Small Wins - February/March

Keeping on with my new tradition of celebrating the small things, here are some recent things that made me happy!

March had so much sunshine. It was definitely appreciated after our long grey winter. G and I had take out dinner and watched the sunset here after I rode this Thursday. So beautiful!

- Recent adversity was a good reminder of how strong and determined I can be and that I need to be more confident in myself and being firm about setting boundaries. Also, that I have a good support network that I can and should utilize before things get so bad.

- Fitness and diet have suffered a little, but I have been getting lots of hiking and gardening done and so my yard and paddock maintenance has been A+. Basically I've been using any excuse to be outside in the sun, but I'm still super motivated to be fit and happy - particularly as I have a pony I'd like to back this fall!

Hiking has been stealing many hours from yoga and the gym. How could I be inside on days like this?

- Calling Sophie in the field now results in her leaving the herd and cantering up to me about 50% of the time. (The rest of the time she walks over) Either way, my inner Black Stallion loving child is delighted :)

- Overcame my worries about an unwanted confrontation and made some decisions about farrier care and boarding. (Of all things horsey, why is hoof care THE hot button topic? Like, it's important, but people don't seem to have nearly such strong opinions and feelings about vet care, nutrition, etc!?)

- Daylight Savings Time.

Daylight savings = trail riding after work!

- In my biased opinion, I think both ponies are looking good despite it being the time of year where they're shedding and muddy.

Joys of owning ponies: We're on month 2 of shedding season, and it still looks like Bridget has plenty of winter coat left.

- Website revamp. Been pondering it for months, and am glad I finally just got it done.

- Another work conference...oh boy do these put me outside my comfort zone. This past one I unexpectedly ended up demoing some things and answering questions from a fairly large group. And  I survived. This is relevant to horses because pretty much the only thing holding me back from doing the testing for my coaching certification is my anxiety about teaching and presenting a lesson plan to a panel of people. So, the more comfortable I can get presenting things confidently, the better!

- Mini hoof trimming clinic with Sophie and she was very patient. In general, her attention span is improving.

I'm generally not a fan of palomino coats, but Sophie's dapples almost make up for it :)

- Have been riding as much as I can, and Bridget came into spring surprisingly fit!

- Set a plan for Sophie's training. Signed up for a bunch of learning opportunities for myself in April too.

The past while ended up more about getting my mental well being back to a strong place and less about definitive progress with the ponies. I've been enjoying some downtime and the opportunity to spend more of my free time pursuing some of my other interests.  An increased horse focus is coming again soon though, and I'm feeling refreshed and ready. We have horsey activities scheduled every weekend in April, and of course I'm counting the weeks until Sophie boot camp!

B is ready and waiting! She lives to boss baby palomino ponies around :D