2017 Goals in Review

I wrote two sets of goals last year; one was achievable, one was not, and thus  the reason that they got re-done after realized how overly ambitious I had been earlier in the year. But let's see how we do with lowered expectations:

Bailey Goals: 
- Jump 3' course by end of the summer 
BB happily cruises around at 3' when she's in shape! She's definitely gotten the "I jump big jumps" attitude towards smaller fences. 
- Work haunches in, lead changes and maybe walking half pass? 
This work happened but that doesn't mean that she can do flying changes yet. Or ever.
- Confirm leg yields and shoulder in with dressage trainer - 
FAIL. I didn't get to any lessons this year. 
- Continue to build off-site XC experience and confidence - 
FAIL. I didn't get out to school anywhere new and exciting this year. This is on my list for next year for sure, with both horses.

Lesson / Clinic / Show Plans:
- Lesson with Dressage Trainer 1x a month when weather allows (aka probably not winter) - FAIL, no lessons were to be had.
- Show @ Carriage House Combined Trial 
We got 2nd in the BN!
- Consider the following shows as finances and prep allows: Roebke's Run Schooling trials, Three Ring Circus, local hunter/jumper shows 
J and I went to Sunborn Stables' schooling show this fall. Win!
- Heavily Consider local "clinics": Focused Riding Center clinics, XC schools off site as opportunities arise - 
FAIL. I didn't get out to anything lesson or clinic related, and no schooling like I said.
- Attend the Hunt Pace this fall if possible (technically could bring Foxie if I chicken out). 
FAIL - this was cancelled for the fall event :( 

Other Plans:
- Have the saddle fitter out to adjust the dressage saddle ASAP
- Continue trailer organization project - 
FAIL. Moving did help with the trailer clutter, though.

It's been a really crazy year; I'm planning to recap, but this time last year I had no idea that Hubby and I would soon be starting our farm buying saga and everything that has come along with it. It's been a year of awesome highs and also horrible loss. This have, almost simultaneously been amazing - to the point that I can't stop backing up to the big picture and being so endlessly thankful for what I have - and filled with doubt, regret and fear. My family has grown and changed in ways I couldn't have imagined, but despite the obvious emotional hits... it's been a good year. 

The Weather Outside is Frightful!

My horses are probably finding their weather-induced vacation delightful. In addition to prepping for the holidays, I sat and dreaded the oncoming weather with great anxiety. Why? Because it's been utterly freezing since Christmas eve!

My Smartpak blanket app has descended into adding + signs behind heavy weight turnout blanket instructions like it can't even believe that I'm keeping horses in this frozen hell. My non-horsey family are utterly shocked that everyone - including the donkey - are going outside during the day.

Christmas eve I popped all of the animals into their warm coats; I'm still indecisive about my choice for Arya, but my fingers were freezing and the Shires 400gm looked oddly short on her, so I defaulted to Foxie's heavy weight Weatherbeeta. The mares are rocking 360 grams of fill currently, and feel pretty warm under their blankets. The donkey, who thanks to a recent thehorse.com study, has been confirmed to have NO winter coat (why did I get a donkey?!) is wearing 500 grams, her Horsewear foal blanket (which honestly... I really don't like) with her new Country Pride stable blanket underneath. I'm planning a mass blanket review post sometime soon, since I have had such a huge turn over this year with blankets. I'm basically a hoarder.

Speaking of hoarding, I have all sorts of stuff to review; I have lots of new toys! I'm sorry it's so cold I can't even tack ho properly... it's torture.

Bailey and I made it over to the indoor again last week for a flat ride, and I rode Arya once with the lights after work and once on Saturday before the cold really set in. Bailey also got out on Saturday; hubby lunged her and let her run her silly pogo stick self into a nice sweat, ugh. Arya got a bit sweaty during our night ride but Saturday she kept her cool, despite Bailey leaving her and then screaming from the barn (ANNOYING.) and Hubs spooking the donkey so hard she jetted off across the paddock, which in turn spooked Arya. She's a good little nugget on the flat these days, though still is very forward while simultaneously being sucked back from the contact, especially at the canter. I got a new, fatter 3 piece loose ring and a fulmar snaffle for Christmas, so once we're back up to a temperature I can stand, we will try experimenting with bits to see if I can find something she's willing to touch a bit more. Once we have more contact, and thus more straightness, I can start on lateral work, as she has absolutely no concept of sideways under saddle.

It's too cold for life or exposed skin rn

So it's been a dull dull couple of weeks on the farm front; I do my chores, I stick my hands under the blankets of my ungrateful creatures to ensure they are warm and then I go inside. Knock on wood, everything has been uneventful and I am grateful for that. I guess I should use and value this time for what it is; a chance to recharge, reflect and make plans for the warmer weather.

A belated, but heartfelt Happy Holidays to all of my readers; tell me, did you get anything fun??

A Bit of Brightness

I feel like I must endlessly thank the readers of this blog for putting up with my mental meltdowns. I'm still considering if I want to bring on a boarder or two, but for now... things are looking quite bright.

I really like this kid.
And the lonely sad horse lurking in the background is pretty great, too.

Late last week and over the weekend, I worked on getting Kahlua out with the horses, and while I'm still a bit nervous about her getting hurt, she's decided to be interested in being around the horses and so far, things have been going really well. They think she's fascinating, and she's starting to kick out at the mares and be more assertive when the horses get a bit too invasive with their sniffing. Arya is still trying to show her that she's the boss, but has, so far, been very careful kicking out around her and Kahlua is showing that she's smart enough to get out of situations when she feels she should - i.e. when Bailey reared up in her face trying to get her to play, she noped the F out of there quickly and safely.

So there's a lot of cuteness in my pasture.

I spent Saturday talking horses with a friend and managed to whip up some motivation, so I've been itching to get the horses back into regular work. I have been working/scheming to get Arya on the trailer, so after an unsuccessful hour of lunging and attempted loading on Saturday, I came into Sunday's loading session with a bit more... gumption.

Aforementioned horse friend also took Arya's body condition update photos for New Vocations.
GOSH I LIKE THIS MARE

Bailey was a tough horse to teach to load. She nearly pulled me through the window when I accidentally got my hand wrapped in the lunge line we use to load her, and the resultant rope burn left me unable to close my hand or function at work for a week, and I was compromised for a few weeks before it healed. The lunge line through the window "trick" is our every day routine now (though we've progressed quickly from "lunge line used as winch" to the line being more of a guide to get her straight and focused in) - and logically, it works for my trailer. It has a permanent divider and is a straight load with a step up, so there isn't a good way to walk on next to the horse without a lot of potential danger (even Foxie would kind of end up on top of me when I lead her in, and she was an extremely polite, gentle horse) and it doesn't have a big open back like many of the trailers you will see in the "how to load a horse in a trailer" videos. I watched a handful on Sunday morning and noticed... they're all working with 3+ horse slants without a rear tack, meaning that there was a lot of space to invite a horse into. But because I must work with what I've got, and Arya definitely wasn't just going to step in for me, I decided after a handful of attempts to try out the damn lunge line for her, too.

And guess what, guys.

She basically self loads now.

Pardon my filthy trailer.

I mean, I have to keep practicing, obviously, but I had like... 6-8 great loads with her yesterday. She progressed quickly from needing a fair amount of pulling and a good tap with my dressage whip to get her in (and when she goes in, she goes in fast, so I'm SO glad I'm not in front of her) to just needing a cluck and a guide like Bailey does, and surpassed that - I was able to send her in the last three times without the lunge line, using just my 15' natural horsemanship lead, sending cue and a cluck. The only issue I ran into was getting her to come back out - unlike either of my previous horses, Arya will totally chill in the trailer with the butt bar down, and especially as I had a particularly good flake of hay in the trailer, she was very unwilling to get out. Partially because she doesn't seem to love the step down (ok, who does?) but mostly because the good food was in the box, and she wanted to stay there, thankyouverymuch. I actually had to go in and yank/tap her into going back with my whip because she just... wouldn't come out. The 15' lead really helped with that - because it ended up running down her left flank to me behind her, I could use it to really easily cue her to come back out without needing to step into the trailer and back her. I've only had the lead a few weeks (Thanks, Riding Warehouse, best purchase EVER!) but the length is absolutely perfect for this use and I'm thrilled with it. I need to figure out how to keep said set up when we actually go driving down the road, but all in all... I'm very happy.

Happy moose in a box before realized how serious she was about
refusing to get out of said box

So. She loads now. I plan to do a bit more practice and do a bit of riding at home, and plan to bring her over to Nina's on Friday for her first indoor ride. Her trailer lessons were much easier and more positive than Bailey's and I'm so glad we are over the hardest part of that hump in our training with so little trauma.

Triumphant loading selfie

Horse Keeping Questions (#HALP)

The horses and I have had a pretty good week this week. Bailey and I journeyed out on Tuesday for a) my first loaded haul in the snow - eeek! and b) a ride in a friend/local barn's indoor. She just opened her ring up for open riding hours, and I plan to be make my way over there at least twice a week, as it's only about 15 minutes away if I don't drive like a grandma. Arya stayed home and I'm going to work on lunging her a few days to bring her brain back into training mode after a week plus off from me traveling last week, and hopefully can get her loaded and over to the indoor this weekend. Bailey popped around some little jumps and was a very good girl; manageable (if excited and very social) on the ground and steady under saddle. I'm so excited to have the opportunity to keep training and riding, even if my ring doesn't defrost enough to be ridden in.

Snow, we have it.

I spent all of last week in Salt Lake, came home late on Thursday and woke up with the stomach flu on Saturday, which means I had to beg hubby to take Ginny to her new home. I'm now down to two horses, and am trying really hard to decide... do I need a 3rd? Logistically, it's a lot easier. So I'm full of indecision and WARNING: the rest of this post is basically me melting down about the two main problems in my life, because nothing can ever be easy.

My vet mentioned that another vet at her clinic was looking for boarding (pasture) for two horses, an elderly Arabian who "eats mostly senior feed" and a teenaged paint horse who I think might be a gelding. Obviously, it's very tempting to take on another boarder; the income helps offset the costs of keeping my girls and while it wouldn't be the same as having J around, it might be worth a try. My reservations with a boarder is, of course, the fact that they wouldn't probably come to the farm until the spring, and we'd have two new personalities in the pasture. I am also a bit apprehensive about the elderly Arabian, though the vet said her owner would be out to care for them "daily". My husband only sees the boarders who could offset the costs of keeping my animals, and having a vet around the house means we'd probably get free vet advice. I feel like the latter might end up being quite awkward, so I've been thinking hard about it.

As you can see, I don't have any recent media. My phone has been too dead and it's been too cold to take my gloves off.

Before I heard about the boarder, I was considering adopting an older OTTB who has been with CANTER MN who is described as "laid back" and an easy keeper. Per the CANTER rep, she's currently out in the pasture (so she's hardy) and despite a fat knee, is sound. She's advertised as a trail horse or broodmare type and came out of a "rescue pen" run out of the local shady auction (I believe) and she's been up for adoption for quite some time now; I'm guessing her age and knee are offsetting to a lot of potential adopters, and while she is older (an 04 model) I think it would be nice to have some... more mature influences in my pasture. Having a third horse, even an easy keeper, would increase my feed and bedding costs (though hopefully she's pretty tidy) as well as my vet and farrier fees. I'd also feel like I need to keep her in some semblance of work, which I probably don't have enough time for, at least right now. However, if she does work out, I would always have two horses at home, even if I take Bailey and Arya somewhere together. The herd would be consistent, and I wouldn't be high and dry if a boarder decided not to stay with us. I'd also have a horse that could potentially be appropriate for less experienced riders should they want to go a-toodlin' with me - or something chill to sit on when the two spooky babies get on my nerves.

Arya: Neither good at modeling new bridles, nor at not being a spaz under saddle.

What would you do?

I think I ask that question a lot lately, and I actually want to ask it again, right now. Why? Because the tiny ba-Donk-a-donk, Kahlua, is now going outside for a few hours at a time. She's been wearing her Amigo Foal blanket inside and out this week as it's been quite cold (in the 20's for highs, sometimes single digits in the mornings) and blowing. It's got 200 grams of insulation, which is about on par for what the horses are wearing right now (Medium weight Weatherbeetas with hoods, 220 grams of insulation). I do worry though; she doesn't feel warm under the blanket, especially outside in the wind. I'm thinking she's going to need something warmer, but also... is that crazy? I've been trying hard to not overfeed her and set her up for a life of weight and metabolic problems; she's not fat in any way shape or form. I have started giving her more hard grain (I need to measure, but she gets about 1/2 lb of Triple Crown Lite a day, sometimes a bit more).

The foal blanket fits her a bit awkwardly; it doesn't really want to stay back where it belongs so it rides up her butt and poofs out in front of her little chest, as her neck is set differently from a horse. It's set out to about the 38" measurement, but she's still basically tiny and doesn't seem to be that much bigger than she was. Do I add a fleece when it gets colder? Do I leave her be? Does she need more insulation?

As of right now, when she's out she's usually in my "barn shelter" - aka under the overhang on the far side of the barn, which has a wind break. She hasn't tried out the upper shelter, which the horses seem to favor when it's very windy. I just worry that she's not going to be warm enough, especially when we get into the  - she's got fluffy, long hair, but it doesn't seem to do much for her when it's windy, and definitely isn't a waterproof hair coat.

What would you do?

Farm Talk: Hay Feeders

Hi, Friends! I've been traveling all last week for work and haven't yet gotten to play with or even open the boxes containing many of my new fun toys, so I'll save that post for another tackho-ing day. Getting the stomach death flu over the weekend did not help. AT. ALL.

Inspired by instagram, let's talk about hay feeding!

Dis is how I feed my hay.

I had lots of opinions on hay feeding when we bought the farm. I spent the year before moving at a large boarding barn (which I really liked otherwise) who did several things that drove me utterly insane; one was not feeding enough hay, and not only did they never feed enough, but they also fed it in a very stupid way. I understand at a commercial barn that the staff may not have time for hay nets or other things, but most of my horse's stall hay ended up in the middle, or in the doorway of their stall. When you own a stallwalker like Bailey, this means that she'd waste a portion of her meager hay ration stall walking it into her bedding. Foxie had similar problems, because she would only eat "clean" hay, and hay that was walked on to enter the stall was "dirty". The outside hay was thrown in piles on the ground, and it drove me nuts to see it pooped on, walked into the mud or otherwise wasted.

So, opinions in hand, I outfitted the farm with two items off the bat; full bale slow feed nets (in troughs) and hay hoops. Both are still in use, though I've evolved the outside hay feeders over time.

Summer Arya modelling a hay hoop. 

The hay hoops are in the stalls; they're easy enough to open, fill and close/latch and have 100% prevented hay being stall walked into bedding or wasted because it was peed or pooped on. We only have one that has been damaged, and I am 99% sure that the horse in question (Ginny) kicked her hay hoop in the progress of kicking the walls and got caught up in it, resulting in one of the loops that hold the hay net to be broken, and a hole to appear in the net. As she's leaving, I'll probably replace it and call it a day. I did experiment with softer hay nets, but replaced them with the poly nets with smaller holes they came with after Arya arrived and showed off her amazing skills at throwing hay. With the original net on her hoop, Arya doesn't waste hardly any hay. The only caution I would give someone is that if, like me, you have some hay that breaks, or leafy alfalfa, there will be some leavings on the ground around and under the hay hoop. I bought, say, 70 bales of leafy grass hay that seems to shatter into 2" pieces in the process of the horses eating it from the nets, and this leaves a decent amount of said 2" pieces of hay around. I pick this up and feed it outside of a net outside about once a week to try and battle my compulsion to pile it up in the stalls like the horses will eat it in there (they don't).

Outside feeder wise, I started with some Tough-1 bale nets and some Rubbermaid 110 gallon (I think) water troughs. Arya and her hay throwing talents inspired me to replace my nets, and I did. I purchased some locally made Hay Chix hay nets (link will get you 20% off, and gives me credit for referring you, full disclosure).

These nets aren't as spacious and easy to load as the tough one nets (which could easily hold 2 bales), they are better materials and cut the waste substantially compared to feeding naked bales in the troughs. Hay always ends up getting flipped out and wasted when I don't use the nets, so I have resolved to use them 100% of the time now. When we got the nicer nets, Arya moved from throwing hay (because she #partieshard when eating, or something) to throwing  the hay nets when they got towards empty.

A few instances of finding hay nets tossed out in the rain with 3 flakes left in them and other similar crabby faced moments lead me to have my husband install some hook eyes for me; the first two troughs we had we drilled holes into the bottom for the hook eyes, one on each side. I used heavy duty carabiners at first, but discovered that they can be bounced open when the nets are vigorously shook, so I have moved to real climbing type beaners or other hooks that screw closed. This has completely eradicated the hay net throwing problem.

We got more nets and troughs once the fighting began to try to keep the horses fed and separated from each other so they wouldn't fight. These troughs I had Hubby put holes in about 3/4 of the way up in the sides, as my bales are big and it's hard to re-snap them in to the troughs with the hooks under the hay. This definitely makes the work easier for filling, but Arya  not to be outdone, found the weakness in this: the higher connection makes the troughs easier to flip or tip over, and she does this from time to time when they get empty. We plan to battle this by weighting the troughs and I think we'll finally have out-thought the baby thoroughbred.

So that's how I do hay daily: I'd suggest buying the climbing type carabiners (amazon has a lovely variety, but get the strong ones not the light duty ones that sell for 95 cents) for securing as they are easier to open and close than the oval links Hay Chix sells. The best way to fill them so far is to set a bale on end, undo the net and shimmy it over the whole bale, flip, tie it shut, plop it back in the trough and clip it in and then carefully slice the hay bale strings through the net and pull them out. This keeps the bale easy to handle and allows you to fit the maximum amount of hay into the net vs stuffing in flakes.