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?