Monday, February 6, 2023

A Year for Self-Care

About 2 months to go until Baby Girl's arrival! Time really seems to be flying by. 

The baby shower is in a week and I'm really looking forward to celebrating with our close friends and family. We had to skip out on all the "fun" things back in 2020 so this time we're hoping to make up for it in some ways with a little gathering of sorts.  


In addition to all the family related preparations, I've also been pre-emptively making plans to invest in my own well-being and health once the physical part of "having a baby" is done. Since having C, I have admittedly not been as active as I wanted to be and a big part has had to do with the fact that my riding adventures with Quest came to a grinding halt when we moved to the new barn a little over a year ago. I honestly love the barn, the owner, and the care is top-notch but riding in a WMA has been a hair-raising experience more often than not during hunting season. 

I don't fault the hunters - they have every right to enjoy their hobby too but hearing a gun go off in the field nearby is just a little too much for me sometimes. Mareface, to her immense credit, has never ever put a foot wrong during our rides last year even when things got a little too much for her. At her worse, she'd snort and jig for a few steps before relaxing back into my hands again. But I never pushed it and if the parking lot was crowded with hunter trucks on a particular day, I turned us right back around and we usually just putted around in the pasture or the little outdoor arena. 

The original plan when we moved in about a year ago was that the BO would to take us on a trailer ride down the road to the 5-mile ballast trail so Quest and I could get some miles in. But sadly, after over a year of being there and asking multiple times, the trip did not happen due to a reason or another. I think I gave up on asking. It's not like me to give up easily or quickly, but I was honestly tired.

After thinking long and hard, I've decided it's time for Quest and me to move on to our next adventure. A few weekends ago, W and C joined me on a trip to go check out a prospective barn. The new location is nearly the same drive distance and time as the current barn but has miles of horse-safe trails directly accessible from the barn and about 2000ft from the driveway is nature preserve with miles of bridle paths to explore. Quest would go back to being 100% pasture boarded as well, which was what I had preferred. I feel in my gut the new barn will be a good fit for us and what I want to do with Quest in the near future. 

Over the years as a horse owner, perhaps my lofty goals have become simpler now- My biggest priorities are top care and safe, accessible trails. I did sign up for PonyUp 100 this year though. You can be sure once I get medical clearance, I'm going to be right back in the saddle again! I still dream of doing distance riding, but that's for another day whenever that door opens. For now, I choose to enjoy what I have and nothing better than a good mare that is sound and game for any trail I put in front of her.

2 comments:

  1. the new farm sounds truly wonderfully aligned with your goals and hoped-for horsey lifestyle, good luck with the move -- and the imminently arriving new bebe!

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    1. Thanks so much Emma! Here's to hoping the new barn fits the bill, I can't wait to post/share photos regularly again once we get back to riding.

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