To Do in 2025

I have some thoughts around goal setting these days. Lucky for you, Emma wrote an excellent post that sums it up beautifully and much more eloquently than I could have attempted. While I'm not one to write up a big plan for the year anymore, January still gives me the urge to get things in order. Whether that's tidying up my trailer and getting it ready for spring adventures, or using this space for bigger picture life organization.  

Where we're at:

If my equestrian life was a sports team I'd definitely say we're in the rebuilding/development phase. But, there's a lot of fun to be had in this space. Arguably the most fun, even.

no shortage of fun here

We all know the foundation of the big dreams is just a bunch of smaller building blocks, mixed with a good dose of enthusiasm and a dash of luck.  The building blocks are the most important part of the puzzle and where a lot of us will spend years of our time, but still it's tempting to downplay things... like "sorry my blog is boring, my young horses aren't riding age and I am only doing x,y,z this year." 

Thinking on the future:

The first step in hitting those big wins is confirming I still want them. I like to pause now and then and check in as to whether this path are still something I really want. It's easy enough to continue on and stick to the plan, but speaking from experience, my dedication will be lacking and the rewards won't be great if my heart isn't really in it anymore. So:

To Do #1: Write down what I hope to achieve this year and in the mid to long term. Commit to keeping an open mind and reevaluating things periodically. I'm guilty of setting vague goals and persisting well after things are fun or this beyond my control have changed potential outcomes - just so I can tell myself I completed all the measurable pieces in my control...often losing the important part (the qualitative 'enjoy and have fun!') in the process. 

This was a nice 2024 view, but not pictured was the absolute misery of hiking up here (and back down) in a crazy storm. Trees were literally falling around us and the trail was a waterfall. I thought we would die, so 1/10 for that effort, should have been sensible and gone to the gym (or even (gasp!) rerouted when the weather hit.)

To Do #1A: It has to stay fun. It's OK if there are low points or things get tough for a bit (hello December weather making me question why I even own horses), but if I'm dreading showing up on a regular basis, it's time for a redirect. My husband is great at questioning why I'm still stubbornly going down a path when he can see it's not one I'm finding rewarding. I should probably listen to him more, he's lived with me for 20 years at this point and probably has an idea of what he's talking about ;)

What I can do now:

My goals do change and are in a bit of flux right now, but the base motivation to just be out there having fun and learning new things is very consistent. I think I'd like to get back to lower level dressage and eventing once the boys are riding age, but I think the priority for me is to be a happy and confident rider on two happy and confident, fun all around, well adjusted ponies. Working backwards from that:

To Do #2: Keep giving the baby ponies positive life experiences. They're going to be 2 year olds this spring, so (fingers crossed, not seeing any signs of brain installation yet ;)  mentally and physically mature enough that we can probably go for longer hike and leads a little further from home and choose a couple of friendly clinics and events for them this summer. Building blocks for well adjusted ponies.

The ring sand is finished so I think in hand poles and obstacle courses could be in our immediate future too

To Do #3: I gotta pay for this stuff. Sit down and make an equine related financial plan/budget for the year. Cry if I have to. Top of mind is that my truck is well past needing replacing. I don't think it's needed this year, but 2026 me will be grateful for a nice amount of cash on hand for a new reliable tow vehicle. I've been borrowing G's truck when I need to hook up the trailer and while we make it work, it's not going to be a solution as the boys get older and I want to get out more regularly - G needs a truck too.

He needs his own truck for all the barn help I ask for ;)

 To Do #4: So cliche, but I need to keep consistently prioritizing taking care of myself. My mental health has honestly sucked this past year. I'm aware and I know the triggers and yet I just didn't do anything to help myself. Top of mind as far as gym/yoga/riding fitness - I'm still quite a bit weaker on my right side than my left. Some days that is just going to be life due to ongoing injury, but there is always room for improvement and I'd like the 'good day' baseline to be closer to symmetrical. Future happy confident rider is going to be a lot harder to maintain if the mental and physical pieces aren't ready.

This not-a-saddle at least helps me keep my balance monitored

To Do #5: This is the hardest one. I started removing what's not working for me in 2024. That included ending relationships with some people, stepping back from others, setting a whole lot of boundaries, and letting go of long term goals and thoughts about who and where I should be that weren't serving me well. I simply hit a point where I just couldn't continue as it was anymore. But, a blessing in disguise because it needed to happen. I still am feeling a bit fuzzy/guilty/sad because I hate conflict, I like making people happy, and a lot of things I thought were OK to accept...actually weren't. And oh yeah, I'm not a huge fan of change either. But, mostly I'm relieved because there's already so much more room to breathe and just be me, if you know what I mean? It's something I'm going to need to continue into 2025 and beyond, so bear with because I'm not great at it yet. 

Whew, that got personal.

I'm excited to see where 2025 takes us, and I'm looking forward to following along with all of you.

The Sun Came Out

 Sometimes, I feel like writing, but I don't know where to start. I know there's things I did and want to chat about or things I'd like to write about to be able to look back on.

A quick scroll through my phone camera roll usually provides the inspiration. And, wow is my camera roll ever a reflection of not only what I've been up to, but how I've been feeling. Case in point - this is all I had for the second half of December.

I mean, we all love a good poovalanche though, right?

So, we can deduce I delivered some manure to my parents' garden. Apparently there was nothing else even remotely worth documenting or more inspiring to me than a 5 sec video of poo :D

 Since, then, though, things seem to be on the upswing.

Heading in to my first office day of 2025 and there was a bit of a sunrise

Look! Sunshine is coming! This made me happy after months of grey and rain. It's a gorgeous trip when the weather cooperates. 

Since then, we've had almost a full week of the sun peeking through here and there. It's rained hard at night a few times, so the groundwater is not receding, but it feels like everyone just took a deep breath and is waking up and getting ready for spring.

Especially this one. My right middle finger was sprained a couple of weeks ago due to longe line shenanigans, and she regrets nothing. She'd try it (and did try it) again, in fact. Yes, I am aware that's poor pony behaviour, longeing is time to work, not play. But, did I mention the sun came out and we've all temporarily lost our minds? 

Let the pony out of the paddock, enjoy your wish for total chaos.

Speaking of chaos, the kittens are 8 months old now and prime chaos attractants. They were probably just as crazy a few months ago but now they're full size and it sounds like they're demolishing the house every night.

 This guy just turned 10, and influenced the kitten color scheme. My order for twins to him didn't pan out though, the kitten fluff didn't expand to luxury proportions like the OG Kitty. But in hindsight, 2 more of this guy would have been crazy, even for me.

In other fluffy creature news, the boys are already starting to shed. In true baby pony fashion, they're not ready for the feels of that and you've never met two itchier, muddier ponies in your entire life. They're malfunctioning right now.

For some reason, only Bakari pictures. He's been the most eager to get a good grooming so he goes first, and I guess by the time I do something with Sophie and finish with Reggie it's been too dark for photos.

This sunrise was crazy - no filter added

Nicer weather means time to pick up some hay

Unloading done under supervision, of course

Other than that, my saddle to try is still waiting in a foreign country. I didn't realize our post office isn't accepting international parcels, so I will need to be patient until they catch up to the backlog from a labour dispute prior to Christmas. 

The house has been progressing. I got seriously sidetracked over Christmas, building a custom kitchen cabinet that really I had no business attempting. It turned out great, but it took me literal days and wasn't what we might call an effective use of time. We're on hold now for one last visit from the plumber and electrician, and then I*think* the only outstanding thing will be tiling the kitchen backsplash and maybe picking out a dining room light, but obviously we can move in while we do that. This is the second full renovation I've done of this house and I'll go on record here saying I hope it's the last. Also, it's never getting rented again. We live in it or we sell it, that's it :)

Brighter Days Ahead

 Literally, as the days grow longer again. 

Figuratively too. I have all sorts of things I want to do or I want to write about here but the winter blahs were winning in a big way and creeping into pretty much every aspect of life. I'm not cut out for these winters - I think I simply need more sunshine and outdoor time (if I'm making a big ask of the universe, I'd love more riding time too). 

On that note, a new (to us) saddle is in the mail. Bareback pad is lovely but a bit of a safety concern this time of year when 'big field' turnout is limited and feral ponies rule the day. You'll have to look closely, but the blue pen line is 'now' and the cardboard cutout is what we used when ordering her saddle 18 months ago. It's slightly shocking since she was 7 and buying the fancy saddle for her then felt like it should have been a safe bet. (Also, no wonder she hated it after a few months.)

She's fuzzy but not overweight. Out of shape, yes, but I think an xw tree is legit where we are at now. Fingers crossed the new one is a good fit (or at least a reasonable starting point).

Sad times because I really, really loved that saddle (Amerigo Pasubio), but Sophie made her feelings known and I was aware it probably wasn't ever going to work for us again. Just for fun I measured my baby horses and at 20 months old they're wider than that (mw-w tree) saddle as well so it will likely need to go off to a new home.

Shiny Bakari. Sorry for the middle of the night photos, it's really like 8pm but our barn lights are kept low in respect of the neighbours.

Daytime Tradey naps

The nice thing about feeling a bit 'meh' this time of year is that we get a new one. My logical brain knows it's just a date on a calendar, but a big part of me embraces a reason to mentally draw a line under everything and start fresh. Endless possibilities, suddenly at my fingertips! Spring daylight feels like a tangible thing to look forward to again.

It rained this much between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day and of course we had no power Christmas Day. That about sums up this winter's weather, but it was a nice excuse to not have to cook anything!

I got him this new ditch for Christmas. I joke but he actually loves it. Tools with handles are his favorite so you can imagine how helpful he wanted to be with the raking and shoveling. Now he's low key old man horse watching the river flow by his cottage.

Two very helpful creatures. If you'd have asked me a few years ago I would have said geldings are not for me, partly because they turn everything into a chaotic game if you give them any leeway. Here I am in the future where stealing and dragging my manure fork away every time I turn my back is a hilarious game for them. Timewasters, and not only do I allow it, it makes me laugh.

If I was to only post everyday photos this is probably what you'd get 90% of the time. Tradey's actually respectful and polite, but he's also insatiably curious and friendly, so if you let him he'd be this close all day long. Buck is a bit more pushy/testy by nature so my personal bubble with him is a bit stricter. It's fine though because he's secretly my favorite :)

One last Dec 2024 Sophie picture. Onwards to 2025!

Winter Baby Ponies

 It's been a bit since I did a pony progress check in, but honestly this time of year I'm really not there as far as keeping any sort of structured or noteworthy progress. The boys continue to grow - I did actually measure and use a weigh tape on them in the beginning of December and they're both 14 hands-ish. Reggie is maybe a half inch taller than that, Buck slightly shy of the mark. Buck weighs a good 50 lbs more than Reggie. My tape says he's already 830 pounds, which is pretty darn close to Sophie's 850!

Is a solid little guy

 The internet says they're on track for 14.3ish, which is what their genetics say too. I think both Reggie's parents are 15hh and Buck's are 14.3. I'll be really happy with that. I know there are lots of really nice cobs that are bigger, but I do feel like eventually they start to be a different type to the more old fashioned ones I prefer for myself. If you've been here forever, you'll remember Ginger, who was my first cob and who made me quickly realize that my 15.3hh TBx who seemed just right the right size did not translate to me needing a 15.3hh Welsh D. Eventually 14hh Bridget came along and that was a much better fit (and still a 'bigger' feeling ride than that TBx mare!)

It's been so wet...we resurfaced this paddock last summer. The base is still solid but the top layer is not holding up and I feel guilty about having muddy ponies.

This winter has been brutal so far (I mean as far as winters go here, I realize this area isn't known for a typical Canadian winter). As I write this, the wind is howling, the ferries are cancelled, the airport is closed and I can hear the gutters overflowing outside the window. It feels like it's been storm after storm with very little break in between. I've had time off work, and even had some fun ideas for pony outings, but the wind, rain, and short daylight hours haven't cooperated with my plans. Our poor community horse facility had a tree come down and squish the jump shed and part of the arena, so it has been closed due to safety issues. The neighbourhood trails I use have also been off and on blocked or questionable as far as trees down and flooding, so in the end it's just felt easier to stay close to home. 

Spa days whenever I can. One of two sunny days so far this month, but those white socks don't clean themselves :)

This guy would love to be groomed for hours a day. I've never had a horse that truly enjoys being groomed (it's always been shades of 'tolerates it' to 'sometimes likes it, depending') so I'm fulfilling all my My Little Pony childhood dreams now.

The big silver lining is that while of course I miss socializing at the club facilities and having horsey things on the calendar, the boys aren't even two and don't need to be doing much of anything this winter except growing up. I'd hate to be in a position of trying to prep for spring shows or trying to keep a regular lesson plan. I've been saving my sanity by watching equine vlogs and videos from the southern hemisphere and enjoying their summer sunshine secondhand. I've even gone to the dark side and been envious of snow...Instagram has been baiting me with the winter sleigh videos and I watched a few so now that's all I get suggested :)

Worst Barbie Princess horse ever hates being pampered and groomed, but also does not like staying clean or dry in her stall. Luckily can be bribed to tolerate attempts at cleanliness with alfalfa

 Everyone here is getting their 3 or 4 meals a day, grass turnout as weather permits, and even twice daily mucking out and scratches (only because I am spoiled and G does paddocks mid morning most days if I'm working). But everything else? Completely up in the air. I try to prioritize a good grooming, especially if their coats are dry (no one is blanketed this year) and after that it's completely random. Most days I'm well and truly out of daylight and dry raincoats after just the basics, but that's one of the really nice things about babies. Yes, they thrive with consistent fair handling, but also their bodies and brains aren't ready for real jobs and a check in every day is more than enough.

Reggie did need a small groundwork intervention the other day and was horrified about it and spent a bit of time spinning around. Baby horse bodies and dramatics on a lead not a thing I want, but then I remind myself...

this spinning in circles trying to bite each other's legs is their number one favorite game of all time, so overreacting and spinning around me on a leadrope once better not break him

I try not to think too hard on how rough they play. The social benefits outweigh the risks, right? :)

Sophie keeps an eye on the boys but prefers to hang out up by the road and chat to the other adult horses across the street instead.

Despite my despair about us receiving an actual west coast winter this year, I do feel like progress continues to be made with baby pony training. They're both on the sensitive side, but overall good boys so it's not like there's any big milestones or drama I need to mention. Just little things, like how they were both unsure about their feet but now calmly offer them before I ask. I was trying to remember the other day which one I need to be gentle with as far as spray bottles, but I think I forgot because the answer at this point is neither. Things like that. 

Someone is still dramatic about deworming tubes but your hint here is that it's no longer either of the babies.

I'm unlikely to update again before New Years, so I'll wish you all the very best now. I'm opting for a very quiet season this time, likely just extra pony visits and some much needed rest. Netflix and Kindle subscriptions, I'm coming for you. It's been a lot the last few months with work, house renos, property acquisition stress, and arguably too many horses. I'm feeling ready for a slower week or two. I hope you're all able to spend your holidays however you'd like to and I'll see you again in 2025!

This week in the life

 Update to last post: the bear has not bothered us further, but he broke into a neighbour's livestock barn and did a bunch of damage so conservation service needed to be called. I'm not sure what the end result of that was (it's a bit of a divisive issue so public updates aren't always a thing) but I haven't seen him around for a bit. Maybe he moved on, maybe he is no longer. It feels mean to say but either way it would be a relief.

I'm struggling again with the weather and the dark here in the ever gloomy winter raincoast. The rain didn't use to bother me badly because I'm still happy to be out and about doing things and the temperatures are normally nice and moderate, even if a bit damp. The past couple of years though, the never ending rain has felt a bit more personal. Trying to maintain a tiny horse property of our own has me worrying about fun things like paddock footing and arena drainage, along side the 'normal' wet climate horse things like preventing mud fever and rain scald and keeping my tack from molding. 

Another dark and stormy night

It's more the dark days that really get to me, especially combined with a 9-5ish job that has me indoors while it's light out. I've shifted my hours to start earlier in the morning which means I can normally be done by 3:30. Having that little half hour to an hour of daylight this time of year really helps.  I'm forever grateful that my 9-5 office job evolved to work from home/remote with much more flexible hours.

pony grooming in the daylight, I love my weekends right now

attempting some cheer on a gloomy night

I know I said we were scrapping the idea of purchasing a bit more pony real estate, but the owners came back to us and it's back on the table. There are a bunch of things on their side that need to happen (planning approval from the city, for one), so we'll see. I know I should count myself lucky to have the option (and the support of G in this) and let what will be, be, but I'm finding it quite stressful. This wasn't on the bingo card at all and the timing honestly stinks, but it's just too perfect a situation to not at least try. 

When we bought the babies with the current space we have it meant Sophie would be moving to a new home eventually. I was OK with that, but now with more acreage possibly in the future, I've been holding off on that and found myself making tentative plans involving keeping Sophie. So, I feel like I've inadvertently wrapped some of the emotions around Sophie into things. I really am going to be OK either way. I'd just like to fast forward to the part where we know how it's going to turn out so I can start planning accordingly :)

In related news, Black Friday happened right when I was feeling very anxious about things, and I totally succumbed to some retail therapy. I feel sort of icky about that because normally I plan and budget purchases very carefully and I wasn't actually going to buy anything. But, for the most part it was things I had bookmarked as wanting/needing and they were on great sales. I got a nice longeing cavesson that I can use now for Sophie, but also will be really nice for the boys when I start ground driving them.

Kieffer lunge and ride cavesson I had this filed under 'nice to have but don't need' but after borrowing a friend's I was sold. It's so more stable than using a halter or bridle to lunge and nice for groundwork too. It comes with bit attachments as well, which solves my baby horse dilemma of wanting a halter to lead from and a bridle to ride with on ride and lead trail adventures.

Also acquired, better headlamps for mucking paddocks in the dark. LED spotlights for same. Haynets because a bunch have mysteriously disappeared. Waterproof saddle covers, because see above about wild winter weather and damp/moldy tack. There were some frivolous things thrown in though too - did the boys need fancy browbands at this stage of their lives? No, not really. But I'll be ready when they do!

Load of hay delivered too, which is the biggest expense these days. It's running about $1000 a ton and Sophie wants it, current fence testing situation below.

(Yes I know these taps don't need insulation but I'm baiting my stepdad ;) Relevant part of the story is that Sophie's door latch is to the right of this tap and she knows the door latches somehow...but she's not quite figured out how she's opened it herself previously. Does it relate to the tap? Hence the teeth marks and my sad little misting hose torn off - I think she's now decided pulling that potentially leads to releasing the door latch. She took it one step further hay delivery day and bit through (unplugged) electric fence wire and started pulling on that and then checking the section of wooden fence behind to see if it would open like a gate. Her brain is a funny thing.

A Proper Raincoast Break and Enter

 The wild winter weather has continued. So, when I walked around the farm to feed dinner late one exceptionally rainy and windy night, I was surprised, but not *super* surprised to see the barn doors hanging off their tracks. Weird, because they latch and have stoppers and windy days normally barely rattle them, let alone completely rip them off the building. Did I forget to close and lock them?

And whoa. Somehow the wind blew one of my (full of grain) feed bins out of the building and halfway down the yard?

Pre break in when I was feeling a little smug about my storm prepping organization

When I walked into the feed room side of the barn, the actual cause of the chaos became a little more obvious. Muddy bear prints everywhere. In retrospect walking into the barn on a dark and windy night with fresh muddy bear prints all over it maybe wasn't my wisest decision, but my brain needed to catch up to the evidence.

The good news is that I think I might have interrupted the burglary in progress, because aside from my feed bin and a few things rummaged through or tipped over, everything inside the building was undamaged (note a few days later - the oil I top their feed with had one tooth hole in the container and slowly leaked everywhere before I noticed. RIP to that and all it touched)

No actual pictures of bears or barn mess in the moment because it was late in the evening in a 'bomb cyclone' and I was just trying to get everything patched back up to survive the night. This is from a couple of nights later. My other excuse for poor media is this is the light situation after work days. Check out how flooded everything still was though. It's dried out a bit since, but it still is so grim around here this time of year :(

The doors sustained moderate damage - the latches were broken and needed replacing, and he spent a bit of time trying to pull the bottom of the doors apart so the frames needed repairing and reinforcing and some boards reattached. Again, no photo documentation because there I was at midnight in the dark, wind and rain, fixing them so I could lock everything up again. I think my cheap sliding system on the top of the doors might have had an unexpected bonus because the bear was eventually able to simply lift the door off the tracks rather than continuing to try to break through them. He’s strong though, it was a two person job to re hang them all! 

All reattached and repaired and you can't even tell it was a thing. Surprisingly gentle bear, my cat scratched a door in our house worse than this :)

So, more good news, because it turned out to be an easy enough fix.

The bad news is that a freaking bear took the doors off my barn looking for snacks.

Sophie has this gate behind the doors (I leave them open in summer for airflow) so while she was understandably concerned, there were no pony escape worries.

He found nothing, apparently hay and horse vitamins are not to his liking because my bag of feed was taken out of the bin and dinner feed buckets tipped over, but no contents were eaten. In addition to my hay stall door he ripped Sophie's stall door off too and moved the black planters around. Although logically I know he is not looking for horses to eat...what if he is looking for horses to eat? *cue sleepless nights*

Electric wire around the back of the barn until I figure out how to make the perimeter yard gates people friendly but not bear friendly. Electric wire across our front yard gate would be the most practical, however maybe not the most inviting for visitors and deliveries:)

Sort of good news (for me, not him) is that he's young and little-ish and his MO is breaking into people's sheds looking for garbage or freezers of food. So this might have been an exploratory thing rather than targeted and now that he knows we aren't worth his time I can hope he stays away. It’s pretty late in the season though, so I’m worried. We have careless neighbours and if he’s finding enough elsewhere to hang around this winter, I am worried he might get himself in trouble.

Sophie helping with fence repairs. Between her scratching her butt, rambunctious yearlings doing their thing, and Yogi climbing over everything, our fences/fence posts took a beating this year. I'm so weird about things that it's going to annoy me to no end to have new posts and rails that don't match the rest of the fences (until I can stain them in the spring) Not to mention the mud and bear scratches all over the back of the barn lol, why is my brain like this because I REALLY want to clean and paint it now.

Harvest Gold

 Sophie's winter coat is always extraordinary, I'm reminded of those facebook posts you see ranting against crossbred dogs and the hit or miss nature of what traits the puppy will have. Normally mentioned are the sometimes unexpected grooming requirements for doodle breeds. In Sophie's case, she's the pony equivalent of that doodle. She's got a Welsh pony dad and a TB/WB mom. Take your standard extra thick and long welsh pony coat, but make the actual hair TB fine. She is very very soft, and stays very warm and dry under there, but also there isn't a curry comb in this world that will easily get to the bottom of it. 

So soft, so luxurious

Today marked the first official day of 'these brushes are no longer working' winter coat. 

In a related side story, years ago we were doing some work on one of our houses and in the closet I found a box with a 1960's shag rug rake. I don't even remember what we did with it. 

But, today while I was complaining about the inefficiency of my grooming tools, pondering whether a nice long hair dog coat brush might be the thing for her more sensitive spots, I suddenly remembered that thing.

So, I googled to find a pic to show you in the context of 'here's something that might work on Sophie's unclipped winter coat, ha ha'. And of course the requisite vintage shag carpet room pictures popped up. 

And I need to tell you that I have discovered that Sophie is currently a near perfect match for Harvest Gold shag.

Find the pony! I'm sorry but I had to do it