Wow, this weekend just flew by! I am so sad that I'm headed back to work tomorrow.

It was a wonderful weekend. I spent time relaxing, I rode my horses, I took care of some barn chores, I spent time with my best friend, I spent time with my family, and I ate lots of turkey! :)

And cranberry sauce! Mmmmm! We make homemade cranberry sauce, and it is SO YUMMY! Many people at my work like to eat the canned cranberry sauce, and I always freak out when I hear that. Hee hee, I guess they just don't know how good homemade is!

I did NOT go shopping this weekend. I'm a terrible shopper to begin with, and I just can't stand the crowds! I really like shopping online, and I only have a couple of gifts to buy this year, so I don't even have to rush to buy them. I do, however, need to get a move on finishing up my Christmas cards.

Happy December!

2008-11-27T07:42:00.002-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!!

I am so thankful for my family and friends and all of my animals ... AND FOUR DAYS OFF FROM WORK! :D

It is a nice morning so far, sunny and calm and not too cold. The ponies are outside munching their hay. I remember being so frustrated with some horse barns that wouldn't turn the horses out on Thanksgiving. I understand that it is a holiday, but the horses don't know that, and when it is a nice day, they go crazy locked in stalls! I am thankful that my horses are turned out 24/7 now, and they can go in and out of their run-in shed as they please, no matter what the holiday!

Today we are just having a small meal...the big turkey meal will actually be this weekend with my family. I can't wait! I loooooove Thanksgiving dinner. I am very excited for the turkey.

I hope that everyone out there has a wonderful day with family, friends, and animals, and I wish everybody a very happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-21T22:27:00.002-05:00

Yay, it's Friday again! I am SO glad it's the weekend. I'm having a quiet night at home tonight, and I'M LOVING IT. We were actually supposed to have company tonight, and I am very glad they cancelled. Ever have one of those days when you just want some time to yourself?

It has been cold and windy this week, and this weekend is going to be the same. The ponies are okay, but I'm sure they would like some nicer weather (at least less windy!). They are VERY FUZZY now, and they are very chubby because they are eating a LOT of hay.

Work was really really really busy this week. I don't know why, but I just had tons of stuff to do! I went a couple of weeks there where I had NOTHING to do, and I was literally ASKING for more work to do, but this week there was just so much to do!!!! Crazy.

I can't believe next week is Thanksgiving. I am so looking forward to the four-day weekend and the TURKEY!

2008-11-18T22:06:00.003-05:00

I have a bad feeling about this winter...it's only November 18th, and it's pretty cold, and the wind is howling out there! The ponies have free access in and out of their run-in shed, and when it's so windy, they choose to stand INSIDE! I tried to put their hay outside tonight, but when it just blows away, and they stand inside and look at me with big, sad eyes...well, the hay ends up inside, too. :D

Work was really busy today. It always gets busy around the holidays, as people try to get stuff done that they should have done a long time ago! A couple weeks ago it was very quiet at work...I was actually LOOKING for new things to do. I e-mailed several people about submitting some paperwork several times, and they JUST submitted it today. So instead of spacing out the work over a few weeks, they dump it all on me at once. Grrrrrrr...why can't people do things on time?!

Anyway, back to a horsey topic...I'm a little concerned about the hay situation this year. It was pretty wet this summer, so I'm worried about moldy bales and simply having enough hay to get through the winter. I'm getting a delivery this weekend and hoping that the bales are big. Right now I'm paying a LOT of money for awfully small bales. :(

I've started making Christmas cards for this year, and I love it! I can't wait for Thanksgiving, but I also can't wait for the Christmas season and the Christmas music and the Christmas cards! As I mentioned before, I'm going small on the gifts this year, but I hope everyone will like the homemade cards (with photos!).

2008-11-12T22:21:00.003-05:00

Today I took the afternoon off from work, and I RODE MY PONIES!!!!! I MUST do this more often!!! :D

My big pony is improving a lot, but she is still SO nervous about one side of the riding area. Today we just stood there and then walked around a little bit, and I let her just LOOK at everything. I've always heard that when a horse is spooky, you should keep them focused and forward. Well, I've tried that, and maybe she is just one of those horses who has to LOOK and EXAMINE the spooky thing. I don't know, but we'll keep working on it. I guess she just needs more time. She has made a LOT of progress since she was a sad bag of bones (see post here).

Well, I better get to bed. Busy day tomorrow!

2008-11-09T21:31:00.002-05:00

Well, the cat is quite pleased with the new arrangement of hay. Almost immediately after I finished re-stacking, she jumped up to the top of the bales and plopped herself down and looked at me. I must admit I was aiming more for an easy-to-count-how-many-bales-I-have-left arrangement and NOT a cozy cat corner, but it is just so cute when she is all curled up on top of the hay. :D

It was a beautiful November day today...I wish I could have ridden, but my little riding area is just TOO slick...it is pretty dangerous. It's supposed to be sunny and breezy tomorrow, so I'm hoping that will help it dry out.

I NEED to ride more. Ha ha, I say that as we head into winter here where there is no riding done at all. Uggggh, well, next spring and summer I have to figure out a way to work full-time, get all the barn chores done, and still have time/energy/daylight to RIDE MY PONIES.

2008-11-08T13:27:00.003-05:00

Good afternoon, I'm taking a short blogging break before I go outside and stack hay.

No riding this morning, as my little riding area is very slick after all the rain. I don't have a real arena, just a sort of flat grassy area, and after a week of on and off rain, it gets very slippery!

So I'll spend the day reorganizing my hay shed and getting ready for a big hay delivery! There is always stuff to do around the barn. I think my barn kitty will keep me company, though. She is like a dog! She follows me around and "helps" ... usually by sitting on the bale that I want to stack...ha ha ha! :D

2008-11-07T21:33:00.002-05:00

Wow, this was a long week...I thought Friday would never get here! Ha ha, well, the week WAS an hour longer. :D Daylight savings always messes up my internal clock...not to mention the weather was cloudy, gloomy, and rainy all week, and we had a big election that the whole world was watching and waiting for!

The darkness after I get out of work is already starting to bother me, and it's not anywhere close to the darkest day of the year. I'm doing barn chores blindly now (no electricity in the barn...just lantern light!), and the run-in shed was a BIG MESS this week due to the horses standing in there more than usual due to rain. I'm hoping things will dry out this weekend.

I'd like to try to ride my little pony, too! I haven't ridden in several weeks, as the weekends are my only time now, and if the weather is bad, well, that plan goes out the window. And we don't ride during the winter here (too cold, too snowy, too icy!), so I'd like to get a few more rides in before then!

I also need to straighten up the hay barn so that we have room for another load of hay soon. How I wish the bales were bigger...I am paying a lot of money for very small bales. It is good hay, though, so I'm happy...I just wish there was more of it! :D

2008-10-28T21:33:00.002-04:00

I'm really looking forward to the holidays this year. I'm not exactly sure why, as I don't do anything outrageously special, but for some reason, the thought of some time off from work to eat a big yummy feast with my friends and family just really appeals to me this year.

I have a small family and only a couple close friends, so I don't have a lot of gifts to buy. I know exactly what to buy them this year, and it won't break the bank, and they're practical gifts that I know they'll like and use in some way.

I also mail holiday cards to a few old friends, and I always try to handwrite a personal letter and enclose some photos of my horses and me. I hope it makes my friends happy to receive something like that, and I hope they will send the same kind of thing to me this year, as I'd love to hear from them.

What I do NOT like about the holidays is the insincerity and commercialism at my work. The people there like to throw parties and give expensive gifts, and it honestly makes me want to throw up. They spend so much WORK time planning the parties and then complain about how they have so much work to do. They buy gifts for EVERYBODY without really putting any thought into them other than "look how much I can spend on you!" I try to avoid these disgusting displays of holiday wealth at all costs, and then I get called a Scrooge.

Ugh, it makes me sick.

Fortunately, I have plenty of other holiday happiness to look forward to, as mentioned above, and also including listening to Christmas carols and watching my ponies play in fresh fluffy white snow!!! :)

2008-10-26T21:56:00.002-04:00

As we get further into the fall season, and the daylight hours are decreasing, I find myself rushing a LOT more to get barn chores done and to spend precious time with my ponies. Weekends are too short, and I often wish that I had a more flexible work schedule. I barely see my ponies during the week other than to feed and muck, and those two chores are often done at lightning fast speed to beat sunset and darkness!

I wish I could work at home. I would gain both my commuting hour and my lunch hour. That's TWO very precious DAYLIGHT hours of the day. Sometimes I feel like I waste my lunch hour at the office...instead I wish I could run outside and do some quick barn chores and then go back to work. Or if I wanted to ride in the middle of the day, then I could spend an extra hour or two working at home in the evenings when it's dark.

To me, that makes sense...you work when the job needs you to, not a set schedule. Unfortunately, that is not to be, so I must live with the fact that I just can't spend that much time with the ponies once daylight hours start to wane. BUT IT'S SO FRUSTRATING!!!

Okay, vent over. :D

2008-10-18T21:41:00.003-04:00

Brrrr...it is going to frost tonight! But the ponies are plenty fuzzy and toasty warm outside munching on their delicious 2nd cutting hay. They just finished up the 1st cutting this afternoon, so now they are entirely on 2nd cutting. I made the switch over about a week from October 11th-18th, so I'm making a note of that so I remember next year!

I was very busy today taking down fly traps and washing barn windows and putting up insulated water buckets and doing other chores to get the farm ready for winter. I'm hoping some avid gardeners will come take away my manure pile before the snow falls this year. :)

2008-10-15T21:32:00.002-04:00

I love these cool, clear autumn nights when the moon is full and the wind is calm, and I can watch my ponies munching hay in the moonlight. They just started eating 2nd cutting hay this week (mixed with 1st cutting), so they are gobbling it down. There is very little pasture left, so they are refusing to go out on pasture when they know there is yummy 2nd cutting hay in the barn! :D

2008-10-07T21:54:00.002-04:00

I had an awesome ride on my big pony today!!! I couldn't believe it!!! I had been doing a lot of walking with her, just trying to get back into the swing of things after so much time off. But today she decided that it was a good day to trot and canter...wow!!!

And she didn't try to buck me off! We had been having some issues with that, and I have been absolutely baffled with trying to fix them, but maybe we made a little progress today!

We didn't trot or canter for very long at all, and I let her stretch at the walk inbetween. Sometimes she gets so tight, and she starts to curl her neck, and that's when she'll buck. So we are just going to take it slow.

I'm sure she would progress faster if I could ride every day, but unfortunately, that is not going to happen. I'm just happy that we've gotten this far...it has been a very long, difficult road with her.

2008-10-05T10:17:00.003-04:00

And it's raining AGAIN! When will the water ever stop?! Well, I guess I can't complain because yesterday was absolutely BEAUTIFUL (the perfect fall day), but I had big plans to ride this morning, and those plans just went out the window as I sit here inside next to the window and watch it rain.

Oh, well, a day off from horsey stuff never hurt anybody. I have tons of stuff to do inside, too. I did some laundry this morning and found that I am in desperate need of SOCKS! Ha ha, out of all clothes items to need, I need socks. And I think I need super reinforced toe/heel socks or something because I always end up with holes! :D

I also need to clean up my room. I wish I had time to sort through all the stuff that has accumulated over the years...I'm sure I don't need half of it anymore, but I hate to throw anything out if I don't look at it first! Ha ha ha. :D I also need to reorganize...I'm not entirely happy with how things are kept around here. Hmmm...maybe a good project for a rainy day like today?!

2008-09-27T11:19:00.002-04:00

Wow, it is a soggy day today! It has been pouring for about a day and a half already, and it is pouring out there right now, and I think it is going to keep pouring for another day and a half! Thank goodness there was a short break in the rain this morning so the ponies could get out on the pasture, and I could muck out the run-in shed and paddock. They are now back in their cozy little run-in with hay. :)

So since all barn chores were done this morning, I am taking the afternoon to do house chores and spend some time relaxing. Rainy days are good for relaxing. I'm thinking I will do a little laundry, clean up my room, surf the Internet for a while...

2008-09-17T20:15:00.003-04:00

So my last post mentioned how hot and humid it was...well, now only a few days later, the cool weather is on its way! It's not too bad tonight, but tomorrow night and Friday night are supposed to be very chilly!

I think my little pony is feeling the effects of the cool weather in her joints. She doesn't seem to be as smooth in her movement as she did earlier this summer, especially on her left hind. I want to try her on a glucosamine/chondroitin/hyaluronic acid supplement and see if that helps. There are SO MANY supplements to choose from, though! It boggles my mind!

It is also getting dark earlier! After work every day, I am racing through the barn chores just to get to spend time with my horses before the sun goes down. During the winter, it makes me sad that I almost never see my horses in the daylight. Sunshine is precious! :D

2008-09-14T14:41:00.003-04:00

Ugggh, hot and humid today! It rained this morning, too, so it is extra sticky out there. We had a few days of beautiful cool, crisp fall weather last week, so I hope that's headed back our way soon!

My injured pony is doing much better now! We think she might have gotten stung by a yellow jacket. She limped around for a few days, but now she's fine. :)

The ponies are both growing their winter coats already. They've been shedding for weeks, and the extra fuzz is very noticeable now. The pastures are still green because of all the rain, but the grass is definitely short. I've started to feed more hay. Despite the hot and humid (and buggy!) weather today, winter is on its way!

Back to work again tomorrow. I'm trying to plow through my "things to do" list this afternoon. Wish me luck! :D

2008-09-03T22:26:00.003-04:00

My pony is injured! :(

But we don't think it's serious. There seems to be a little swelling in her knee, and she is sort of limping around, but tonight she seemed better after some cold hosing, bute, and Equilite Sore No More (http://www.sorenomore.net). We'll see how she's doing tomorrow!

Despite my pony problems, I'm having a wonderful week off from work...I definitely need more of these. Since my equine friend is out of commission, tomorrow I'm going to try to get some stuff done around the house. I really need to clean up my room. :P

2008-08-25T21:44:00.002-04:00

We had some awesome longeing sessions with the ponies tonight. I do longe frequently, as I don't always have time or energy to ride. But I don't longe for very long, and I do lots of transitions between gaits and within gaits, and I do ground poles, and I move up and down the entire arena, so at least the ponies aren't just going around in one little circle.

I got a great working trot out of my big pony tonight. Sometimes she is reluctant to use her hind end, and I think it's because she's sore in her hips. I don't know why, and it is really bothering me. Maybe she is just getting older now (I am looking into joint supplements), but I also suspect some type of injury a few years ago.

Sometimes I wish horses could talk and tell me what hurts! :D

2008-08-24T16:08:00.002-04:00

Ugh, so the riding didn't go that well this morning. It was okay, just not as good as I'd like it to be. I'm sure part of the reason is that I just CANNOT find the time or energy to ride consistently. Sometimes the horses will have many days off, and then I feel like every ride is starting over again instead of progressing.

Then we stacked hay bales...I wish we had more room to stack them a little more loosely. I think all the hay is dry, but I always like to leave air space just to be extra sure. Luckily my hay barn has big windows and big double doors, so everything is open right now, and I've been running a fan in there.

Then we caulked cracks in my fence. There are lots of yellow jackets getting in, and they are flying around in hordes. I suppose they could just eat through the caulking, but I hope it will slow them down just a little bit.

Back to work tomorrow. Yuck. I've been pretty happy at work for most of the summer, but lately I have just been dragging. I'm just so sick of everything at this point. I'm very excited about my upcoming vacation, as I really need to reenergize myself.

2008-08-17T21:52:00.002-04:00

The weather was PERFECT today! I got a ride in on my big pony this morning. She was AWESOME. We are just walking and doing some circles and figure eights and serpentines to help build up her strength. I wanted to do a new ground pole exercise with her, but my other pony was FREAKING OUT and racing back and forth and bucking and kicking, and I didn't want the other one (whose back I was sitting on!) to pick up on that, so I decided to quit while I was ahead. I don't know what my other pony was carrying on about, but she calmed down later and was fine.

Then I did a lot of chores around the farm, and then I went swimming with my best friend! The water was cool, and the air was kinda chilly for the middle of August. But it was tons of fun! :D There was a fish following us around the lake...ha ha ha.

Back to work tomorrow...ugh...why does the weekend go by so fast?!

2008-08-16T19:19:00.004-04:00

I really wish weekends were three days long. I need one day to work on barn chores, one day to ride, and one day to be a couch potato. I could do with a whole lot more weekend and a whole lot less weekday! :D

I like to ride early in the morning on the weekends, as it is quieter, and I have more energy. It is almost impossible for me to motivate myself to ride in the evenings. Unfortunately, this morning was foggy and drizzly, so I opted not to ride. Then it became sunny and breezy and beautiful...go figure. At that point I had sort of convinced myself that it was going to be a chore/couch potato day. I'm starting to get things ready for winter in the barn, like making winter blankets more accessible and sweeping out the cobwebs and washing the windows and making room for hay. It sounds crazy, as it's only the middle of August, but I have so much stuff to do before the snow comes!

Tomorrow is going to be a riding day, and then I'm going swimming. I definitely need more couch potato time. :D

2008-08-09T22:56:00.002-04:00

Yikes, it's kinda late, and I really should be going to bed, but I just can't resist blogging for a little bit.

I had good rides on both of my ponies again today. I just wish I had time to work them more consistently. My rehab pony is doing excellent...we're just walking right now, as I want to build up her back strength a little bit more and work on relaxation. My other pony is working on steering and straightness at the walk and trot...she's doing great, too. :)

I went to visit a friend and her pony today, too. It was so much fun. I really really really miss having horsey friends around. I love bouncing ideas or problems or training thoughts off other horse people, and I just haven't had that in a long time. I love reading the horse forums online, but sometimes it just isn't the same.

I don't know how to find more horsey friends, though! The horse world is so strange and so snobby sometimes. Everybody has their own ideas about how to ride and care for their horses, and it's hard to find philosophies that match. I worry about saying things about other people's horses or talking too much about mine...I fear that people will either take offense or make fun of me. :(

2008-08-08T21:33:00.002-04:00

What a long week! I am just exhausted tonight. I didn't spend much time with my ponies this week due to daily thunderstorms, and that always makes the week harder to get through...when I'm doing chores at the speed of light to beat the storms, and I don't get any time to pet my ponies! :D

The mosquitoes have been HORRIBLE because of all the rain. I am pretty happy with the fly predator results...I just wish there were mosquito predators! I have a lot of bug bites, and I have been wearing Off! repellent, and I have been spraying the ponies every night. They hate fly spray, but it's better than getting chomped on by mosquitoes!

The Olympics start today...I can't wait to see the freestyle dressage! I am so excited!

2008-08-02T21:39:00.003-04:00

I had awesome rides on both of my ponies today!!! I was really really really happy. I don't have much time to ride anymore, so any chance I get is very precious! :D

Luckily I also got the riding in before it rained. We got a pretty decent downpour this afternoon. It has been quite soggy lately...I hope it is helping the hay grow, but I hope it dries up when it is time to cut!

I saw a little yellow kitty outside tonight. I am not sure where this cat came from, but he (she?) has been hanging around my barn for a few months. I don't know if he gets along with my cat, so we are trying to chase him away, but he keeps coming back. Last year there was another random cat that used to chase my cat up trees, so we don't want any more nasty cat fights!

I was busy out on the farm today, and I am glad for the downtime on a quiet Saturday night. :)

2008-07-31T22:22:00.003-04:00

WOW! The price of Woody Pet jumped almost $2.00/bag since I bought it last month! That's insane!!! Maybe it depends on the feed store...I did go to a different feed store last month. Maybe that price was a mistake...I'm hopeful but doubtful, and I'm not sure if I can continue to bed my run-in shed at those prices! I try to bed very lightly, as my horses have free access in and out, but I guess I'm going to be bedding even lighter!!!!!

I'm so glad tomorrow is Friday, but I can't believe it's August 1st!

2008-07-30T22:18:00.002-04:00

I think the fly predators are working!!! I was really hesitant to try them, and I started quite late this season, but I do think they're making a difference. I've used a lot of traps to keep the flies under control this summer, but I bought the predators as extra reinforcements with all the rain and humidity. I will definitely try the fly predators for the full season next year!

Now if only something would kill mosquitoes!!!

I've been doing some research on joint supplements for my ponies. They're getting older now, and I suspect they both may have had a bad injury at some point. I'd like to get something with glucosamine and chondroitin (not necessarily MSM), and I'm also really interested in hyaluronic acid. People say they've had good results with it. Any suggestions?

2008-07-27T07:41:00.003-04:00

It's raining, and I'm having a lazy Sunday morning in front of the computer. It's kinda nice, as yesterday was sunny and beautiful, and I was busy outside doing lots of stuff! I washed horse blankets, washed down my run-in shed, mucked my paddock and pastures, scrubbed water buckets, sprayed hornet nests, and went to visit a good pal and her two dogs (very energetic little beasts!).

So it's been a good weekend. If it keeps raining, I'll probably just spend the day surfing the Internet. If not, I'll be back out there finishing up the horse blankets and doing chores. I love how my life is so dependent on the weather. :P

2008-07-24T22:14:00.003-04:00

My tummy hurts. I think I ate too many cookies at work today. Whatever kind of cookies we get at work, they always make me sick. You'd think I would stop eating them then, wouldn't you? Yes, yes, yes, I must stop eating those cookies!

It rained most of the day today. It was kinda nice, as we really needed it. I hope this helps the pasture and the hay fields grow. It was a little dark and windy this evening, although I think the rain is mostly gone. The horses were a little spooked by it.

Tomorrow is supposed to be beautiful, but unfortunately, I have to go to work. Thank goodness it's Friday. I hope the weather is nice this weekend...I want to ride!

But only if my tummy feels okay. Ugh...cookies. :P

2008-07-23T22:02:00.002-04:00

We finally got some rain today! Actually just in the last hour and a half there was a major downpour. I went out for nightcheck on the horses, and there must have been an inch of rain puddled at the bottom of their paddock. Well, I was hoping for some rain, and I got it! :D We really needed it...my pastures were getting really short, and the paddock was SO DUSTY! It's supposed to rain tomorrow, too.

My hip really hurts today. Must be because of the rain. Ever since my car accident, it has been able to tell me the weather. However, it has been fine for quite some time now...this is definitely strange. I might take some Ibuprofen before I go to bed tonight.

I ordered an extra batch of fly predators last night. I knew it was going to rain, so I thought the little fly guys could use some reinforcements! :D

I'm still trying to decide on what kind of computer to buy and whether or not I currently have the funds to buy it! I was just looking online at the Dell Inspiron 530. I want to get one with good memory and hard drive space. I can't wait to get a flat panel monitor, too! My current monitor is old and clunky, and there is a lot of glare on the screen.

Well, I must go locate some Ibuprofen and go to bed. Good night!

2008-07-22T21:46:00.002-04:00

My mom reminded me that two years ago today I brought my horse home. :)

Due to some unpleasant boarding situations, she was literally a bag of bones. She was maybe a body condition score of 2 or 3. Her eyes were dull, and she was so cranky and nasty. All she did was eat and eat and eat. I worried so much about her. I started her on a diet of 2 pounds of Blue Seal Demand + 1 cup Omegatin + 5-6 flakes of timothy/grass hay per day.

After doing much research about equine nutrition, I steadily increased her to 4 pounds of Omegatin + 1 pound of ADM NaturalGlo rice bran nuggets per day. I also started weighing my hay and feeding more hay, and my little 14.3 hh mare scarfed down 45-50 pounds of hay a day. JUST BY HERSELF!

Today, two years later, she is fat and sleek and shiny. Her eyes are bright, and she is friendly and full of energy. She is currently eating 10 pounds of hay, 4 hours of grass pasture, and 2 cups of Triple Crown Lite per day...what an easy keeper! :D

To anybody who is trying to put weight on a horse, I highly recommend free choice 2nd cutting hay. If my little mare needed to eat 45-50 pounds per day, I can't imagine what the bigger horses need to eat. I also recommend Omegatin, as it is high fat, low starch, and full of calories, vitamins, and minerals. See www.omegatin.com.

It also takes time. I was so frustrated and so impatient to see a difference in my mare. I would say it took a good three months before I started seeing a difference, and a good six months before her weight was back where it needed to be. She has continued to improve over two years, and today she looks the best I've ever seen her. :)

Once somebody asked me what my greatest accomplishment was. It was definitely bringing my horse back. :)

2008-07-21T20:05:00.002-04:00

By the end of the day, I have very little energy left to ride my horses. On weekends I try to ride super early in the morning, but that doesn't work on weekdays when I have to go to work.

The other day I was trying to remember how I managed to go to school, do homework, and ride five or six days a week. Why do I have so much less energy today? Is it because I'm older...well, yes, but not THAT much older. :D Is it because I'm fully responsible for the care of my horses now? That's probably part of it, as running a farm is very exhausting! Is it because I get home at 4:30 PM every day instead of getting out of school at 2:00 PM? Yeah, that's a major part of it, too, as I'm an early morning person and NOT an evening person. And school was so much more flexible, and I didn't sit in front of a computer ALL DAY EVERY DAY. And I could do homework at random times if I knew I would have a hectic riding schedule during the week. The work schedule is so much more rigid.

I would love to work 8-1 or 9-2 every day. That would be so nice. :D Even 10-3 would be okay, as then I could ride early in the mornings. But that will never happen, as I could never make enough money. Oh, well.

Not that it's great riding weather anyway. It is HOT and HUMID. Yuck.

2008-07-20T21:51:00.003-04:00

My ponies got a full bath today! They look remarkably clean right now. Ha ha ha, they won't stay that way for long. They were very good for their baths...the cool water must have felt great today. It was so hot and humid! Then afterwards they got a molasses Rounders treat...they LOVE molasses Rounders treats! :D

My pony is rubbing out her tail, though. :( The hair is dry and brittle, so maybe she just needs some moisturizer! :D They are dewormed regularly. I better do some research.

I went swimming yesterday...it was awesome! I haven't been swimming in a long time, so I forgot how much fun it is! :D

But now the weekend is over. So very sad. Back to work tomorrow.

I've been doing a lot of financial stuff this weekend. In the next couple of months, I can either pay off more of my car, or I can buy a new computer. This computer is so old and so slow...I'm afraid it's going to die on me any minute. However, a really good new computer is quite expensive, and I really do want to get one of the top models. Maybe I should just save a little longer and work on paying off my car for now.

We might get some thunderstorms tonight. Whatever we get, it probably won't be enough to really soak in. It desperately needs to rain...my pastures are so dry, and the hay isn't growing!

2008-07-18T21:57:00.003-04:00

And it's Friday again! Yay!

I was just doing some financial stuff. It looks like I'm going to have a little extra money to pay off more of my car loan next month. That's awesome. :)

It was hot and humid today, although not as bad as the weather people were forecasting. Tomorrow is going to be worse...but I'm going swimming!!!!!!!! And the ponies might get a full bath. They got a quick rinse this evening...I think they liked it...they both stood very quietly...usually they freak out about the water.

The mosquitoes were pretty bad tonight. I've been using Ultrashield on the horses for the past week or two. I'd like to go back to Equisect...I just bought a new gallon, and it's less toxic and a little gentler and not as nasty smelling. I also got my fly predators today. I'm a little creeped out about hatching insects...well, they haven't started hatching yet...I'll check them again tomorrow. I sure hope they work on the flies...now if only something would eat mosquitoes!!!

We do have a lot of dragonflies this year...must encourage more dragonflies!

I just ate some cookie dough ice cream...yummy!

2008-07-17T22:16:00.002-04:00

Good evening. It is getting quite late, but I thought I'd write a little bit before bed.

I took yesterday off from work and got a lot of stuff done around the farm. Lots of weedwhacking! And I also fixed the fly traps and turned the manure pile. It is turning into great compost, so if there are any gardeners out there, let me know! :D

I also ordered some fly predators...it is late in the season, but the flies are mostly under control due to the fly traps. I figure this will just be a little extra boost for the end of July and August, the worst part of the summer. I'm a little disturbed about releasing MORE insects onto my property, but everybody raves about the fly predators, so I figured I'd try it!

The ponies are doing well. I'm not sure how much riding will be done this weekend because it is supposed to be 95 degrees and humid. YUCK! More like good horsey bath weather. Also good swimming weather...I might be going swimming on Saturday! YAY! I hope I don't have another allergic reaction to something in the water...although maybe it will help my super hypersensitive skin get over this annoying allergy!!!

I'm trying to figure out how to pay off my car loan faster. Hmmm...better do a little budget work this weekend. We should be getting our annual pay raises soon! :)

Okay, time for bed. Good night!

2008-07-13T21:42:00.002-04:00

We got hay today! It is late 1st cutting, so it is a little stalkier and browner than I would have liked, but nowhere near as bad as it could be. There IS still some green in it and some softer stems. And it appears to be very dry. So I am happy. There's nothing like a full barn of hay to make a horse person very very very happy.

The weather was nice this weekend, but my allergic reaction is still bothering me, especially when I get dirty and sweaty. I tried to ride yesterday, but I was so uncomfortable that I had to stop after 10 minutes. :( Maybe next weekend. I just finished my prednisone today, and I am still taking Benadryl.

It's supposed to be hot this week, so I hung up some more fly traps today. I want to try the fly predators, but I think we might be too late this season. Fortunately, the fly traps are doing a pretty good job! I forgot to turn and lime the manure pile today...that also helps keep the flies down.

Back to work tomorrow...ugggggh...the weekends are just not long enough!

2008-07-11T19:41:00.002-04:00

Yay, it's Friday night! My favorite evening of the week! And it has been beautiful weather the past couple of days...finally a change from the nasty heat and humidity. All of the hay guys have been out cutting hay. We're getting a hay delivery on Sunday. I hope it's good stuff! :D

The ponies have been out on pasture a lot more, so they are actually eating less hay. They are getting really fat. It didn't help that they had a couple of weeks off due to the weather and my icky allergic reaction (I am STILL a little itchy!). :( I'm hoping to finally ride this weekend!

I went out for Chinese food last night with my very best friend. It was SO YUMMY! I need more Chinese food...mmmm...craving!!!!!! I have been eating a lot of italian ice recently, too. It helped cool me down when my skin was all red and splotchy, so I sort of got addicted. :P

Work was pretty quiet today. It was nice. I wish it was always slow like in the summer. :)

I'm trying to clean up my room tonight. I have so much junk that I don't know what to do with! Must de-clutter!!! I sold my old saddle a couple of weeks ago...that was great! Hmmm, now what else can I get rid of?

2008-07-07T22:22:00.003-04:00

Three blog entries in a row...I am on a blogging roll! :D

I am feeling even better today. Mostly just tired now. Still a little red and itchy, but the prednisone is helping a lot. I think I will take some Benadryl before going to bed, too.

The hot and humid weather is NOT helping. And I had to spend most of the day cleaning up my hay shed in order to make room for new hay this weekend. Hay buying...one of the toughest parts of horse ownership, I tell you! The weather has been very uncooperative lately...I sure hope they can get a good hay crop in this year!

The flies are SO bad out there. We were doing great for a while there, and all of a sudden, they just exploded with this wet/humid weather. I feel bad for the horses. I bought some more fly traps and will hang them up tomorrow. I've also considered buying fly predators, but I'm not sure if it's too late. They are a little expensive, too...I'll have to check the budget!

Almost time for bed now...must go take Benadryl...zzzzzzzzzzzz...

2008-07-06T20:18:00.002-04:00

Wow, a blog entry TWO NIGHTS in a row! :D

I am feeling better today thanks to massive doses of prednisone. The medicine makes me feel tired and sad, but at least the allergic reaction has gone down. Thank goodness!

I ordered some fly spray and fly ribbons today. The flies have been really bad the past few days, so I hope the JUMBO FLYCATCHERS will help! :D

I've been trying to figure out how to track my budget this year. I keep very close track of all the horse expenses, and I always make a list of upcoming expenses, but I'm not sure how to keep track of non-horse expenses. All the non-horsey stuff just sort of gets lumped into one amount if I'm paying off my credit card bill. And if it's not on my credit card bill, then there is just so much little stuff to keep track of. Oh, well. As long as I have enough money to pay my bills, I guess I'm okay!

Almost time to feed the horses, and then it will be off to bed!

2008-07-05T22:02:00.003-04:00

Sigh. I am not feeling very well tonight. I haven't felt well all week. I had a bad allergic reaction to sunblock and have to take lots of prednisone now. :( It makes me very tired and sad.

The weather has been terrible, and there has been a lot of rain, and I am worried about the upcoming hay season. My ponies are bored, as it takes all of my energy just to go outside and feed them right now. I wish I felt better.

People were setting off fireworks very close to us tonight, and it scared the horses and the cat, and I saw a few bats flying around, too. I think the only animals that aren't scared by fireworks are MOSQUITOES. Uggggh...if anyone has any good non-toxic mosquito trap suggestions, I would love to hear them!

I need to start getting the horses out on pasture more. I am very cautious about letting them out on spring grass, but it's July now, and I really need to get them up to several hours of grass. I need to feed less hay.

I need to order some fly spray, too. I better start looking online and comparing prices. I sort of want to buy my ponies some treats, too. They don't get treats often, but today I am in a generous mood. Must be the steroids. :P

2008-02-15T21:15:00.002-05:00

Wow, I completely forgot about this blog. So much for my brilliant idea of keeping a journal.

Ponies are doing great. Winter is a rough time, as always, but only a couple more months! I do wish we had more fluffy snow, though! All we have is ice. :(

Work is annoying. Certain people can't make up their minds, and they're driving me crazy. I guess indecisiveness is not necessarily bad, but when the indecisive people blame their inability to make a decision on YOU, then that is bad. Hey, it's not MY problem! :D

I have to go buy bedding tomorrow. I might buy some Woody Pet.

2007-10-19T22:01:00.000-04:00

I love love love the Internet. I think it is a great tool with lots of information. I mostly use it to look up horse information.

However, sometimes I think I also hate the Internet! There is TOO MUCH information. Sometimes it makes me into a hypochondriac with my horses. I read something online, and then I think that maybe my horses have that problem. Maybe it's a disease, or an injury, or some other sort of condition, or maybe a training issue, or whatever it is. I just gotta relax and remember not to believe everything I read on the Internet!

Not that I do. I am very careful and do a lot of research and reading. But all that research and reading sometimes freaks me out!

So tonight I am not going to surf any horse websites. I am going to surf something else!

2007-10-08T21:42:00.001-04:00

Wow, it has been the longest time since I've written in here. I don't know why I felt like writing tonight out of all nights...maybe just a lot on my mind! :D

I had a GREAT long weekend off from work. I spent a lot of time with my horses and my friends. Sometimes I forget how nice it is to spend time with good horses and good friends!

Some time ago one of my friends started refusing to spend time with me. She loves animals but didn't want to come see the horses. She didn't want to drive all the way to my house, but she also didn't want me to drive to hers. She didn't call me back. I guess we didn't have much in common anymore, so the friendship was doomed anyway. Oh, well.

Thank goodness for other friends. :)

It's going to rain tomorrow. In a way that's good. We need some rain, and I could use a nice, quiet rainy day.

2007-04-22T21:42:00.000-04:00

Spring is here! To stay, I hope, but no guarantees around here. Last week it was sleeting and raining, and this week it's sunny and 80 degrees, and I'm spraying fly spray on horses. Go figure. Speaking of which, I need to put in an order for fly spray and other horse supplies. Must do that ASAP! Anybody have any fly spray recommendations?

On an entirely different note, it puzzles me why people at work spend so much time and effort (not to mention MONEY) on ridiculous things. Things could be so simple if people didn't make them so complicated! Ha ha ha, that sentence made no sense whatsoever.

I have to go clean my room.

2007-03-01T21:57:00.000-05:00

I am appalled at some people's arrogance and sheer rudeness. Not surprised, but absolutely appalled. When you want somebody to do something for you, is being rude going to motivate them to get it done any faster? I think they'll just resent you even more than they did in the first place.

I'm very worried about the hay situation this year. Ponies need food! Also still interested in feeding a vitamin E/selenium supplement...must do some research and cost comparisons for that.

Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday.

2007-02-20T21:40:00.000-05:00

Spring needs to come PRONTO!!! The ice has started to melt a little bit. I was able to shovel a path to the manure pile tonight...phew, who needs to go to a gym when they have aerobic exercise right in their backyard? :D

I got an e-mail from an old friend tonight. It's sad how friends drift apart sometimes. I guess people just move on with their lives.

2007-02-17T21:53:00.000-05:00

It was a nice day today. Very sunny and a decent temperature for this time of year.

The ponies are doing well. I'm thinking about feeding a vitamin E/selenium supplement, so if anybody has any advice on that, please feel free to comment.

Work is going okay...actually kinda boring yesterday. I was surprised. I expected it to be crazy, and it wasn't. I spent the day catching up on some little stuff.

There is a strange tapping in the wall...maybe it's a mouse?

2007-02-10T20:59:00.000-05:00

Ugh, so you know how I said the ponies were getting too fat? Well, now I'm worried they might start losing weight because I have to start feeding less hay. I'm not sure if I have enough to get through the rest of the winter, and I need to ration. I am having a very hard time finding GOOD QUALITY hay.

I have some hay that's okay, but I worry about how much nutrition is actually in it. It's dusty and stalky, but at least it's not moldy. I threw out 8 moldy bales this morning...SOLID BLOCKS OF MOLD...DISGUSTING!

I'm glad it's the weekend. I've been working too hard, and I need a vacation.

2007-01-30T21:45:00.000-05:00

Wow, I can't believe it's the end of January already. It's going to snow tonight! :)

Work has been pretty quiet lately. I'm surprised, but happy.

The ponies are doing well, but they are really fat. :D I'm surprised since it has been pretty cold, and they should be burning off calories, but they're doing just fine! They eat mostly hay...very little grain, and I think maybe I should cut out grain completely.

2007-01-20T18:06:00.000-05:00

I'm really sad tonight. Having horses is supposed to be fun and relaxing, and it's really stressing me out right now. I love my ponies very much, but dealing with the things that are necessary to keep them (ex: crazy hay dealers) drives me insane!!!!

I can't wait to go to sleep. I didn't sleep very well last night, and I'm exhausted.

Good night. :)

2007-01-12T20:12:00.000-05:00

I absolutely MUST buy hay feeders! I can't stand how the ponies waste so much hay! Hay is such a precious commodity, and I like feeding a lot of hay and little grain, but they just stomp all over it. If I put out less, then my rescue horse thinks she's starving to death. But of course she refuses to eat stomped on hay.

I tell you, horses are crazy! :D

2006-12-30T20:02:00.000-05:00

Now don't get me wrong...I love love love surfing the Internet for horsey websites and reading the horsey bulletin boards. But sometimes I think that maybe it's not such a good idea. I learn about so much bad stuff that can happen to your horse, and it makes me sick with worry! I have to stop being such an overprotective worrywart horse parent! :D

I'm so glad it's Saturday, but unfortunately, I didn't get as much done today as I wanted to, so now I have to do it all tomorrow, and I don't have much time tomorrow either, as I have friends coming over for New Year's Eve!

Happy 2007! (I think I might have said that in my last post, so I'm repeating myself here.)

2006-12-29T22:00:00.000-05:00

Got out of work early AGAIN today! It was the best day ever! :D

A new thought to ponder: Would a horse with ulcers have trouble picking up its feet for the farrier or even just to be picked out? It seems to me that if the tummy hurts, the horse might not be able to stand on three legs?

Supposed to be chilly tonight...brrrrrrrrrrrr! Happy Friday, and Happy New Year!

2006-12-28T20:40:00.000-05:00

I gotta get a scale to weigh my hay. The little piggies (er, horses) are just going through hay too fast. And hay is a precious commodity this year! I hate to skimp on feeding hay, especially with a horse who has ulcers. I better read up on what else you can feed an ulcer-prone horse. I know that free-choice hay or pasture is the best thing, but with no pasture at this time of year, and limited hay, now what do I do???

Work was okay today. No huge crises, but not much relaxation like the past two days either. Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday, and it's another 3-day weekend so we can ring in the new year. Happy 2007, everybody!

2006-12-27T20:51:00.000-05:00

There has been NOBODY at work the past couple of days. It has been WONDERFUL. I get so much work done when I'm not constantly having to solve crisis after crisis. I have cleaned all the little stuff off my desk now, and I am prepared to tackle any crises that occur tomorrow when everybody gets back. Ha ha ha. :D

An old friend wrote to me recently. I was at odds with this friend for a while and have mostly put all of that behind me, but this has stirred up some old memories and has made me think about whether or not I want to respond. It has been several years...people change over the years, right?

The ponies are doing very well. I would like to buy them some loose minerals, though. They are devouring their salt blocks, and it makes me wonder if they are looking for minerals, too.

2006-12-24T20:18:00.000-05:00

Happy Holidays!

2006-12-22T21:16:00.000-05:00

It was sooooooo nice to get out of work early today due to the holidays. I just wish people could announce the early dismissal and then just let it happen! Why do some people INSIST on ruining a nice gesture with annoying micromanagement?

Okay, I'm going to stop ruining a nice Friday night with all my complaints.

Because I got out of work early, I was able to spend some time with the ponies. Yay! It's too sloppy out to longe them, but I groomed them and let them graze a little bit. I definitely need more days like today. :)

2006-12-19T20:31:00.000-05:00

Something just occurred to me.

We spend approximately 40 hours per week at work. There are only 168 hours per week total. That means we spend almost 25% of our week at work. No wonder we get tired of seeing our coworkers! We spend more time with them than with our family and friends.

Now I really like my coworkers...they work hard, and they're wonderful people. But in the last week or so, I've been thinking that I just need a break from all of them! And now I see why...because I spend a quarter of my life with them! :D

2006-12-10T07:29:00.000-05:00

You know the saying, "lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part"? That should be our motto at work. It appalls me (it doesn't surprise me, but it appalls me) that people expect you to drop everything to solve a crisis, and then while you're trying to solve that crisis, they want you to solve another crisis, and then while you're trying to solve that crisis, they want you to solve another crisis, and then they wonder why you haven't solved the first crisis yet.

I know that's pretty much how it works in life, but if people actually planned ahead, then there wouldn't be quite as many crises. Oh, right, I forgot that all the people who have these crises are incapable of planning ahead.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

2006-12-07T21:59:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I just get so frustrated with people! Grrrrrrrrrrr! Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday. I'm exhausted, and I think most of it is from frustration and not necessarily physical exhaustion!

Does anybody know of any good websites to ask for horse care advice? Maybe some type of question and answer forum where people can respond to you? I would like to ask some questions about equine gastric ulcers.

2006-11-25T20:55:00.000-05:00

This has been a fantastic long weekend. Except for the torrential downpours on Thursday, the weather has been beautiful, and I've been able to get outside with the ponies. :) I need more weekends like this because they help me stay sane!!!

I hope things calm down at work after this weekend. That would be very nice. Actually I hope things calm down with life in general after this weekend. That would also be very nice! :D

Anybody know anything about a product called Stall Dry?

2006-11-22T18:22:00.000-05:00

Ugggggggh, I really wish the weather were better. The ponies REALLY need some exercise. Just when we think it's going to dry up a little bit, it starts raining again. A couple more inches of rain tonight. :-(

2006-11-21T18:36:00.000-05:00

I am so tired that I can't even think straight anymore.

Today I am pondering the reason why people think it is okay to ignore what other people have to say after they have asked them for their help. If you don't want to listen, then don't ask for help. It's really as simple as that.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2006-11-11T18:10:00.000-05:00

Sniffle. I am sad today. :(