Horsepower and Sparkly Things

December 31, 2017

New Year's Eve...
It's a time of reflection and the one time each year where you can be optimistic and say all the things that you want to do in the new year. It's a fresh start, a clean slate...This year, I will make my resolutions a reality! Until the end of January when the reality of how much hard work and planning those resolutions take, how monotonous they become on a daily basis, and the fact that you still live in a frozen tundra for at least the next 2 1/2 months.

How I start and end every day.

This year's reality is that I am unsure what 2018 will bring. Usually I am planning to show and setting goals for the future with my horse. I will ride more, learn a new skill, or finally get to that show. Inevitably, something new comes up and completely derails those plans. Facebook has been a great reminder of this with their "On This Day" feature. The last few years have been filled with enough setbacks to make me want to quit and take up knitting, yet here I am as determined as ever and completely in love with my horse and the equestrian world. Hematoma on the wither area of unknown cause, been there done that. Randomly scratched cornea the day before a show? Yep, check that one off the list. An entire season trying to figure out unexplained weight loss and muscle wasting? Turns out Vitamin E deficiency is really bad but can be fixed if properly diagnosed. Over a year ago, we got the diagnosis that Festin had IBD. Since May of 2016, Festin's diet has been completely micromanaged and he has had, at minimum, two times daily visits to check in, clean his stall, and feed beet pulp and supplements. Festin's has defied every odd, and is currently well beyond the average survival time of 4 months post diagnosis. There have been some scary flares along the way, but for the most part Festin has been a happy, healthy, super buff guy who has maintained a somewhat normal workload. After a very bad flare over Thanksgiving, I've decided to give him the winter off and see what the spring brings. Tomorrow is his "thoroughbred birthday" and he turns 21. We will celebrate tomorrow and again on his real birthday in June.

In the meantime, I am going to focus my attention on groundwork and continuing to grow my bond with Festin. I have been lucky enough to spend some saddle time on two awesome horses and will continue to do so as the weather allows. It's great to have friends who are willing to share their horses and their time! I'm also hoping to spend a bit more time with my mom, driving her minis. Who knows, maybe this will be the year I go to the National Drive with her or get to another CDE!

Christmas Eve 2017 cold weather bonding

The coolest 3 year old ever.

On a non-horse related note I want to get my truck to some cruise nights and car shows with my dad and his 34 Plymouth. It looks like I have a full schedule of cars shows and cruise nights and drag races to fill my spare time. Dad and I have been spending some time in the garage working on the truck and have done a few little dress up things this month. We are going to work on the interior, refinishing the wood, and adding a few other things over the winter. I can hardly wait for Spring!