Equestrian Daily Journaling January 13, 2024

Saturday, January 13, 2024

Bring on the cold! Well, I’m not thinking that at all. And I should have filled up the water tank last night when I was thinking about it. But no – I didn’t, and today I’m paying for it. So now I have to bring the hose reel into the house, let it thaw, and then, hopefully, later this afternoon, I can refill the water tank. 

Horses Don’t Mind the Cold

Even though I don’t do very well with prolonged cold periods, it doesn’t seem to phase the horses at all. 

They honestly don’t seem to mind it. Maybe it’s because they are getting full tummies by making sure their hay feeders are staying full, or maybe they like the extra attention of me being a helicopter parent to make sure they are all good. But whatever the case, they don’t seem to mind the cold too much.

Of all the days, this one is the warmest of the weekend. It is not warm enough to do any type of deep cleaning of my horse’s pens or stalls. But I hope I will be able to do much more soon.

I hate that every one of my journaling entries so far has not been very eventful as to what I get to do with my horses. But horse care is a part of horsemanship, right? 

I think it is. And I do love just hanging out with my horses, even if it isn’t riding them. Hopefully, that will change soon. I have everything I need to get riding. I have my grooming kit all ready, too, for when I can spend even 5 extra minutes grooming them.

I think that is going to be a little mini-goal within my monthly goal. Getting out and spending just 5 minutes with each horse grooming him a little bit. Soon enough, the weather will change for the better, and they will begin to lose their long winter hair. Al-Capony, well, he has some very long hair right now, and it will be fun to get him back down to his sleek summer coat. 

Making Use of Downtime

The days are getting longer, minimally, but hey, they are getting longer. And soon, I will be racing home and tacking up for a ride in the arena, on the trail, or even throughout my neighborhood.

I just need to remind myself that I am extremely lucky when I have those opportunities.

I have been listening to RideIQ lessons and podcasts while I am driving to work, which helps to keep my attention on all things horse. I was listening to a podcast called Ask Me Expert, where the coaches of RideIQ answer anything. It was really informative. Part of the reason was the questions were very good too. The episode was 122 with Kyle and Jen Carter, who are eventers. They talked about planning for showing this season and what they do to prepare.

I do enjoy learning in this way, like on my own. I have 2 hours a day when I am driving to and from work, which gives me the opportunity to listen to something productive. I am glad that I signed up for this app.