Redefined

This quote resounded with me quite profoundly, especially while I try to balance and embrace just how much my life has grown and changed in a single decade. Ten years ago, I was a very different person with very different dreams and motivations.

I grew up with strict parents who tried very hard to discourage me from doing everything that wasn't what they wanted me to do. As a kid, when I started showing an interest in art and started teaching myself how to draw, my mom even tried to throw out my art supplies. I remember hiding my sketchbooks (that I bought with my first summer job working as a lifeguard at the local community pool) when I was away from home so didn't have to worry about coming back to find them missing. 

My parents were scared of horses. I never got to be around them either and only really started riding in 2014 after graduating college and getting my master's degree as a working adult when I had my own income to pay for lessons, a half-lease, and finally taking the dive into full ownership a year later. 

I am ever so incredibly grateful to those who have been instrumental in providing me a safe place to discover and explore the best parts of me, those who encouraged me to pursue dreams, be it art or riding, respectively. My art mentor and friend who believed I had the skill to freelance and generously gifted me my first professional-grade Wacom tablet. My first trainer who told me after just two lessons that I had a natural seat and talent; to keep riding and keep learning. With only 1-2 years of riding under my belt, I was blessed with incredibly generous owners who trusted me with their endurance horse as I got to ride across the country from Pennsylvania, Texas, and California. 

Muckleratz CTR - July 2015

Texas, Oct 2016

California Day 1, Oct 2017

California Day 2, Pacific Crest Trail

I admit to thinking the "better" days were over, especially during the past few years as Quest and I came to an involuntary standstill in our distance riding journey together. It took time, but I've come to see that though my adventures now look a little different, they are no less transformative and meaningful. It's infinitely more valuable to find your tribe, to surround yourself with a community uplifting and positive people who will celebrate with you in the good times and cry with you in the bad times. 

It is, quite simply, easy as that.  

A Decade Later

 This past January, "The Horseback Artist" hit a pretty big milestone... 

It's kind of amazing to think that I've been keeping this blog going and active for a decade! 

Some years have been better than others but I know full well that some of you have stuck around through it all. For those who have been reading from Day 1....Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Your support and readership mean so very much to me. 

After giving much thought, I've decided that this blog will continue on though in a slightly different way. I love writing and blogging been great way to reflect and revisit my adventures with Quest. 

However times have changed, and so should this blog. I've always been a hobbyist and have too many interests to keep track of. I joke that when I retire (lol....), I have no shortage of things to keep my remaining days busy and full. If the new content isn't your thing or what you signed up for, I get it. We all change, but I do hope you decide to stick around!

Ride Season-al Blues

It's that time of year that social media reminds me that another season of distance riding is now underway. I took some time off from the community to have my kids and raise a family. Now that my daughter has just turned a year old, I am SO ready to jump back into the game with both feet first. 

Quest is sound, but she has told me that she prefers the semi-retired life which I'm perfectly happy to oblige. She's worth her weight in gold to educate my kids on horsemanship and how to ride. She's always still game for long rides whenever I want and need an escape on the trails.

When it comes to having a horse suitable for doing distance competitively though, I'm at a loss. I am also at place in my life where I probably shouldn't own another horse just yet. Turning to the community, I hoped to find a solution however so far every connection I've reached out to has resulted in dead ends or asking for an impossible.   

Inevitably when things like this happen, I find myself circling down in a spiral of familiar, unwanted thoughts and it never takes me anywhere good. And I have a confession to make...Even after doing this horse thing for almost 10 years, I still feel like the odd one out. Maybe it's me, maybe I'm a nuisance that no one wants to deal with. My husband has said the community doesn't seem really friendly and it's not worth trying to go back. 

But I don't want to believe it, my flaw has always been my extreme loyalty and belief that there are always good people out there. If you know me, I never am one to take no for an answer. But try as I might and nothing works out, I will learn to be okay with that. I will always have days like this to look forward to:  

Daylight Savings

Once you have kids, the whole daylight savings thing starts to make a lot less sense. Our family morning routine and bedtime schedules have been out of whack for days...but I'm hoping things will get better soon. 

On the upside, additional daylight also means more hours in the day for barn visits to hang out with my best mareface.

We did a family barn visit this past weekend and managed to beat out the rain before it hit the area hard. 

I was so relieved to see that Quest's eye is 100% better, and no follow-up vet visit was warranted thankfully! She is certainly looking and feeling like her old self again. 

I gave her a nice grooming session- all the rain and pasture mud made that a FUN challenge. And I also did a quick maintenance trim while the rest of the family napped in the car waiting for me. Asides from that pesky RF mild clubfoot that we need to balance out, her feet are solid and easy to work with. I really appreciate a horse with decent feet. 

More daylight also means more trail time with Quest very soon. As mareface gets along in years though, I've been intentional in adjusting expectations as well. I recently read a great article What Ever Happened to “Serviceably” Sound?  that affirmed enjoying your horse doesn't end just because they aren't 100% in every shape and form. "A horse can be less than perfect and still be wonderful."

As long as Quest is ready for adventure, we'll be out enjoying our trails and daylight together until the day she tells me otherwise.

Somehow

I'm grateful and glad that I was able to do my annual birthday ride yesterday. It's been a whirlwind the past few months with two little ones underfoot. I will never ever regret my decision to start a family but the reality of things is that it does make it just that much harder to find time for myself.  

The more you love something, the harder the universe sometimes makes you work for it. But in the end, things somehow will work out. 

Well...There's That

Hi blogger world, it's been awhile! I've been away the past half year taking family leave and enjoying my new little one who decided to arrive on her own schedule. She took me by surprise so I didn't really get a chance to really prepare for anything and left a lot of things in a lurch. Thankfully we're doing well though and I have plenty of cute photos to share, which will come soon.

However first off, a long overdue horse update....So remember that the barn that Quest and I moved into earlier this year? Well, it didn't work out. 

Our first few months at DF were wonderful, almost heavenly blissful. The drive distance was reasonable, the property was aged but immaculate, the trails were gorgeous, and most importantly Quest was out in pasture 24/7, content, and living her best horsey life. I felt so very lucky that we finally found something that hit all my must-haves plus some more. 

However about two months ago, everything started to unravel. It started off with a random message from the manager J saying she was moving some her show horses and clients back home (she lives on property) so she needed the boarders to accommodate. She asked if I wanted to move Quest to a sister barn that was located an hour away. I was very confused by the request at first but after talking to a couple folks I managed to get the full story. Apparently the show clients were unhappy about the distance to the sister barn so out of convenience, J decided to move all the show horses and clients back home and severing all ties with the sister barn. 

I politely declined to move, mostly because of the fact that I had two younger kids and I moved to DF to try and balance out actually being a parent with my riding hobby. But I had a feeling that the manager would be looking for any reason to try and get as many boarders out of the barn as soon as possible. From that point on, things started getting weird. The easy, laid-back vibe of the trail-riders barn became more chaotic and hectic once all the show horses came back to the barn. J moved the boarder tack trunks out and rearranged saddles to make room for her horses and client things. My tack went missing for awhile because I didn't know about the re-shuffle until after the fact.

However annoying, the final straw was J blindsiding me with a huge paragraph message that Quest's hip rubbing while she was in heat that was apparently causing damage to the fence. She gave me two choices: Find another barn or put Quest on Regumate year around via monthly injection administered by vet. She did not allow a supplement, did not allow the oral daily dose, did not want to individualize the treatment (annual was "easier" for them to manage) and there was no consulting a vet.

Bottom line, it was obvious that she wanted us out of the barn and would do anything to make it happen. My hands are full with taking care of my family. I just don't have the time and energy to deal with insanity anymore. 

So we're leaving. It was a nice place while it lasted.

Two Birthday Rides

The month started off with two wonderful rides that mean so very much to me. This time last year, I was quite pregnant at full term/40 weeks and unable to enjoy my traditional birthday trail ride. A full year later, it absolutely made my birthday to be hopping on my favorite mareface doing what we love together again. 

A few days later I went back out to the barn, this time with little guy in tow to celebrate his birthday with his own birthday ride!

My husband had to work so this was the first ever 100% solo outing with just me and baby. I worried if I was trying to attempt too much by myself, but everything went well. After grooming and tacking up Quest with the bareback pad and S-hack, I strapped C into the baby carrier and we headed to the outdoor arena. I swung up with the mounting block and off we went. 

Quest was a saint. Little guy was babbling and laughing. I was grinning from ear to ear. 

"Little human, can I have cookies please?"

Giddy smiles!

Quest is so incredibly gentle with him.
He was petting all over her nose and face.

It's hard to put into words how happy I was to share a birthday ride with my little boy, and maybe start a new tradition with him - the fact that he enjoyed it was the icing on top. 

It is certainly curious how different my emotional state was a year ago and sometimes...still is. While I've physically healed, I'm still not 100% emotionally fine and...honestly, that is okay. It's been good to find support from other parents who have gone through a similar journey and to realize that is is perfectly okay for my mental health to take its own path and time to recover. 

Having Quest so rock steady and ready when I need her the most has been an incredible gift to my emotional wellbeing though. Through long hours alone on the trail, I've given myself that quiet space to sort through a maze of thoughts- realizing the need to prioritize what actually matters to me and to stop caring about what doesn't and to intentionally surround myself with good, supportive people. 

And even though the year of distance riding didn't quite happen the way I had wanted it to....Rides will always be there and my family, our small little growing family, will only be as it is for a short time. Maybe it'll be next year, or the year after that. I'll take what ever catch rides I can fit into my schedule.

 In the meantime though, I'll continue to enjoy my little slice of personal heaven - riding with my little guy and my best mareface.

2021 Foxcatcher Endurance

This past weekend, I finally got to dip my toes in endurance riding after many, many years of trying to get started in the sport. 

Those who have been reading along for awhile may remember that I boarded at an endurance barn about 5 years ago with the intention of getting Quest and me going in the discipline. Unfortunately an injury sidelined us and put a temporary pause to those competitive dreams. The downtime in between was not wasted though. I did a lot of catch riding and trail ride-alongs with different endurance folks across the US from Texas to California. In my travels, I got hands-on exposure to the usual things like conditioning schedules, tack setups, elyting protocols, hydration but also most importantly, I began to really think and piece together what I valued and wanted from the sport because....it is frankly quite expensive and so much goes into even just getting to the ride, let alone completing and finishing in Top 10 or best condition.  

At the end, after all the thinking and despite the numerous heartbreaking setbacks, my determination to give endurance an honest try never waned. My goal is still competing with Quest or another future mount but I recently was given an opportunity to partner up with a little Arabian mare named River for the Foxcatcher Endurance ride and jumped at the chance. 

The week before the ride, my husband and I had a tall order of packing for the trip- not just my tack, but also everything we needed for an overnight stay away from home with Caleb. I did wonder how my little guy would do on the road trip and if this experience would bode badly for future family adventures. However I'm happy to say my little boy was so well-behaved and only badly fussed when he really needed something (namely his meals).  

A completely packed car, hitting the road

Foxcatcher is held at Fair Hill NRMA, which is the same location for the Chesapeake CTRs that I did a catch-ride years ago. It was really nice to revisit the trails again after so much time away. The weather was forecasted to be bright and clear but early morning at the start was wind swept and frigid. I was glad we had hotel accommodations for the night before so that my husband and son had a place to stay out of the cold until the day warmed up. 

All tacked up and waiting for our group to start

I was instructed by River's owner to ride with two of her other horses and to stay together as a group. Asides from our group helping a rider catch her loose horse on trail within 1 minute of the ride start, the first 15 mile loop was uneventful. At the hold, River vetted through fine though had some bad groundwork attitude issues. We were watered, fed, elyted, tack and ready to go in time after the 45 minute hold. Unfortunately the two other horses in our little group with were pulled at vet check so River and I had to ride with a different rider group. Then one of the horses in that new group was dealing with some cold cramp lameness, it eventually resolved with no lasting problems thankfully. When we finally left camp with the group for the second loop, it was nearly 30-45 minutes later than the time on our card allowed, setting back our pace for the last 10 miles. 

River was game to go and we could have easily separated from the pack and moved out on our own to finish within ride time but I had to adhere to the owner's instructions. As a result while River and I technically "completed" the ride, we ended up finishing overtime. It was a bit of a bummer but I had a healthy, sassy horse and did my first ever 25 mile endurance ride 5 months post- pregnancy...not too shabby!

With so many variables and the pandemic still on-going, I'm honestly not sure what the rest of the endurance season this year will look like but I'm going focus on the positive and stay grateful for each ride opportunity as they come and the chance to gain experience for bringing my own horse along for the adventure someday. Here's hopefully to many more competitive miles ahead in 2021! 

Nothing but smiles

Rides In Between

Our area was recently hit with a series of snow storms in quick succession that forced us to hibernate indoors for a couple weeks. Fortunately the weather let up a little the past two weekends so I did two trips out to the barn to get my mareface time in. 

The first ride was with both my husband and Caleb in tow. I saddled Quest up and we hit the indoor arena since the footing outside was gnarly- very icy and slick. I didn't want to risk a slip and fall on a hidden ice patch (no trail ride is ever worth that kind of vet/hospital bill) so we played it safe. 

Apparently most people at the barn had the same idea that day and the arena was packed with lessons and boarders. It was a bit much but Quest did her best to listen and work with me. We had a rough ride though- everything felt a little disjointed, mareface was unfocused and just wanted to get back to her pasture and friends. Before we called it a day, the arena finally quieted down enough that I was able to  hop off and worked Quest on the lunge briefly to get her focus back. Even though we ended the ride on a slightly better note, I left the barn feeling completely exhausted and out of sorts. In hindsight and to be fair, I probably was just as preoccupied, unfocused, and also since I was still rebuilding physical strength after almost a year of not riding- I didn't give Quest the best ride I could. 

The following weekend, I aimed to do better and since W had an online meeting/offered to watch Caleb, it was just me at the barn. I had planned to saddle up again but last minute, I decided to grab the DIY bareback pad and tacked Quest up in that instead. With the trails still slick and icy, we headed into the indoor and it was just as crowded again. I hopped on, feeling a little pensive for a rough ride ahead but I need not have worried. 

Mareface was perfect as we went through our paces at all three gaits. She had a lot of pep in her step but was totally tractable and listened. She must have looked incredibly fancy too because we got compliments all around from the BO and her lesson clients. "She looks like she could be in a parade! She such a cute mover."  "How old is she? Wow, she looks great for 16!" 

The ride was the complete opposite from the previous weekend. We totally clicked and it felt so good. When I hopped (or hobbled) off after an hour, I had a content mare with plenty more to give however I was pretty tired! Nothing like a good bareback session to remind all those riding muscles how to really work again.

Baby Boy C

My little guy arrived on November 9 at 10:14am, weighing a solid 8lbs 6oz. After a 3-day hospital stay, we have been recuperating and bonding with lots of newborn snuggles at home since then. 

The weeks and days leading up to C's delivery were super tough on me emotionally as I struggled to come to terms with a scheduled c-section due to C being breeched at 32 weeks. For two months, W and I tried everything to get him to turn but he was stubborn to the end (...maybe perhaps much like me in a lot of ways.) The procedure itself was textbook perfect though and recovery has been relatively smooth thankfully.  I'm still mentally coping with how things ended up but in this process, I got a jumpstart on learning one of the biggest lessons in parenthood: Things rarely go according to plan. 

It's been three weeks since we got home and I'm surviving motherhood so far. The feedings at 3-4am are the toughest part but all in all, C has been a good baby. I have my final post-op appointment with my health care team in about 3 weeks and if recovery continues to go well, they will give me the all clear to return to full activity...which will definitely include some much needed saddle time with my best mareface.  

Nine months away certainly feels like an eternity. Though as much as I want to rush back into the swing of things to make up for the time lost this past year, I'm trying to remind myself to slow down and enjoy the moment- which includes giving Quest the winter months off as I've done so in the past and pick things up in late January/early February. I've been chatting with a few equestrian moms on FB and their experience has said the same. So as the nights grow longer and the temperatures colder, I'll enjoy the newborn days before they come and go in a blink of an eye. 

New View, New Adventure

This was a decision in the works since the end of last year during the long winter months when I took some time to think hard about what was best for Quest and for us. While I am still figuring out the finer details, I knew the time had come for us to return to the trails we had left nearly four years ago. 

About a month ago, W and I made the 1-hour trip westward and visited a new-to-me barn. The barn is owned by a family, and owner himself gave us a tour and I felt comfortable that he had the amenities and simple necessities I was looking for: an indoor arena, trailer parking, ample pasture, good horse care, and miles of trails. The owners were kind enough to let me haul my trailer and my tack box in a weekend earlier prior to the scheduled move-in date. That trip was an adventure in itself but we made it. 

This past weekend was our move-in day. I got to OF about a half hour before the owner's daughter, C, and her husband showed up with the trailer. It was a bit cold in the morning but knowing that it had been awhile since Quest had hauled, I decided to take off her sheet in case she got lathered from the ride over. The trailer was a step-up 3-horse slant gooseneck with stock styled windows covered by plexiglass. Mareface did give a wary side eye but loaded up without another hesitation (good girl!) and we were on the road in less than 5 minutes. 

The drive over was uneventful though when we arrived at the barn, I could tell that Quest wanted out. I could see her legs beneath the divider before C opened it and it looked like someone had doused my horse in buckets of water. She was lathered from head to toe. Despite her immense nerves, Quest behaved for me to clip the lead line on and unloaded without running out like a deranged wild animal. 

I knew she needed/wanted to move though so we walked together to the pasture barn where my tack was stored to get a cooler on and we headed into the indoor arena to chill out and dry off. Quest calmed down pretty much immediately and was soon more interested in snuffling the ground, looking for a comfy place to roll and get rid of all the dried sweat. By this point we had the entire arena to ourselves, so I took the cooler off and unclipped the lead. I totally expected Quest to jettison off on her own but instead she stuck by my side like glue haha Wherever I went, she followed. If I stopped, she did too. I eventually sat down on a mounting block in the middle of the arena and she finally found a nice place to do a thorough roll on both sides. Mareface looked much more content after that. 

C eventually came over to take me to the office to do paperwork and asked if I wanted to put Quest in a stall temporarily. Knowing Quest, I requested if there was a turnout paddock instead and C was able to accomodate. Leaving mareface to socialize with her paddock neighbor, we wrapped up details and soon headed back out to introduce Quest to her new pasture and horse friends. 

The pasture only had two other horses that day (a mare and a gelding) vs the 5-6 horses I saw a month ago which made me a bit more comfortable. The winter/drylot pasture that the horses get was absolutely enormous, not even counting the grazing pastures they have during the summer. Following C's lead, I showed Quest the perimeter, the run-in shed, feed troughs, and water. Mareface took it all in stride and the two other horses looked on blandly while I took off Quest's halter and let her say hello. The mare wasn't too happy about seeing a newcomer at first and tried to chase- Quest was quite a bit more lean and agile so she just trotted away. And that was pretty much it for drama. 

I stayed for about an hour or so afterward with my packed lunch to keep an eye on things but it was very uneventful from there on out. The mare tried to assert her dominance only once again but it was very short lived- Quest just skipped away and does not pay her any extra attention at all. After mareface got in a nice roll in, I grabbed my grooming stuff and brushed her in the pasture to help her look somewhat less shaggy and wild. 

I haven't gotten any emergency calls from the barn yet and this morning an update from C said Quest is doing fine- she figured out her meal spot, though not really buddy-buddy with any particular horse yet but she looks content. So here we are, new barn and back to our old trails. I'm looking forward to enjoying the more sedate pace of barn life and seeing what the future brings us. 

Social distancing at its finest

Nothing to Prove

As the end of a decade draws to a close, I've been finding myself doing a lot of reflecting and introspection in my (rarely found) downtime.

When I started my riding journey about 6 years ago as an adult beginner with little to no experience, little did I know that I would own a horse for 5 of those 6 years and be blessed with so many opportunities of a life time to catch-ride for others in competition and be invited to vacation on horseback in so many states and countries. What an amazing journey it has been so far, though not one without its fair share of disappointments and low points.

Riding has taught me so much. It has given me hope when I was in one of the darkest moments in my life. It has given me the confidence to trust my gut instincts (e.g.; when taking a leap a faith on a horse bought sight unseen at an NJ feedlot auction). It has given me the tenacity and drive to pursue a hobby that had been forever out of reach and beyond consideration.

Over the past few years though, I guess I started to forget why I started riding in the first place.

That original, simple joy was replaced with preoccupation and plans for competition as I actively tried to insert myself into conversations and social circles with those more knowledgeable, more experience than me. Maybe it was bad luck, or bad timing, or fate, or everything listed there... but the competition season I had dreamed and hoped for about never came to be and since then its been nothing but an uphill battle. My efforts to find local endurance mentors repeatedly turned up empty or worse (disgruntled, irritated responses filled with empty promises of training rides that never- and still haven't- came to be.)

All these setbacks inevitably have left a bitter taste in my mouth about the sport, the people, and the community.

My priority has always been first and foremost the well-being and longevity of my horse. As Quest moves into her "senior" years, I came to the slow conclusion that I've been thinking about it all wrong: We had nothing to prove to anyone, ever.

Maybe one day everything will fall into place and that competition season that I've always wanted will happen. My husband is 110% supportive of my riding hobby and wants to learn, even maybe compete together with me. He's even mentioned finding me another endurance horse after Quest is retired.

Though for now, it's just me, my mareface, our happiness, our soundness, and the open trail as we meander, wander, and explore life together. It's hard to put aside my goals for competition because its been my frame of mind for so many years but I hope to quiet the voices in my mind and in my heart completely someday until it is time for us to prepare again.

We might not be the fanciest pair but we have golden hearts. And sometimes that's all that matters.

Little Things

Another year, another birthday trail ride. Had an incredible day yesterday doing the things I love with the people (and horse) I love. 

I’m so blessed <3 

Tenacious

The road to achieving any dream worth having is never easy.

With things finally settling down into an even-ish keel and routine, I have been brainstorming how to tackle distance goals with Quest. W has been entirely supportive of me riding, hauling out, doing events so no worries on that front.....but we also needed to be mindful not to break our budget especially since we got something called bills to pay. Yay for married adult life and homeownership.

First order of business is fixing up the old stock trailer and ensuring it was roadworthy and horse-safe. It was a little junky when I first got it which sort of put me off from immediately hauling out but it was still fine for stationary stuff like self-loading practice. Two years later, the trailer is now in desperate need of a facelift so W and I have been spending time during the weekends at the barn working on sanding out the trouble rust spots, treating them, and painting. It's coming along decently and though looks a bit redneck in some places, it will be thoroughly protected from the elements with a fresh coat of paint and may last us just a bit longer until I can save up for something newer and better.

I searched around for trailer shops to get quotes and timeline for scheduling an appointment and found a place that wasn't too far away which is good (low mileage = lower truck rental cost). The technician I spoke with was very professional and courteous however they have a 2 to 4 WEEK backlog queue. Ugh.

I put myself on the list for the time being but this definitely threw a huge wrench in plans to haul out this month or anytime soon and unfortunately, we're back to square one....No trailer, no hauling. It's frustrating being grounded like this but as we have done for the past 5 years, we will make the best of the situation no matter what.

That face <3

Quest and I have been enjoying our evening rides together. We hit the trails first to enjoy some of the quickly fading sunlight then headed in to the indoor arena for some sustained trotting/cantering and dusted off the cobwebs for basic dressage stuff. Mareface was definitely a bit rusty in the latter (and so was I) but we ended on a good note.

I admit I was definitely a bit distracted during the arena ride- my mind was busy trying to think of what options were left to try. Despite the setbacks, I haven't given up quite yet but it's been hard staying positive.

New Shiny (Purple) Things

After doing this horse thing for nearly six years, I have been slowly accumulating a list of items that needed replacing pretty badly after nearly daily/weekly use and abuse. 

Unfortunately most of the tack stores around me are a solid 40-50 minutes away so it was always a little hard to justify a store run for just one or two items at a time. I could always order online but IMO things like clothes, boots, and helmets are better off being tried on in person...at least that's the kind of shopper I generally am.

This past weekend, W and I went on a mini getaway to Philadelphia PA to visit some close friends who recently moved to the area and we were fortunately able to swing by for a tack store stop on our drive down.

First things first, I made sure to pick up some Venice turpentine. I debated between that and Durasole for awhile but after talking with the store staff, I decided to go with the former just to start. In addition to building sole, Durasole has a whole slew of medicated stuff that treats hoof problems that Quest does not (and hopefully won't ever) have so I opted to start with simple solutions first. 

After a lot of hemming and hawing, I finally got a pair of Ariat Terrain boots for trail riding. My paddock boots from my riding lesson days have seen a ton of miles on the trail and hours in the saddle. Six years later, they are finally beginning to show signs of wear and desperately needed a hardy backup. The Terrains were very comfortable when I tried them out and walked around in the store and so I'm excited to see how they fare out on the trail later this week. 

I also picked up a new helmet...it is PURPLE and I love it. I actually first asked for graphite black to replace my current one but they didn't have that color in my size but they had it in purple.

I was the tiniest bit hesitant that it was actually too much color but hey, you only live once so purple helmet it was. I trail ride 99.9% of the time and don't do any fancy show riding to merit sticking to plain grey black again and plus more safety precautions- you seriously can't miss this purple helmet bopping around on the trails and roadway. 

I also picked up a new turnout sheet for Quest to backup the current one she has now that I have on my to-do list to repair. Fortunately for me, mareface has been generally pretty good with her clothes that I haven't had to do massive blanket repairs until now. I already got the supplies to patch up the old sheet but figured it was probably time to get her a new one just in case. Quest's size was on backorder though so it'll be shipped to us in a few days time. 

I do usually make a point to buy sheets/blankets used but the store was doing a blowout sale on select sheets and blankets and also a store-wide holiday promotional deal. I was able to take advantage of that and got a nice gift card which I'm planning to to use to pick up a pair of riding pants because my old one is literally in tatters and threadbare after six years. I figure for the sake of my dignity (and saving W from spousal embarrassment) that I get something that won't split down the middle at any point while I ride. 

Last but not least, I managed to snag a like-new Stowaway pommel pack for super cheap though the endurance tack sale group on FB. 

I picked up the English cantle pack a few years ago at a tack sale and absolutely love it. Since then I have been keeping an eye out for the matching pommel pack- most of them were too expensive for their age and condition. I stumbled on this one last week at a steal and had to snatch it up.

Even if it was for essential must-haves, it was really nice doing some retail therapy. I usually have a hard time buying stuff for myself too so it was really good that W was entirely supportive of me getting everything I wanted and reassuring me that it was also everything I needed. 

Finding a New Normal

It's been almost two months since the whirlwind of life changes and all has been well so far.

As things have settled down, I've been carving out more time for the barn so Quest and I have been getting in more rides together! We were super lucky with a recent break in the late summer heat and got some gorgeous weather perfect for brisk trail miles with lots of trotting and hill climbs.

Our experiment with regular front shoes is going okay so far and Quest is eating up the gravel roads with gusto. However while mareface is still sound, I can tell and feel that she is a bit tenderfooted after the rockiest rides. Our trails at home aren't easy and while they offer the typical trail scenarios which are great for conditioning for NE-coast endurance, it definitely requires horses be properly outfitted with appropriate footwear for trail riding.

While doing hoofcare, I've noticed Quest's soles have been a bit softer than normal and Farrier D has been noting the same thing. Given the muddy areas in the lower pasture paddock around the hay/feed area, I'm not all that surprised and pretty annoyed that drainage hasn't been improved yet. Ugh.

So the new game plan is to pick up some Durasole the next time I make the long trek to the tack store (the closest one is 40-50 mins away) and we will be switching back to hoof boots so Quest gets some extra protection on the gnarly terrain while we toughen up the front soles. I know that one possibility is to pad the shoes if we really wanted to keep using shoes but that doesn't solve the underlying issue of softer soles. So we're going back to the basics before we complicate things and plus, I don't mind using hoofboots since they actually fit Quest pretty decently.

That aside, mareface is doing excellent and we celebrated our 5th gotcha day earlier last week! I can't believe its already been five years together. Things have panned out much more differently than how I originally had hoped but such is a life that naturally takes interesting turns and twists.

Everything is (hopefully) baby steps in the forward direction though. Right now, I'm slowly gathering supplies for the trailer and making a checklist to prep us for our first haul out to some training trails. I've also picked out some parks that allow horse camping to eventually expose Quest to overnighting in a low stress environment. It might take us 5x as long and we may have to work 20x harder but we'll get on the endurance trails one day. As along as we keep stubborn and stay positive, we will get there.

By the way if folks are curious to what our trails look like, Gonehikin recently did an excellent trail write-up on our neck of the woods. It gives a great overview of the type of terrain that Quest and I get to slog over during our normal trail rides. You might recognize some familiar scenery too!

Hello 2019

Wow, I can't quite believe we're already halfway into January. But yes...happy belated New Year everyone! I hope you had a great end to 2018 and a wonderful start to 2019 so far.

Quest and I are doing well though there have been some big changes at the barn recently. Last weekend, A moved Mel back to the Dust Bowl barn. There were a lot of things that factored into the decision but bottom line A was never quite happy at OF. Also our barn schedules didn't coordinate for us to do as many rides together as we had hoped so Quest and I were solo 90% of the time. Oh well. 

With Mel now gone, Quest has been without a pasture mate for the past few days while the barn staff figure out a new arrangement. Hopefully whoever they decide to place with her will be a compatible fit with little to no drama so fingers crossed!

Asides from that, Quest and I have been getting in some good solid rides. The weather has now become bitterly cold so we've been doing pretty much all bareback rides both on the trails and in the arena. Gotta make use of the fuzzy butt heater lol

Trail stuff is very limited and we only go out in certain conditions though due to the melting snow or rainfall that freezes right into ice, making the roads EXTREMELY dangerous. In fact, I had to emergency dismount once a few weeks ago when Quest took misstep and started slipping on a hidden patch of ice. She didn't go down and I hopped away quickly to safety. We came out of it totally fine but that was a reminder to exercise more caution.

That being said, the indoor arena has been our usual fare so far this winter and fortunately, it is not all that bad. My goal this season has been collection and better seat communication. We have been chipping at it slowly at our own pace doing simple dressage stuff and fundamentals. Quest is getting the gist of it and looking pretty good for our efforts I daresay.

The undersaddle work has seem to transfer to a better relationship out of saddle as well or for whatever reason Quest has been surprisingly more snuggly with me. When I fetch her from pasture, she often leans her head against my arm and just breathes me in. In the arena, she follows me around while I toddle back and forth with a laden manure fork cleaning up after her. It's also good to see that she's maintaining her weight too. The whole lack of pasture-mate thing might set us back due to her running around and worrying but I hope that will be resolved quickly.

As for riding/event plans for 2019, things are VERY much in the air at the moment due to all the big life things that will be taking place this year. W and I are in the throes of wedding planning and also just restarted our efforts in looking for a home together. We'll also be attending 3 of our friends' weddings before ours in July and have several trips to do all before summer happens. Things are chaotic lol but it'll be fun.

Its in the crazy moments that I fully realize how lucky I am for Quest being as steady and constant as she is. While mareface does have her Arabian moments, being able to just swing up for a quick, no fuss bareback ride on the trails or arena when I need to get away from life is a immeasurable gift of relief and solace itself.

Gold, Platinum, and A Diamond

A few weekends ago, my sister and nephew T accompanied me on a quick barn visit after work. We couldn't stay out too late since the little guy has an early bedtime but my sister really wanted him to see the horses.

Quest was definitely curious but so gentle with T, letting him close the distance between them. Even when he nearly jabbed her in the eye with an excited outstretched hand, she did nothing more than move her head away.

Because of the time crunch, I opted to tack up and hop on Quest right in pasture. Despite the time between our rides, mareface was totally at ease so much so that my sister handed her kid to me and I took him on a short walk around the pasture. My nephew was fearless and loved the higher vantage point haha

Quest never put a foot out of line the entire time and listened so well. This mare is seriously worth her weight in gold <3

As for those big life updates....! I got engaged :)

W proposed this past weekend and my entire family was in on the surprise. I knew it was happening sometime but the specifics I wasn't as sure about haha

I've chatted with enough fellow equestrian ladies to know how important it is to have an SO who is actually on board with our lifestyle choice. I've seen the other side of that and if you ask me, any person who forces the love of his/her life to make that kind of choice isn't worth it.

Ever.

I feel very lucky that W gets that Quest means a lot to me. And even though he doesn't ride (...yet lol), he has been very supportive of my distance riding goals which is something I'm immensely grateful for. The next few months are going to be chaotic with wedding planning and other big life things and undoubtedly things will get stressful and overwhelming. But I'm looking forward to it. I'm simply glad and blessed to have a good mare and a good man at my side through it all.

Ever Stronger

Life has been busy busy busy- nothing new there. Work has been keeping me on the road a lot (and giving me a ton of airline mileage lol) but whenever I do find myself back at home, I always make time for a ride. 

To her credit, Quest has been SO good despite the haphazard and sporadic ride schedule. It marvels me to no end that we can get right back to it regardless of the many days, sometimes nearly a week, going by between the last ride and now. Mareface still has her sassy moments obviously but those have been very few and far in between. Most of the time it's simple as tacking up, hopping on, and deciding what trail to explore together. 

Our rides have been 100% solo still (Mel is working through some feet issues and other folks at the barn are hard to coordinate with) but that's fine. Quest is very much okay with being by herself and eats up the trail happily. 

 

Last weekend I took L, one of the high school girls I mentor, out to the barn to meet and ride Quest. This was something we had planned since last year but due to circumstances (L tragically lost her brother in December and a few months later in May her dad also passed away), we didn't make it out to the barn until this weekend. 

We got an early start to escape the heat and had a great morning at the barn. L was eager to learn and help. After giving her a quick run-through of basic horse care and horse sense, I handed L a brush and she helped groom Quest while I tacked up. 

We headed to the indoor arena and I hopped on Quest first. Since I had been out of town all last week, it was a good mental check (and one that I normally do whenever I have guest riders) but  mareface was completely fine from the start. She was on her absolute best behavior and did so well for L the entire time. It was starting to get really warm in the indoor when we finished the riding lesson so we cooled off with a quick loop walk on the trails before heading back to untack, bathe, and stuff Quest with treats. After the barn, I treated L to lunch and we got ice cream for dessert before I dropped her off at home. L had a great time and it was just so good to see her smiling again. 

There's no denying that horses can do things for people that other humans can't though. In fact, I began riding because I needed something, anything to get me out of the mental state I was in. Even now, I go to the barn on a bad day and just spending time with Quest-the things that burdened me somehow seem to go away, even for a moment and that's sometimes all the reminder I need to make it through another day.  

Those reasons and more are why I realize how truly blessed that I resolved to learn how to ride and followed my gut instinct that day in August four years ago when I bought a certain mare sight unseen at a feedlot auction. I'm grateful that I can share Quest and my love of riding with those who otherwise would have not ever had the chance. Horse ownership is not without its challenges but this is one of the many reasons why I do what I do. 

2017 Recap

This post is a little belated, but better now than never.

2017 was mixed bag in more ways than one. The year started off on a high note as I finally got to try something I dreamed of since I started this horse thing. In February, I participated in a mounted archery clinic and shooting arrows while riding a horse is just as EPIC as it sounds. I have since gotten my own recurve bow, arrows, and a target and intend to practice when opportunity allows. There aren't many places in NJ where it is legal (and convenient) to shoot so I have to redouble my efforts to find a location where I can get some range time.

In April, I hauled my trailer for the first time. It was just a simple practice run to make sure everything hooked up and worked fine before I stuck Quest in it and took us on the road. It was a little nerve-wracking at first but totally manageable. Mareface and I also started playing with baby jumps that month and she took to it really well. Throughout May and June, we added in fun jump sessions as part of our weekly riding schedule for some cross-training and mental breaks. We continued to explore new training trails and I was looking forward to signing us up for our first distance ride of later that year.

All competition plans came crashing down in July when I went to grab Quest out of pasture and she was lame. With the help of the vet and farrier, we traced the issue back to her clubfoot and addressed it accordingly with corrective shoeing. I was bitterly disappointed to face yet another setback but it was what it was. Erring on the side of caution, I decided to let Quest recover and pasture rest for the remainder of the year.

I was not looking forward enduring yet more time out of the saddle and away from the trails but as luck would have had it, I was invited last-minute to catch ride at Muckleratz CTR in August. I had a lot of fun that weekend and it was just what I needed to lift my mood.

In October, I headed out to Los Angeles and spent some time riding endurance horses on the west coast. It was a trip that reoriented my head and heart when I desperately needed to be set back on course. D and I still continue to communicate now and she has been invaluable source of support and advice.

December started off pretty rough emotionally when I found out that Smokey was going to be put down. I was able to visit him at the old barn and gave him a nice long grooming session complete with treats. I still miss him everyday. The days afterward were difficult, but thanks to my good friends I somehow managed to get through. In attempts to end 2017 in a positive way, I took a week-long staycation and got in a wonderful bareback ride with Quest. It was our first ride in months and it felt like it was coming home. Mareface was totally sound and absolutely perfect, not a foot out of line.

I'm not naive enough to believe that Quest and I are done with our share of challenges on this distance riding journey together but we are back in action, and hopefully older and wiser. Bring on 2018.