A rainy weekend leads to organization

Unfortunately, this weekend did not involve a lot of pony time - partly due to my choice and partly due to the monsoon-like weather. I was overly tired from a busy week and didn't think I had much energy to devote to the pony - and then the weather really made the decision for me.

While the rain poured down and P and AP were snug inside their shelter with hay, I focused on getting stuff organized. I did some cleaning out of pony stuff - every so often I like to go through the supplies and clean out anything unneeded or old and expired. It helps me keep track of what supplies are needed, and I make out a pony shopping list.

I also got some other paperwork organized and cleaned a little bit. I wrote some e-mails and relaxed for a while - and I'm even writing a blog entry!! So while very un-horsey, it was a weekend that I really needed just to catch up on life. I hope that everyone also had a productive weekend, whether you were riding or just getting organized!

Off balance to the right

P and I went for a really nice little hack last weekend. The weather was very nice, and both P and I had fun.

One thing I noticed is that P was especially stiff to the right that day. I don't know if it's just aging or if it has to do with some past trauma. We do suspect that she was injured at some point but don't know the details. It's probably a combination of both.

In my 2015 goals, I had mentioned getting P some bodywork if I could afford it. I was thinking about massage at the time but am now considering chiro. What do you think, bloggers? Has chiro helped your horse? We do have a veterinarian in the area who does chiro work. The reason I'm considering it is because it sounds like it would have more of an effect. I'm less familiar with the massage therapists in the area and have seen some in the past who are nice people but don't seem to be very effective.

Remembering to schedule pony time

As I mentioned in my last post, I've been working a lot of extra hours lately. My daily schedule looks something like this:

1. morning horse care

2. work

3. evening horse care

4. work

5. sleep

Yes, I've been working overtime in the evenings. Right now other people are making my job extremely difficult - they're not meeting their deadlines, so I'm unable to meet my deadlines - unless I work overtime in the evenings. It's extremely frustrating.

It also means that I spend my weekends trying to catch up. There are often so many household and barn chores to be done that I forget to have fun with my pony.

I'm trying to be better about scheduling my time - including pony time! I keep a things to do list and try to organize it in order of importance and what time I'm going to do which task. It helps a lot, but I still feel like I get behind on things. I know it's important to schedule pony time, though - whether it's riding or just grooming.

What works for you? Do you have trouble finding time to get everything done? How do you make time for everything plus pony time?

Busy busy busy - and bugs

Many apologies for the lack of blogging - both reading other blogs and posting to my own. The last five or six weeks have been one thing right after another. I've been working a lot of extra hours and have also been doing a lot of extra horse chores. Spring is finally here and we're already on the cusp of summer, so that means a lot of maintenance around the farm.

I'm happy to report that P and AP are doing well. We do ride occasionally, mostly just a short hack. P is definitely not getting any younger, but it's good for us to get out and enjoy the weather.

What we don't enjoy is bugs! The bugs have come out in force this spring, and we do try to be careful about bug control on the farm. We keep manure picked up and put it in a pile to compost. Has anyone used fly predators? We've used them for several years and find that they do help a lot. We also use sticky traps for the adult flies and other kinds of flies. And of course P and AP wear fly masks and are sprayed with fly spray. If anyone has any more bug control tips, please share!

I also wanted to mention that Show Sheen has done a pretty good job on P's tail. I've used up almost all that was left in our bottle and I've decided to try Cowboy Magic detangler next. I think I tried it in the past and wasn't impressed - but I'm thinking that I just didn't use enough and P's tail required a lot of help! Cowboy Magic is a lot more expensive, but maybe I can use it more sparingly after the Show Sheen.

Hope everyone in blog world is doing well and having fun with their horses!

Spring and Show Sheen

Sorry I've been missing from the Blogger world for quite a while now. Life has gotten extra busy as spring has arrived, and I really don't have enough hours in the day. What time of day do you usually blog? I've been trying to be extra careful with managing my time, but I still feel very crunched!

After snow season is done, we immediately enter mud season, so we're still waiting for things to dry out a bit before riding here. I checked the ground today, and it's a little squishy but improving quickly. P and AP are enjoying moving around without dodging the snow banks, and I'm sure they're perfectly happy to delay riding for a while.

And they've been shedding a lot, so we've been grooming a lot. It's that time of year when all hair coming off the horse somehow ends up on the human!

In an effort to make both of their tails more manageable this year, I've been spraying some Show Sheen every week or so. They really need a couple of thorough washings, but I thought the Show Sheen might at least start the detangling process. I've heard both good and bad reviews about Show Sheen and we just happened to have a bottle in the barn, so that's what I'm using for now.

I may eventually try a different detangling product with P. The Show Sheen seems to be working on AP's tail but P has a really thick tail and it's pretty tangled. Any recommendations?

I hope everyone is doing well and having fun with their horses!

Doing some horsey reading

Since the weather has been very uncooperative lately, I've been spending some time reading about various horse topics and products. Not only am I finally catching up on reading other blogs, but I've been reading some of the online horse forums. Both are really good sources of information from real owners and real horses.

Blankets

I think that P may need a new blanket next year, so as this year's winter comes to an end, I've been reading about people's experiences with different blankets. There are so many brands and styles of blankets now - it's overwhelming! And they all seem to fit a little differently depending on your horse's size and shape. I don't even know what to try first! I may borrow an older Weatherbeeta just to see how that fits P. Luckily she is fairly easy on her blankets, but I do want to purchase one that will last for a while.

Allergies

With winter ending and spring on the horizon, that means it's almost allergy season. I have trouble with allergies myself and I've been reading about different supplements that are supposed to help horses with allergies without resorting to steroids or other prescription medicines. There's quite a range of supplements out there - from spirulina to MSM to various herbs. I just read recently that antioxidants like vitamin C and vitamin E also help. Again, it's hard to know what to try first!

I guess the end result from all my reading is that the old saying is true - ask two horse people their opinions, and you will get three different answers!

Failing miserably at blogging

I'm sad to say that so far I've failed pretty miserably at my goal to blog more this year. I've been really busy over the past few weeks. I feel like I just haven't been able to get out of the routine of horse care/work/eat/sleep - there isn't time for anything else!

Winter weather also makes things more difficult with the snow and ice. P and AP get a very extended vacation during the winter and have been spending their days munching lots of hay. I think they're actually a bit bored and I wish I could do more with them.

I hope all bloggers are doing well and having more horsey time than I am!