Boooooooot

I LOVE MY BOOT. So my foot really hurts but the Dr thinks its more soft tissue than the bone chip. But guys, THIS BOOT IS LIFE CHANGING! I love it. So much. I wish I could burn my crutches but metal doesnt burn, so no fun bonfires for me.

BUT I LOVE MY BOOT.

Gifting

Am I the greatest girlfriend ever or what?

"I never dreamed Id end up dating a super sexy horse lady, but here I am, living the dream"

Green Bean Merlot

I had a fantastic ride on Merlot on Saturday (you know, before I fell off and broke my foot) and I'd love to share some interesting things I've discovered. 

First I started out on the lunge with him. He has insane lunging anxiety and just motorcycles around. My only goal was to get him to relax and walk. Just walk on the lunge. It took a little bit of coaxing and our circles were very small but he started to get the concept that lunging doesn't always mean run around like a maniac. 

I spoke with J about this and she told me about how when he was first abandoned here, the owner did attempt some training with him. At one point, she had him in his paddock and was attempting to lunge him on a short lead rope and beating him with the lunge whip frequently. SO uh, that explains a lot. Poor guy. 

I hopped on and he felt a little humpy in his back at first and wanted to try and pull some baby horse antics like just backing up into eternity. I'm not 100% sure on his "training" so I'm not super surprised. After a few minutes of really basic work he relaxed and settled right into his routine. He had a few issues with steering and I had a lightbulb moment.

This whole time I've been riding him like he is a greenie. I only use aids that I think he knows. As soon as I started actually riding him like a trained horse, he improved SO much. Our steering issues were 100% gone. Interesting what turning with your eyes, seat, and outside thigh can do. I reveled my discovery to J and she explained that you have to ride them like this or they never really learn how and what aids are. I felt like a moron. 

Anyways, we moved forward to cantering! We both had no idea what to expect and let him just fall into it. And y'all his canter is so rhythmic and soft and lovely. I was swooning. But I was also being a bad rider and letting him fall on the forehand (he is pretty weak behind). This led to my demise.

He seems to be really struggling with getting the right lead canter. We eventually got it, and like ten seconds before I broke to a downward, I leaned/reached forward to stroke his neck and tell him he is a good boy. He is also on the forehand. He stumbled, I fell on his neck, and he threw himself up to try and catch himself from falling. At this point I was airborne and was like "well..shit". I was falling outward and was not going to land nicely on his back so I let myself fall to the side, where my left foot got a little twisted in the stirrup on the way down. 

I fell on my lower back and got the wind knocked out of me. A large groan and several minutes of screaming profanities and I was sitting up. Poor Merlot was mortified and had no idea what just happened. J said that she doesn't believe anyone has ever fallen off of him before. He was thoroughly concerned I was on the ground and was snorting at me, such a confused baby horse. I gave him some pets on his head and he settled, and I let J get back on to school a lap of canter just in case.

We anticipated some saucy behavior but homie just was relaxed and went right on forward. He never did get his right lead again but he was so relaxed and willing and full of try (and also; omg nothing wears him out) we let him end and decided to work on it another day. I hopped back on to just walk him out and definitely kicked him with my right foot on the way up. Oops. He didn't even care. Ugh <3 So forgiving. We tootled around on the buckle and my feet hanging out of the stirrups. I am so impressed with the brain on this guy. 

I mostly blame myself for falling. If I would have been sitting up better and reached forward with just my hand and not my entire upper body I could have picked him up from his stumble. Oh well, hindsight is 20/20. 

I'm super bummed to not be riding/seeing him again this week because this guy has totally stolen my heart. 

PS: RIES IS SOUND OMFG HIOSHERBESOI!!!

$@!,$@!(?$.&!

Faaaakkk. So I fell off on Saturday. I went to urgent care this morning because the swelling in my foot is only getting worse.

After some x-rays they decided it was just a sprain. Or not. I got called thirty minutes later saying the radiologist looked at it and determined there is a bone chip and more than likelt a fracture elsewhere. So I'm now on crutches and waiting to see an orthopedist. Cool. Happy Monday 🙃

Fail Friday: Boots

I didn't take any pictures of the incident because I was panicking. But I was cleaning my boots last night (for the first time in a way too long time I don't want to admit). While drinking wine and chillaxing in bed at CJ's. I probably should have seen this coming but I shook up my polish and when I yanked the cap off it exploded everywhere. Oops. I believe everything is mostly unscathed. But, uh, I probably wouldn't try and polish boots in bed. 

Answers

But this time not for Riesling, instead, for me. I have been struggling a lot lately with being tired. And I know that is easy for a college student to say. But this is an ungodly amount. I would sleep 10+ hours and still be tired. Id take multiple 2 hour naps in a day. I always just thought I had an unusual love for sleep.

I've been like this since high school. I took a two hour nap daily after I got home from school. When first seeing a physician my freshman year of college for depression and anxiety I had a full blood panel done indicating I was anemic as a result of super low iron levels. I've been taking iron for the past few years and that had a huge effect on my alertness. But yet I still found myself incredibly exhausted all the time.

Unfortunately this started to get dangerous. Last summer I started falling asleep at my desk. Annoying, but something that shouldn't be happening after an adequate amount of sleep. Then I started falling asleep while driving home from work. I thought I was just tired after a long 8 hours, but it was still terrifying to be wide awake and then all of a sudden not be able to control my eyelids.

I started seeking medical attention when I would fall asleep at the wheel during the middle of the day. Morning, noon, or afternoon, I could be driving along, awake as a squirrel, and next thing be seconds away from a collision. The scariest part was I couldn't see it coming and I couldn't stop it. If I was on the freeway, I'd have to get off on the next exit, pull into a parking lot, and walk around.

When I started having to drive parts around during the day for work, I can't tell you how I thought for sure my job was on the line and someone would call into my work and report my sudden haphazard driving. I already have terrible anxiety, and these situations would leave me in tears as soon as I was safe at my destination.

My regular physician referred me to a psychiatrist to get her opinion on my unusual sleepiness. She immediately referred me to a sleep clinic where I would have a sleep study done. Because it was almost a month before my study, and she was worried for my safety (thank god it wasn't just me being crazy!), she prescribed me stimulants to take twice a day.

After a few days, I noticed a night and day difference. I used to not be able to watch tv or read for more than thirty minutes because I would instantly pass out. If I enjoyed a glass of wine in the evening after dinner, I would be asleep within an hour, no matter what we were doing. I can't begin to explain all of the times I wanted to do more in my day but physically couldn't.

I had my sleep study about two weeks ago. I arrived at 9 PM at night and was hooked up to a bunch of wires and monitors (and yes I have some fantastic black mail pictures of myself). I was woken up at 6 AM the next day and had naps scheduled for the entire day. I had my first one around 9 AM. I had about thirty minutes to nap and I swear every time I didn't sleep. I was honestly irritated and wanted them to let me get in my two hour nap.

After an agonizing amount of days, I finally was able to consult with the doctor yesterday afternoon to hear my results. I sleep like a baby at night. My doctor thought for sure I had been sleep deprived for several days prior to the study. I informed her that anything less than 10 hours felt deprived to me. I guess that isn't the same opinion of doctors lol.

So my sleeping at night wasn't the problem. However, my nap study was very interesting. I fell asleep every single time within 5 minutes. Wow. The type of sleep I fell into and how fast I fell asleep definitely shows a sleep disorder. The doctor was unable to confirm if it was narcolepsy or not due to medication I was on that I was uncomfortable not taking while doing the study. But, if it isn't narcolepsy, the other disorder (that I totally forgot the name of and google can't seem to help) is very similar and they both use the same medication to treat. So the fantastic news is that this is treatable, but the not so great news is that this is something I will have for the rest of my life that may or may not get worse. My doctor said that I shouldn't be surprised if it gets worse in about five years. Normally the worst symptoms show up in the mid to late twenties.

Honestly, I am so relieved to know that this wasn't all in my head (well it kinda is lol). I am so happy to know I will be able to continue the medication my doctor had put me on before I could get my study done. I feel like a totally normal person finally. It is amazing to know all that you can do in a day when you aren't falling asleep.

Meet Czi!

so brave! 

This is Mr. Czi (c is silent). He is a registered RPSI stallion (isn't in the book yet) who is formally named Czeitgeist. He is 3 years old and just a few weeks ago came back from being broke. CJ has left me with the most honorable responsibility of snuggling him and giving him confidence. 

I know it seems silly for me to be so honored, but hes a nice horse and she trusts me not to screw him up (yeah I'm afraid that I could touch a horse and mess him up). His current agenda involves cookie stuffing, and learning to be a big brave adult horse. He is a little petite right now and we are hoping he has a growth spurt. 

He already takes selfies like a pro

But I absolutely love this opportunity to be involved with a young horses upbringing! We aren't doing anything big, just going for walks up to the arena and being polite. He is a little scardey cat so we are working on teaching him to take confidence from his handler. He is very respectful and is learning that he can trust his humans. 

Kitten Friday!

I've been meaning to share and take more pictures! Here are my lovely kittens, they are 7 weeks old and just about ready to go to their forever homes! They are so stinking cute I want to keep them all. There are 2 boys and three girls. The two black kittens are boys. Their names are Sherwin and Puzzles (why is he named puzzles? That's the puzzle, Ted!!) The three girls are named Misty (friend already picked her out and named her), Waffles, and Taco. Name creating genius, I know. 

Adventures at QR

Y'all probably remember Baby Winston who lived at my house that I wanted. Well, his breeder/owner is J at QR. J also was the one who purchased Monty off the track and restarted him. Now that my horse trainer CJ is getting out of breeding, shes put time and money investing into J's program. Her first crop was last year. She lost one foal but the other two, Winston & Windchime, scored silver and gold at RPSI inspection last year. They have both sold, and now we are on to the second and third crop! 

There are two fillies for inspection next year, and two more fillies and a colt for the year after that. Because I can't resist baby horses, even though our riding plans got cancelled, I headed out there yesterday morning to go cuddly all the babies. 

This handsome guy is Winchester, who was orphaned. Hes been bottle fed since birth and as a result, absolutely the friendliest guy around. I woke him up from his nap and snuggled him. We are hoping he will score gold and will go to the stallion test. 

Even though J is a mare person, there is a gelding that seemed to have snuck in her heard. I might have a little crush on him. He is a 5/6 year old TB that was race trained but never raced. An acquaintance of hers bought him from his trainer in hopes to restart him as a sport horse. She was to board him at J's until her place was ready to go. Well after loss of communication and no payment, hes basically been abandoned at J's for the past two years. Her goal has been to restart him and sell him, but with her kids and building her barn he has been put on the back burner. 

So naturally, I had to go snuggle him. He is a sweet guy and J reports he is a cute mover. I'm hoping to hop on him within the next few weeks and see what he is like. 

Because he wasn't right for the track, he was never raced and was never registered. And obvi he needs a name so I can fall for him. So I've named him Merlot. He has the cutest pony ears and fluffy forelock. And because I have Riesling, I figured I'm going to start the wine theme. Can't wait to hop on him! 

Riesling Update

Ries is a happy horse and enjoying his time at home. I am so relieved. Saturday he was scheduled to start work again. I pulling him out of his stall and he was already acting gimpy so I hand grazed, and watched as bf trotted him out for me to see. Yep, 100% unchanged. *sigh*

I immediately felt a stab in my gut and wanted to cry. After a solid 15 minutes of moping, I came to my senses and became determined. I WILL NOT let you be a pasture puff this easily, Ries (much to his dismay). 

I called all the callable professionals and began formulating a plan. My sand arena isn't in yet (no surprise lol) but the dirt arena in front of my house still has decent footing. Because movement is generally the best medicine, I've opted to start hand walking Ries for 15 min daily. He loves spending time with me and I can see him relax and enjoy the stroll (or maybe he just likes the end where he grazes my lawn). 

After speaking with my team of professionals I've ordered Pentosan and am going to try that. I'll begin to start letting him work as well, and let him tell me how he wants to proceed. Right now, he is an eager beaver to get moving. I'm going to start really delicately and if he regresses I will definitely just go back to hand walking. 

I have backup plans as well but no point in discussing those yet because that isn't the goal!

Meanwhile, Rosewood Farms updates; two of the four outbuildings have been beautifully resided. Tbh the before picture is embarrassing and definitely not the reflection I wanted. But now it is clean, classy, and functional! Oh and I also snagged this epic decal (I'm in love with it). 

Home Sweet Home

Holy whirlwind of a few weeks. Riesling has made it home safe and sound. He settled in quite nicely. He seems happy as a clam and seeing him 24/7 brings tears to my eyes. 

If I would have known he would have been this happy I would have brought him home way sooner. After some initial swelling and irritation from the bugs, his skin has adjusted quite well. 

Riesling is scheduled to start back into work on Saturday. After a few initial days I will be checking base with my vet and start Pentosan. I have a lot of topics to delve into but for now this is just a buffer post before I get down into the nitty gritty. 

Hope everyone had a great Labor Day Weekend!