Holy crap was it cold here this past week! The real feel on Friday was about -30F with the wind, and Saturday wasn't much better. This means that the end of this week's priority was strictly keeping the horses warm by making sure that they were stocked up on hay, had warm water, and were moving around a bit to keep their guts moving, too. There was absolutely no reason to ask Annie to do anything else but to keep her body comfortable during the extreme weather.
We're very fortunate to have the setup that we do at the barn where Annie and her pasture mate, Phoebe, are. They live out 24/7 with access to a beautiful run-in shed, a covered hay feeder that is always full with two square bales covered by full bale Hay Chix nets that is set away from their shelter to encourage movement, and a heated water trough. They also have a hay ball to roll, and hol-ee balls, and a Jolly hay ball that are hung at various heights on their hay feeder and in the run-in. I love providing them with all sorts of feeding options so that the mares can choose how and where they want to consume their hay, extreme weather or not. And with the weather that we have had, we also added extra hay nets and loose hay to the run-in. I'm sure you've heard it before, but your horse's best defense against the cold will always be forage!
The mares made it through the weather just fine but not without a little excitement! When I got to the barn on Friday afternoon, both girls were huddled together in the run-in, shivering under their heavyweight blankets. Annie was alternating lifting her hind legs and I was concerned she had maybe hurt herself. They still had plenty of hay but seemed uninterested in it, I'm guessing because they were too worked up between the constant noise from the insane wind. The barn owner said they were also worked up at dinner time but did not notice them shivering so at least they couldn't have been going for too long like that before I got there. The wind had also buried both gates in snow. I was able to dig out enough snow by the smaller gate to fit one horse through at a time so I took Annie first, then went back for Phoebe who thankfully will walk right to the barn unassisted. Annie was doing her very best to contain her concern around the sound and force of the wind, leaving her friend who was calling for her and pacing impatiently at the gate, and having to be careful on the slippery snow. Despite being pretty afraid, she was so brave for me and I thanked her at least a hundred times for being so wonderful and trusting me. She calmed down immediately once she was inside the safety of the barn and was no longer lifting her hind legs like she had been, and thankfully did not do that again! And as expected, when I went back for Phoebe, she sauntered straight to the barn on her own and waited at the door for me to catch up and let her in.
They each happily ate a flake of hay, drank some warm water, and ate warm timothy pellet soup. They stopped shivering relatively quickly once they were inside and their willingness to eat, drink, and poo made me feel so much better. I ended up double blanketing both mares which is something I can't remember ever having to do in my 10 years of horse ownership even with my PSSM gelding who also lived out 24/7. I led both girls back outside and was able to send them though the gate one by one with no issues. They went right back into the run-in and immediately got to work munching on more hay. I was able to head home feeling so much better that I had gone to check in on them. The sun came out on Saturday, it was warming up slowly, and the girls seemed much more comfortable when I saw them that evening. I brought Annie inside and I chose to give her a massage and practice a little energy work to support her body. She seemed to really appreciate that in addition to another helping of warm timothy pellet soup!
It's warmed back up to the 30s today and I think everyone around here could not be happier - even us hypervigilant horse owners who dread a drastic temperature swing! I spent time grooming Annie before letting her into the indoor to see what she wanted to do. My thought was that I would just allow her to tell me where her body was at and what she felt up for following the few days of being in extreme weather survival mode. To my pleasant surprise, she was quite calm and engaged with me right from the start as opposed to taking the opportunity to move out in the arena. We shared a lovely liberty session before I called it a night.
So I didn't get a ton done on the conditioning and training front between the weather and recovering from the stomach bug that found me last weekend, but I did share in some beautiful quality time with Annie and for that, I'm grateful. I used to be really hard on myself when my training plans had to be canceled for whatever reason, but now I don't see them as a cancellation, but rather an intentional pause to put my horse and myself first. I also have worked hard to shift my perspective to use feelings of disappointment around things I can't control as mental trigger to find a moment of gratitude.
For example, this week when it was too cold to do much else, I sat and listened to some of my favorite music while Annie slurped on her warm timothy pellet soup and thought about how proud younger me would be for getting to where we are now. I thought about how thankful I am for having found the barn where we are at now that is warm in the winter, allows Annie to live a horse-appropriate lifestyle, is full of friendly people, has an indoor arena, and is a space where I can always show up as my authentic self. These reframes have been really powerful for me in making the most of this rollercoaster of a life with horses.
I've also got some other pretty exciting things in the works right now that I am not yet able to reveal, but know that big things are coming! It's also funny because just a few weeks ago, I had my annual "what the heck am I even doing" feeling that hits with the new year, and I just kept having this nagging feeling that as much as I wanted to know what was around the corner, I had to be patient knowing that whatever it was would come when it was supposed to. And let me tell you, the things that can happen when you finally surrender are wild!
The upcoming week is looking much better weather-wise and I'm finally feeling relatively normal again so I plan to get back on track with our outcome driven goal work this coming week. With all of the changes to her body in the last year, I'm really happy to report that Annie's saddle still fits her beautifully. I'm a stickler for good saddle fit! Seriously - you need to know about saddle fit or be working with someone who does. It's also so important to recognize how much our horse's bodies change, which impacts saddle fit. This means that I'm able to really look forward to phase two of my conditioning plan for Annie that involves going through our phase one conditioning exercises while saddled. So be on the lookout for my coming updates around that, too!
Empowering Observations:
If you're looking to cultivate connection with your horse, you need to be able to define what it is you're looking for. One of the things I feel like I end up asking all of my students at one point or another in regards to their goals is "How will you know that you have achieved your goal? What does that look like? What does it feel like in your body?" This came up this week as I worked with a wonderful woman whose main concern was that she feels like she sometimes struggles to connect with her horse. I asked her what connection meant to her and she had to stop and think about it for a minute. She was saying the word but didn't have a clear picture of what it meant to her until she put it into words in our discussion. It was then that she realized how much closer to having it than she thought! And let's face it, the word "connection" means something a little different to all of us and yet it gets thrown around in the horsemanship world all the time. But my favorite definition, and a good one to use if you're struggling to define it yourself, is from Brené Brown.
“I define connection as the energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard, and valued; when they can give and receive without judgment; and when they derive sustenance and strength from the relationship.”
Things I'm Loving This Week
On Sunday I was part of Angela Saieva's Alchemy workshop. It was a few beautiful hours of guided reflection about our horse's unique journey with us. Two things really stuck with me. One being that when I feel into Annie's energy she feels powerful - strong and graceful in every sense of the words. It feels like an invitation to get on her level, which is constantly what I feel like I am working to do. And the other being I feel like the theme of my relationship with her is patience. This is interesting to me because I am not someone who most would describe as patient, in fact I can hear my grandmother now saying "Cassie, patience is a virtue!" as if telling me that would somehow make me more patient.
Om & The Equestrian's Self Love Series! Waking up early with equestrian inspired yoga to kick off the month has been absolutely wonderful. I love Natasha's online studio for on-demand yoga, but I really appreciate her live classes, too. These short sessions first thing in the morning have really been helping me set the right tone for the day, especially at the end of this past week when I really needed that extra self care.
I'm currently re-reading The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk, M.D. It's one of those books that you can learn something new every time you read it and I highly recommend checking it out, whether you are a horse person or not. It offers a lot of insight around how and why our bodies store our traumas and actual practical examples of how we can recover from them. I have found so many places where information from this book has been helpful in dealing with other people and with horses.
Equestrian Reflection
Journal Prompt: I can be kinder to myself by...
I can be kinder to myself by reminding myself that I am only human! I know that I am also a human who is constantly striving to be better by working to grow in all areas using all means possible that feel right to me. I find that in the moments when I feel I start to become hard on myself, my support system just knows that they need to give me some extra love. When I was worrying about not doing enough for Annie during the cold, many friends reminded me that I am already going above and beyond what many others would do. Annie affirmed this and it truly reminded me that she also knows I am doing my best for her, even when I feel like I am struggling.
Affirmation: My intentions have always been good. I am always doing the best that I can.
Equestrian Oracle
Theme for the Upcoming Week
Let Go
This card serves as a reminder for you to loosen your grip and let go. Perhaps you are holding on tightly to something to try and stay safe, or maybe you are just stuck in an old habit, and it's time for you to open your eyes and see that this isn't helping you.
It is likely that you are holding on to something out of fear, so if this is the case, what would help make you feel better about this situation? What do you need to hear, give to yourself or receive so that you can finally let go and move forwards with your life?
*The Equestrian Reflection and Equestrian Oracle cards are courtesy of Felicity Davies and can be purchased directly from her here. Full transparency - I receive no financial gain from sharing these, I just love them and find them to be helpful on this journey!
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