More time....

I am finding myself with something to do just about every minute of every day. And I'm not sleeping at night, I'm skipping meals and eating on the run - literally in the car on my way here or there. I wake up in the mornings exhausted and feeling like I need to catch up from the day before. But now the day before is turning into the week before, soon it will be the month before. My goal this week is to try and carve one extra hour into my day. I am going to pick 6 things that I do everyday and shorten each thing by 10 minutes. I started Saturday by taking the stall wall down so it is one big run-in shed now. I made the paddock that is in front of the run-in bigger. This will eliminate dealing with gates and separating them in the evenings and make it easier in the early mornings before I go to work. They have hay available to them around the clock so now it will just be a quick water change and open the gate. Today I started catching up on laundry. My goal with this is to have 5 days of laundry for all of us clean and ready on Sundays. I also finally wrote down a daily chore list for Marissa and it is on the refrigerator. It is now her responsibility to check it everyday and get them done. She is also going to be responsible for cooking 1 dinner a week. Whatever she cooks is up to her, she will make me a list and I'll go get it. Tomorrow I'll start getting caught up on baking dog biscuits for the stores and hopefully have at least 2 weeks worth on the shelf. I'll also start working on a plan for the office. That one is going to take some thought.....I see a bookkeeper in my future! :)

Horses in the dark

It seems that except for the quick water check around noon, I have only seen the horses in the dark lately. I am really trying to enjoy the winter.... see my last post. But if I am being honest I'm really not. It's not the winter that gets to me, it's the really cold temperatures. Anything below 20 degrees actually hurts. I find myself bundled up in so many layers that I'm uncomfortable and then I rush through the chores. I'm grateful that Chance has Pi for company because until it warms up I don't think I'll be doing anymore than what has to be done. And honestly if I had an indoor arena I don't think I would be riding right now either. Yes, I'm complaining about something I can't change.

Thankful in January

Okay, I have said it many times this week and I've heard it said by lots of other people too - It's cold outside! Instead of complaining about what I can't change I'm going to be thankful for things that we can only appreciate in the winter in Maine.

Things to be thankful for in January when the temps are 0 and below...

Flannel and Fleece.
No bugs.
No fly spray needed.
It's easier to clean stalls.
The snow is pretty.
No humidity.
We can add layers of clothing to stay warm, we can only take so many layers off to get cool in the summer without offending people.
Hot Chocolate tastes better in the winter.
We appreciate the sun so much more.
Snuggling up to another warm body (human or 4-legged) is nicer in the winter.
We have so much to look forward to - Spring & Flowers.
This is a good time to watch videos and read books.
Being snowed in.
My new pellet stove.

Fun in the new snow

I put the horses out in the big paddock and started plowing the new snow. But I ended up parked and watching them for quite a while. They are such good buddies and look like they are having a ball playing. They run around like a couple of colts, Chance will run up behind Pi,nip him on the butt and run out of the way quickly to avoid Pi's feet. Then he'll go back and do it again and again until he can entice Pi enough to run with him. They will take off at a canter and then to a gallop, they look they are racing. As I watched more I noticed that Chance was actually doing some flying lead changes, it looked liked he was dancing. He was doing some sliding stops, he would pick up his front end, change direction and take off again.
I wish I had had my camera with me!

Peace

I am home from work for a couple of hours and just wanted to post that Chance seems so peaceful. Before I came in I stopped at the barn to dump out ice and give the horses and chickens fresh water. He stopped eating and stood and watched me. When I finished I started scratching him in his favorite places. He closed his eyes with the sun in his face and just seemed to really enjoy the moment. Life is good....a round bale in the feeder, fresh water, the sun is shining, no bugs to swat at and a good scratch behind the ears. It doesn't get a whole lot nicer for a horse I would guess. And it's pretty nice for me to see him like this.

A real trail ride today!

Jaye and I saddled up the horses and decided to leave the paddock. Usually leaving the paddock means just that, leaving the paddock, turning around and going right back in. We both understand that the whole idea of riding is doing whatever is fun, safe and the horses MUST feel good about what we are doing. So if that means only taking a few steps away and then going back then thats what a trail ride might consist of. Sometimes it means not leaving the paddock at all. But today the planets must have been aligned just right because we rode them about 1/4 mile away from the barn. And I'm pretty sure we could have continued on but there was a dog watching who I don't trust enough not to come charging at us and the footing isn't that great. Pilot has shoes, but Chance doesn't. And we both (Jaye and I) know when and when not to push. These 2 horses are great to ride together, they help each other out and give each other courage. Just like Jaye and I do. Although I think it's more one-sided in the giving courage out. Thanks Jaye!
Chance feels so good and relaxed. We had just one emergency dismount, the same jogger as the last time was coming by. This is how I am learning to distinguish when Chance is just looking at something or locked on to something so it's all good. When we are going along and I wiggle a rein or a foot and get an ear, or a head turn I know Chance is just looking and he is still with me mentally. When his head comes up, he gets big and I can't get anything from him, I get off. When the jogger was coming toward us he was locked on, I got off and even from the ground it took ALOT to get him to think about me at all. I did get his mind for a brief second but he was right back on the jogger. The happy ending to this was that when the jogger passed by he relaxed and I got back on. I don't know that I could have got back on a few months ago. And I did all this today with Chance in a rope halter. I haven't tried putting a bridle on him for a while, maybe I'll try next time. He does so well in the halter and it's not a safety issue, I think I would just like to know that the bit doesn't stress him out.
And I have to give big cudos to Pilot! Just 2 years ago he was a stallion who had not been put out with other horses maybe ever. And he had never had a rider on his back. He did so well and loves to go exploring, not to mention the hill work we were doing. Jaye has done an amazing job with him! It was a great day, I think I'll be smiling for days!

Chance's head

I scratched, petted and hugged Chance's head today. Not once did he open his mouth or act rude or inappropriate. It was nice and a relief. I had just said to Jaye yesterday that I was concerned that I may make him head shy by whacking him because of the rude mouth behavior. I need to say that I don't enjoy whacking him in the mouth but I have tried everything I can think of to get the mouthiness to stop. That was the only thing that worked. And he must of understood it because it is stopping. When I saddle him up tomorrow he could very possibly become rude again, and thats okay. I'll deal with it as it comes. I'm just happy to have a horse that is engaged (not shut down), feeling better, and energetic. :)

76 days

Jaye and I went to St Albans to get some round bales yesterday. On the way home we saw a sign posted at a toll booth - only 77 days until Spring. So my question was answered and that means that today there are only 76. :)