My drafts folder has a happy positive post, and a sad complain-y one. Today you get the happy post. I think the ‘negative’ one has some valid discussion points and I’ll share it, but I’m going to take a harder look at it with the attitude of holding myself accountable for choosing how I respond to situations. Honestly, despite all the great things happening, and having a nice baby pony to bring along, I’ve been really struggling with the harder parts of horse ownership and with living here and have been finding it difficult to blog. We all know ignoring the struggle doesn’t make it go away, but I really believe I can make it easier by being conscious of keeping a flexible and open outlook.
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| Cute ponies make everything better tho |
Anyway, here’s a couple of happy things for today:
I just looked and it was only mid June where I was having a panic attack that Sophie would forever be too tiny for round little me.
Fast forward to yesterday, where I finally listened to everyone saying Sophie looked suddenly bigger and got the stick out, walked up to the road, and measured my now 14.3 and three quarters high pony(horse!?)
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| I mean, she looks taller than Bridget, but Bridget’s not exactly big at 14hh |
I triple checked...and checked again today. It’s true, guys, even allowing a bit for her feet being nearly due for a trim, somehow my pony grew 2 inches in 2.5 months. How? It’s crazy, I kept thinking Bridget looked smaller, and everyone around me has been saying Sophie looks bigger all the sudden. Unreal...she grew about 3 inches from ages 2-4, then suddenly another 2 plus inches after her fourth birthday!
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| Definitely still a pony at heart, though, happily foraging for shrubberies with her bestie. |
She’s filled out more noticeably too. All that pasture must be doing her good because her saddle was starting to get a bit narrow. (The day has come where the one I’m using is borderline OK and she really will need a new saddle if this trend continues...wish me luck!) I’ll have to get the weight tape out and see what it says.
As for myself, I’ve lost 20 pounds. I wish I could say it’s due to focus and hard work, but really I’ve just been super active this summer, only moderately watching calories, and pretty much never checking the scale. I’m back at the place my body really likes to be, which in one way is nice because I know I won’t gain those pounds back without being very, very mean to myself. On the other hand if I want to lose 20 more and be a Lean Mean T I know the next few pounds are going to require real dedication and a lot of long term lifestyle changes. Decision making time, I guess! No matter what, heading towards winter I will have to be mindful of trying to keep myself in a positive headspace...If I let the winter blues hit, or get too focused on my weight/appearance historically all bets are off as far as enjoying exercise and treating myself well :(
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| Bridget and I are soulmates, I think - at least when it comes to feelings about food and exercise, lol |
Anyway, long story short, I’m a little smaller, Sophie’s a little bigger and I’m no longer feeling super worried about being ponycrusher dot com. I’m feeling a lot more positive Sophie’s going to stay here a long while yet (which is good because I kind of love her).
HONY!
ReplyDelete:D I feel like hony was a legit bad 4 letter word a few years ago, now so many ads are ISO an oversized pony and I always wonder why...even in dressage I feel like it’s a bit of an awkward height. Now I’m crossing fingers to beat the 15hh mark because it sounds better LOL. At any rate, we’ll never make in in the hunters now ;)
DeleteWhat is 'hony'?
Deletenot quite a pony, not quite a horse. I'd define it as anything in the 14.2+ to 15hh range :D
DeleteNicely done on both fronts! S is SO cute!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteCongratulations! 20 pounds! Back on low-carb I lost 4kg Corona weight. I'd sure like to double that!
ReplyDeleteI'm curious what the cannon bone measurements on your mares are - in cm: )
I’ll have to see..I think I measured B a long time ago and it’s less than you’d think for a cob and the math worked out the same as just using her height/weight as far as weight carrying ability, Sophie’s are teensy - she wears extra small sized boots
DeleteI laughed at your title, because I had just posted a complain-y post when I saw this! Sophie looks great, and I love that they have some woodsy area to forage in, and congrats on the weight loss. But that picture of Bridget's face, damn, she's so cute.
ReplyDeleteSo cute and she knows it! I think they enjoy having the variety - every time I put them in that field there are a few shrubs and trees I notice they hit hard before they really graze the grass in the open part down much.
DeleteDang, you should have gotten her a pony card last year (if that's a thing in Canada)!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your weight loss progress! I've been working out less often and less intensely since my gym has been closed in March, I'm just not that motivated at home. But I saw some outdoor kickbox classes nearby I might try!
I'm admittedly vague on the rules but I think she's still too young to have a permanant card. It's OK, we had no plans for hunters anyway. For eventing it obviously doesn't matter.
DeleteFor dressage, if you want to dream really big, ponies aren't eligible for some classes with an adult rider so horse sized is a better thing for me.
Yes I was thinking a temp card, but mostly in jest (or to keep options open because she would look super cute jumping over little hunter fences with a pigtailed little girl on her!) :)
DeleteI hear you on the positive/negative struggle... ;-) I'm sort of feeling the same way over here.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the height & weight gain / weight loss - lots of positives there for sure.