slow news day

Oof guys… This interminable season between Thanksgiving and Christmas… Days are still getting shorter, winter precipitation is starting to arrive, and the ground and footing stay wet + mucky longer. Not gonna lie, it makes for… Uninspiring monotony lol!

“No.”

We have a few extra reasons to whine, too. An electrical malfunction on the farm took out power to our “big” indoor a few weeks ago. Mgmt has been quick and committed to working to fix the problem, but you know how it is with old farms. 

The more they prodded, the more they found wrong with the system, and the solution proved to be quite a bit more complicated than anybody anticipated. 

nap o’clock at the ok corral

At present, that ‘solution’ looks like a giant trench dug with heavy machinery halfway across the barn yard to lay new lines up to the ring. Progress is happening, but slowly. It sounds like power might be imminently (or already?) restored, tho presumably work will continue until that trench is filled back in.

holy mother of goodness, it “snowed” lol

Meanwhile, the lovely outdoor ring has footing that just plain old can’t stand up to wetness at all, and doesn’t have lights anyway. So we’ve spent most of our time in the ‘smaller’ indoor* — which is naturally adjacent to aforementioned trench + related heavy machinery. So the acoustical situation has been, ahem, occasionally fraught.

(*brief pause from my whine to recognize that, obviously, it’s quite a nice luxury to even have so many available riding spaces…)

the ‘big’ indoor is limited to daytime use only at present, bc of an electrical issue

That’s before we even factor in all the ring traffic that has therefore been concentrated into the smallest available space. Meaning Doozy has recently been tasked for the first time with routinely sharing space with the tiniest lesson kiddos and newest beginner riders, who generally stick to the smaller indoor as a rule anyway. 

And guys, not gonna lie… I love this ridiculous silly little chaos engine of a mare… But I would have a hard time forgiving myself if she triggered some sort of mass-spooking event that led to a kid falling — or, worse, if she kicked a kid or lesson pony that got too close.

don’t be fooled by that charming green hue, the top 1” layer of ground is slippy sloppy treachery

As far as I'm concerned, I know and understand the associated risks with horses and riding in general, and of this specific mare in particular, far better than the average lesson kid or parent. So it’s up to me to not create a risky situation while expecting others to act accordingly, ya know?

 

she’s still cute tho <3

Tho, before you start thinking Doozy is a wild and uncontrolled menace… By and large, she’s been fine. And on the nights she’s *less* fine (like when the construction equipment is going or, god forbid, rain is making *weird noises* in the downspouts… Ya know. We satisfy ourselves with just accomplishing mere existence. 

Sometimes, just going through the motions and getting our steps in is enough, right? Esp after a day spent tiptoeing around on squidgy mud or choppy frozen ruts, even just 30min of active walking on soft footing has its benefits. And meanwhile, our sound dampening bonnet has made a reappearance lol….

noise cancelling ‘headphones’ for the win LOL

As it is, we’re just in a bit of a holding pattern. Which is timely enough… Apparently there was/is a huge EHM outbreak stemming from a rodeo in Texas, that, combined with two isolated and seemingly unrelated cases inside 100mi of us (one in southeastern MD and one in PA), basically set local social media ablaze with panic. As a result, many local farms (ours included) have adopted voluntary quarantine / isolation policies. 

I’m not entirely sure that reaction is necessary or warranted, given the current reality on the ground in our area… But nobody asked me either LOL. It’s off season anyway, it’s not like there’s a lot going on. Tho, real talk, I might have a stronger opinion during competition season about what circumstances realistically merit dropping the iron curtain. Ymmv. 

winter… it ain’t our favorite! c’est la vie….

As it is, we go along to get along, amirite? A big lesson learned after Doozy’s lengthy period of NQRness last year was that… Ya know, the horse is fine. Routine consistent practice is an end unto itself with this horse, regardless of ‘intensity.’ And hopefully we’ll be allowed to get out and about again soon, so she can remember to #StayCivilizedInPublic too haha. 

In the meantime we’ll just keep going through the motions of dusty brown 20m circles in the indoor LOL…. (siiigh)