Two days, no rain! Amazing! And no appointments anywhere over the weekend. This translated into lots of yard and housework, but yesterday I did get to do some bodywork and some riding. Not a lot but it sure felt good. Cowboy is doing nicely. His feel are looking great, and the white spots under the saddle (his "Angel Wings") are shedding out brown. I'm crossing my fingers that the new saddle will do the trick. He seems to be getting under himself better.

Today I did lots of housework, trying hard to de-clutter so I can find a few things. I need about a month off just to go through everything and get rid of stuff and develop a filing system for the rest of it.

I also needed to move hay. Laura orders lots of hay in the summer and stores it at her place, then I pull out what I need during the year. Last year we moved enough in the summer to last the winter over to my place, but this year, what with trips to Colorado and dealing with my dad's passing, that didn't happen and now I'm out of hay. Because of the rain, I can't go through her pasture to back up to the hay storage, so I got the truck as far as her barn, then we used the handcart to move the hay to the truck. Lots of work for a couple of old hags. Fortunatey, Laura's hubby Ken (aka BeerMan and CarrotMan) was on hand and assisted us, demonstrating his famous Hay Bale Caber Toss onto the truck. (It's so nice to have a man around the barn...) Then Laura finished stacking it.

While I stood by and took pictures. Hey, it's a dirty job but somebody has to do it.

The boys got to go out while we unloaded the hay at my place. I had hoped to get some shots of their "bad boy" attitudes when it was time to catch them and bring them back, but by then it was dark enough that my point and shoot would only take pictures with flash, so my photos were basically darkness with a couple glowing eyes. Not very printable. Now I think I need a new camera. A nice SLR where I can control everything. It's on my list of "Must Buy" items. It has lots of company.

I'm about 14 days into the 10-day beginning workout, but with skipped days...but tomorrow I will do the last day and them move on to the Intermediate workout. It's been an odd sort of week. I heard somewhere that last Monday was the most depressing day of the year (I did not get the details, why this particular day?) but it was comforting to know that I'm not alone in feeling unmotivated and frozen. Bad week of "oh, what's the use?". I'm trying to just put one foot in front of the other and remind myself of the Gratitude attitude. What am I thankful for? Blue skies, good friends, good health...there is a long list. Deal with the bad stuff, focus on the good. I keep trying to remember about the Elephant vs the Driver. I found a little "pocket totem" of an elephant at Wild Things in town that I'm trying to keep close to remind myself to focus on the joy and spontaneity in life.

It's been so long since we've seen the sun that I wasn't sure what to do today when it appeared! But I gathered my wits and put the boys out to eat, cleaned paddocks and fixed fence (more about that later), and then, OMG! PLAYED WITH MY HORSE! What a concept! We did a bit of body work, then some ground work, and then had a quick ride in the arena. The time off shows as he was not exactly attentive. The sunshine and dry weather have also stirred up the little biting flies that he is allergic to, so he was distracted by the itchiness as well. So it was not the most productive session but it sure felt good to be working under blue skies with a dry horse. With some luck we will have enough dry weather to get started on body work and equine fitness soon. I did put the weight tape on him the other day and it read 968 pounds, so he has gained some weight. Lots of beet pulp and corn oil!

The corn oil and confinement have joined forces to raise Cowboy's energy level dramatically. Yesterday I turned them out in my pasture to get some exercise while I scooped poop (endless job). When it was time to bring them in, Cowboy declined in volcanic fashion by running, spinning and bucking--taking Dexter with him, of course. After several loops around the pasture, I finally got them confined in Dexter's paddock. This is separated from the pasture by 2 strands of hot wire--not the best fencing but it's been effective. Cowboy seemed to recognize defeat and trotted up to me with his neck arched, snorting all the way. As I reached to put his halter on, he changed his mind, wheeled, and decided to JUMP the hot wire. This is a first, he usually has complete respect for electric fencing. Also, while he fancies himself quite the jumper, he is a short-legged, long-backed Quarter Horse and does have his limits, especially at dusk and when he starts his approach 10 feet from the fence. So the fence came down and fortunately did not get wrapped around his legs, and the horse headed for high country. So I ended my evening patching the fence back together in the near-dark and rounding up the horse (again).

I've been doing pretty well on my own exercises although I've missed a couple days. Don't ask about the eating. I seem to be busy working although it isn't translating into income. Hmmmm. Better review my business plan. I've found that work=stress=eating. I need a new equation.

My heart goes out to Jess from the SpottyHorse blog whose father is dying. We have said goodbye to too many people in the last couple months. Everybody stay healthy and be careful out there!

It was nice to see the sunshine today! Unfortunately, still no riding, the trails (and the arena for that matter) are still too wet and muddy. So the day was spent cleaning up the mess left by the storm and doing some delayed mucking. The boys did get out to pasture and had a bit of a frolic. Cowboy is quite full of himself, due to confinement and corn oil no doubt, and we had to revisit the topic of "boundaries" and just who is the "boss hoss".

The weather has the fitness program seriously behind schedule. Cowboy has not been getting massages, stretches or exercise and I've pretty much ignored my own program, at least the eating part. But I did get started on the 10-day beginner section of the Rider's Fitness program and am 5 days into it, so halfway through. It's a pretty mild program with lots of stretching which I can tell is helping the sore spots, and I can really tell the effects of a sedentary job. The Beginner section is followed by a 20-day Intermediate program that is more intense.

Tomorrow Laura and I are going to an orientation meeting to obtain permits to ride at the new Tolay Creek Ranch on Lakeville Rd outside of Petaluma. I've been hearing good things about this new regional park so let's hope for a spell of good weather so we can check it out!

Today I'm grateful for a bit of dry weather!

40 Days and 40 Nights

Okay, maybe more like 4 days and 4 nights. Anyway, the Rain Gods are vengeful and we are feeling their wrath. This morning started with a downpour the likes of which I haven't seen for a few years. All the drainage systems failed: the wood chips on my garden paths washed away, the back yard was under 6 inches of water, and the French drain behind Cowboy's shelter gave up, causing several inches of water to collect in Cowboy's stall. His entire paddock was under water, save for a small "island" where he was perched, watching the water rise. The manure pile, which I admit has gotten out of hand, acted effectively as a dam, blocking the drainage path. Two hours of digging trenches and re-arranging the poop pile were required to get Cowboy a patch of dry stall space big enough for him to have breakfast, and give the floodwaters a place to go. Dexter, who has a more open shelter and usually bears the brunt of the rainstorms, was high and dry thanks to additional gravel that was put down this year. Looks like Cowboy's shelter will need the same when it gets dry enough to work.

It also looks like my driveway, which has held up nicely for 12 years, also sustained some damage. More business for the gravel supply place.

All the digging made me very late for work and it was nearly dark when I got home, so I can't really do much of a damage assessment. But there is more rain in the forecast.

So, what am I grateful for today. For one thing, the power stayed on, and for that I am MOST grateful. Hot water and coffee available! And the roof doesn't leak, and even though the driveway will need some repairs, I can still use it. So here at the ranch, the rain is more of a big inconvenience than it is a genuine problem. And the water did drain off pretty quickly when the rain slowed down. In fact, I wanted to get a photo to post, but by the time I got the drainage improved and went back to the house, there wasn't much to take a picture of. Someday there will be some pictures, I promise.

Rain, rain, go away

I would like to issue an apology to the weather gods for my complaint about the fact that the promised rain did not arrive on time over the weekend. Seems their wrath has been invoked because, boy, have they sent rain. And it is being timed in the most inconvenient way. Yesterday, I had to drive to Corte Madera and it poured the entire way down. Then, once I was inside, it dried out. I did make it home in the afternoon with just light showers on the drive, but about the time I was going to go turn the boys out and clean paddocks, the skies opened and we got torrential rain, thunder and lightening, and even a bit of hail. The boys did not get turned out.

This morning I woke up to the sound of yet more heavy rain. In the hopes that it was just a passing shower, I snuggled in bed waiting for it to end, but to no avail. Eventually, I could feel the anxious vibes coming from the direction of the boys' paddocks and had to get up and feed them. I couldn't find my rain pants and got drenched. The back yard is flooded and I got even more wet while trying to dig some trenches to drain it. I spend a lot of time digging trenches in the winter. I have a lovely flat parcel but it is at the bottom of a convergence of a couple of hills, so sadly, the runoff comes down the hills and then stalls at my flat terrain. The runoff can be stopped by a poorly located clump of grass or gopher mound.

While I was at work, of course it dried out nicely. So when I got home about 2:30, I went out as fast as I could to turn the boys out. I led them next door to Laura and Ken's pasture as the skies darkened ominously and thunder rumbled noisily in the west. Ken was heading out for his bike ride and we mulled over the wisdom of our outdoor plans, but proceeded anyway, he to the road and I to the barn and paddocks to unload feed and finally clean those paddocks.

And the skies opened again as the lightening flashed and the thunder roared. Sheets of rain flew by, giving way to hail several times. Treetops nearly kissed the ground under the force of the wind and I worried about the neighbors' houses. I took cover in Cowboy's shelter but Ken got caught full force in the driving hail. Optimistically hoping that it would pass quickly, and observing that the horses were grazing unconcernedly, I held out on fetching them back in where they had shelter, but it became obvious that this was not going to end anytime soon and went to bring them back in. Ken was just returning from his abbreviated bike ride and helped me catch them (Dexter decided once again that we must be playing "tag") and we finally got them back in their paddocks--just about the time that the storm passed.

So yes, I know we need the rain, but I'm tired of mud, wet clothes and horse blankets that take forever to dry, no riding, flooded yards and arenas, and, well, I'm sure there's more. I hope the rain gods accept my apology and take the waterworks back to the Bellagio where they belong. And it's only been raining for a couple of days. Just wait and see how I feel by February!

Now what was it Martha said about gratitude? What would I be grateful for? Well, for one thing, that I own a place even if it floods. That I own a horse even if it means that I slog through the mud to care for him. That I still have work in this economy so I can pay for it all.

The fitness program is really suffering in this weather though. I did get through the beginning set of exercises in the Rider Fitness book today, so that's a start.

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My Friday afternoon opened up unexpectedly so I got to play with Cowboy. I tried doing some body work but once again was defeated by his itchiness and his frantic insistence on being scratched. He had bitten himself until he was raw in a couple of spots. I treated those with Nolvasan, and I'm trying witch hazel on the rest of the itchy spots. I'm not sure if it's working but I can't see that it's any less effective than Benadryl. I feel sorry for the poor guy, and the damp, above-freezing weather seems to have the little biting flies on the attack. So not much body work, but I did get to ride him a bit. He seems to be doing well. We're working on smooth transitions, especially from a slow trot to a canter. He likes to speed up his trot until he breaks into a canter, and I'm trying to get him collected enough to just canter from a jog without adding speed.

Saturday, I tried pre-treating the itchiness and then starting body work, with the Equine Fitness book in hand. I was paying more attention to his reactions and even though he was still itchy, I noticed that he consistently pulled away when I worked on his cervical trapezius, particularly on the right side. When I applied pressure to a trigger point, trying different levels of pressure, I finally got a huge release from him in the form of yawning repeatedly and lowering his head. So I think I have found a major source of soreness, and maybe some of that fidgeting isn't related to his itchiness. Other areas of the shoulder were also tight and painful. This wasn't surprising considering that his shoulders and neck are masses of muscle ridges and valleys, not that smooth flowing surface we strive for. So I'm focusing on the neck and shoulders to try to get him some relief. This may be a result of his carrying himself on the front end and pulling himself along, so it might still originate in the back and hindquarters as a compensation issue. I couldn't really find tightness in the back and hindquarters--he really seems quite comfortable having those areas worked on, and loves having his tail pulled. But while he enjoys it, I'm not getting those big releases, just my little Spa-Boy enjoying his body work. Hopefully the new saddle and improved hoof trim will help him engage his hindquarters more and take some of the load off the front end.

We are supposed to be having a massive storm this weekend, but so far it's Sunday night and we haven't seen much rain. I suppose it could still happen. We didn't plan to ride because of the weather forecast and it's a bit frustrating knowing we could have gone out! But there was lots to do at home so I guess it's for the best. My books arrived on Saturday, including the Rider Fitness Program book. I've started reading it and trying out some of the exercises. The author recommends skimming the entire book, then starting the program. Looks to be a fairly traditional routine of warmup, stretching, and exercises for various body areas. The nice thing is that it doesn't require any special equipment and can all be done indoors so weather and short daylight hours aren't an issue. It starts with 10 days of the intro workout, followed by 20 days of intermediate, and then into the advanced/maintenance routine.

As a followup to the Martha Stewart Towel Bar note from a few days ago, I'm happy to report that I bought an inexpensive towel bar at the hardware store, installed it on the bottom of a shelf in the laundry room, and it is doing it's job handsomely. I have a few concerns about how much of a load it can handle, given that the shelf it's attached to is particle board, but I have my lightweight windbreakers, vests, scarves and mittens hanging from it so the hooks are freed up for my heavier winter jackets. Go Martha! I signed up for some of her daily messages (what was I thinking?) and got one yesterday on stress reduction. One point is that you should journal daily to vent any frustrations, and end the journal with a list of things you are grateful for. I tried that and was surprised at how many of the things that were frustrating me are also some of the sources of the most gratitude. Think friends and family, not to mention pets. The exercise was like flipping my gripes over and viewing them from the other side. And I realized that you have to nurture the things you are grateful for to keep them flourishing, by giving at least as much as you are getting.

Sad news this morning. A friend's husband passed away last night, very shortly after being diagnosed with cancer. The end came faster than expected and it's a shock. Willie was quite a character, much like my dad who we lost in November, and like my dad, we thought he would be here forever.

This was in the program at Dad's memorial service and it fits Willie, too. I don't know the author.

God saw he was getting tired

and a cure was not to be.

So He put His arms around him

and whispered "Come with me."

In tears we watched him suffer

and saw him fade away.

Although we loved him dearly,

we could not make him stay.

"A heart of gold stopped beating,

Hard working hands now rest."

God broke our hearts to prove to us

He only takes the best."

Dexter the Doo-Doo-Head

These short work-filled days are killing the fitness program. I didn't get home until almost 5 tonight and still was determined to let the boys out to graze. I cleaned up paddocks while they ate and then went to fetch them home for their dinner about 5:30 or so, just as it was getting dark. Not unusually, they decided to play "Catch Me If You Can" and fled as fast as they could. Cowboy loves this game, although tonight Dexter started it. Cowboy is also a good sport about it and after 3 spins around the pasture, let himself be caught. Dexter, on the other hand, was just getting started and continued his flight, tail high in the air. As it was getting dark, I led Cowboy home and put him away. At least Dexter has a lot of white markings and is visible at dusk, while Cowboy becomes the Invisible Horse after the sun sets.

I thought Dexter would be anxious to join Cowboy but no, he was still wound up when I went back for him and reeled crazily around the pasture for several more turns. By this time it was almost dark and all I could see was four white socks and a blaze moving at warp speed.

Finally, finally, finally, he let himself be cornered and cajoled into letting me halter him. I don't think it helped that by now, I was angry and promising him that when I caught him, he was never getting loose again, not even for grazing. Not exactly enticement, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

My copy of "Fitness Evaluation of the Horse" by Jean-Pierre Hourdebaigt arrived the other day so I am working my way through it. A lot like the Jack Meagher book but a lot more comprehensive. I'm also trying each night to get through a little bit of "Horse Anatomy: A Coloring Atlas" which helps you remember the parts of the horse by coloring them in. Lots of fun and quite effective and detailed. But I'm starting to feel buried in equine muscle fiber. When it stays light later, I'm hoping to actually feel a horse's muscle instead of just reading about it.

I took a break from reading to do a bit of housecleaning and check e-mail. As luck would have it, I'm on the Martha Stewart mailing list (I don't know why) and there was a checklist of six things to do each day for a clean house. The 2 notable items on the list for me were Sweep the Kitchen Floor and Clear Clutter--the 2 things that I am most likely to let get away from me. So I went and swept the kitchen floor and did a clutter sweep and darned if the house doesn't look a whole lot better. That Martha knows her stuff. I bet she doesn't procrastinate. There was also a hint for a more organized laundry room that I had to check out. I hang jackets and hats on hooks in the laundry room but there are a lot more jackets and hats than there are hooks and it's a mess. I had bought a wire shelf a while back that I thought I could use to hang the jackets from on coat hangers, but it needs to replace an existing shelf that uses a different support system so of course, that's as far as it got and the new shelf is leaning against the wall (more clutter) and the jackets are still hanging several to a hook. Lo and behold, there is a Martha Hint to hang a towel rack on the underside of a shelf and then you can hang clothes hangers on it. Now why couldn't I think of that? It will work fine with the existing shelf, and I can hang the new shelf somewhere else, maybe the garage.

No horse time at all today, worked and then visited my mother.

I did ride on Sunday and noticed that at the canter, I am being pushed noticeably to the right, whether we are circling to the right or the left. I remembered seeing something about this on a video so I spent this evening reviewing the collection. Finally found it on a Parelli monthly DVD on finesse--just mentioned that the horse is pushing its ribs in the opposite direction, so that would be to the left--which to me means that he's more comfortable, and therefore curved, going to the right. Just the opposite of what I would expect, since it's always been easier to get him to go to the left. But recently he has been a bit "charge-y" to the left. Similar to when he goes downhill, like he's trying to get away from something. So that's something to try to figure out. Saddle fit/shimming? Sore muscles?

I grumbled to my client today that I would like to be doing something more artistic with my life (you really have to be comfortable with a client to complain to them about what you are doing for a living!). Being an artist who is not working in an artistic field, he just smiled knowingly. And I remembered reading somewhere that the trick is to approach everything you do like an artist, even (or especially) if it is something mundane. And then you can be an artist no matter what you are doing! I tried it driving home, treating driving like an art form--leaving a good space in front of me so I could drive smoothly and non-reactively, watching ahead a ways to anticipate what others would do, just concentrating on what I was doing and trying to make it a sort of dance. And it was quite a relaxing drive home even though it was rush hour. Not sure if the guy behind me agreed....

Think Blue

Today things are going well. Work went well, I got an inquiry about my Crates saddle that is for sale, my laptop is repaired with minimal cost, and I got home in time to go for a walk. On the way back, I picked up my mail and was happy to see that my Amazon gift certificates had arrived so I can order those equine fitness books. There was also a package in the mailbox that I thought was the book I had already ordered. On further examination, though, it turned out to be.....

Wait for it.....

MY BLUE PARELLI STRING!!!!

Looks like it shipped on the 7th, 3 days after I posted my rant about not getting it. Who says is doesn't pay to complain? I may have more followers than I know about, some of them at Parelli-Land. Now that I know that they do exist and it's possible to obtain one, I can start working more diligently toward the Level 3 Green String!

I think I just heard a big sigh coming from the general direction of Pagosa Springs.

No time to work with the horses, they just got out to graze. I wanted to get a picture of Cowboy and the string, and maybe some of the boys trying to escape at the end of grazing time, so I took my camera out with me. I had a freshly charged backup battery, but because the weather is so gray and damp, the camera thought it needed flash, and after 3 pictures, both batteries claimed exhaustion. The camera is old and tired, and has never been very satisfactory anyway, so another thing to add to the list!

But I did get this pic of Cowboy and the string.

Jessica asked about the Jack Meagher system and for a link. I don't think there is a website and I'm not sure if Jack Meagher is still around but he is a pioneer in sports massage and wrote a book called "Beating Muscle Injuries for Horses". I think it's available from Amazon. It's a spiral-bound softback and about $15. It goes into deep massage techniques and identifies 25 stress points to test for problems and gives a massage technique for each. I don't remember where I heard about it--maybe from the equine massage class at the JC? Not sure. Try googling his name for more info. I did that and this blog came up as the sixth hit! But some better resources than this also came up.

It's a pretty traditional approach compared to acupuncture, acupressure and some of the newer techniques that have surfaced in recent years but seems to be a good solid approach. I tried it again on Cowboy today but he was so itchy from his midline dermatitis that we didn't make much progress--he just wants to be scratched. I scratched him and put Benadryl on his itchy spots and called it a day.

Never got a chance to update this yesterday. I was sleep deprived due to a quasi-family emergency that started with phone calls from midnight through 2 a.m. and after that, the cat was wide awake and bouncing off the bed all night so there was no sleep. Turns out all is well on the family front, just lots of drama, as usual.

The shoer, Shaun, who is a Healthy Stride shoer (Parelli again), came yesterday and evaluated Cowboy. He was also scheduled for a trim but the eval revealed that he is very well balanced (Shaun actually said "Perfect" but I'm trying to be modest--not that I had anything to do with it) and just needs to grow more foot so we left him alone. His hips and scapulas are level, and his hooves are growing out evenly so it's all good news. He just does have dainty little feet. The boots are size 0, and are on the tightest setting. The goal is to get those feet bigger so he has a broader base of support, so I will keep using the boots on hard or rocky ground so as not to wear them down. The way the boots fit will also be a good gauge of how the feet are developing so I am trying to view them as a useful tool and not the spawn of Satan. He does have some overdevelopment of the right shoulder, mostly likely from being heavy on the forehand and pulling himself along instead of pushing from the rear, but as he uses his hind end more that should even out. I'm going to continue the body work. I started the Jack Meagher evaluation and was surprised at some of the stress points he reacted to, and not so surprised by some of the others. I only got through one side so he will probably be walking in circles until I finish up.

Update on the Parelli blue string--my latest inquiry received a response that the string was shipped in Mid-December and to allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. I don't understand why this would take that long but I'll give them until mid-February before I go knocking on their door again.

I checked my weight this morning and I'm down 3 lbs. so good! Trying to focus on that and not how many more to go. One day at a time...

I tried the Jack Meagher system on my sore hip and concluded the problem is in the gluts (okay, it's a butt problem and not a hip problem, I'm trying to be delicate). I did some of the deep massage technique and actually knocked out 90% of the pain. Not long after, I got spasms in the lumbo-sacral area so I think I did release some bad ju-ju. Fortunately, that went away as well and now I'm feeling pretty good. Very useful to try some of this on yourself as it's a lot easier to understand the desired result and what the animal is experiencing but can't verbally communicate to you.

Just a quick reflection on human lives vs horse lives. I overslept this morning (nothing new) and saw by my digital alarm clock that it was 8:00 a.m. when I awoke after a troubling night's sleep spent with an overload of thoughts and then disturbing dreams about many things going on right now (ending with a nightmare about a stolen box of candy that ended with a stolen car). Then I got up and made my coffee in the electric coffee maker, using beans grown in another country, processed, and shipped round and about, finally ending up in my kitchen, before I went out to feed the boys.

The horses, meanwhile, did not know anything about alarm clocks but did know that their breakfast was late. Their lives consist of eat, drink, poop, play, unless we intervene with something additional. Their goal is to not get consumed by another critter, while our goal is not to get consumed by the life we have built for ourself.

And of course, they don't blog!

It was a good reflective frame of mind to be in for my reiki treatment, which I thoroughly enjoyed and was right on target. Won't reveal all that went on but for those with open minds, it was well worthwhile. I got lots of affirmation and encouragement about the direction I want my life to go. So there will be some changes coming! The horses won't be the main focus of this new direction but they will play a significant role.

Slow Day

A work day again with not much horse time. Just let the boys out to graze and while they did that I scooped poop. The boys have decided that while grazing is indeed good, the best part is playing hard-to-get when grazing time is over. They have a rollicking good time pretending they are wild brumbies avoiding the evil captors. The arena is conveniently in the middle of the pasture so they us lead a merry chase around the arena, going full tilt. Why can they go that fast without a mis-step on their own when they find every gopher hole in the place when we ride them at a slow walk? Just wondering...

I thought I would have a short work day but my laptop computer, never a speedy contraption, has now developed a severe case of "the slows", eventually becoming comatose and requiring CPR, or at least a hard reset, to come back to life. I have defragged it and swept it for viruses, and uninstalled several programs, but it is still haggard and wan. I did manage to finish up work, several (unbillable) hours later than I had hoped, and dropped the computer off at the repair center for rehabilitation on the way home . Hopefully it can be saved. There is barely money in the budget for treatment, let alone a transplant.

Maybe horse time tomorrow. I am starting off the day with a Reiki treatment, a Christmas present from Dexter (courtesy of Laura). I don't know much about Reiki and have deliberately avoided researching it so as not to go in with any preconceptions (trying to tap into that Inner Elephant). Then I have work to do but hopefully I can do something constructive with the boys and help Cowboy along with the program. And maybe get some exercise, too--so I can downsize the Outer Elephant.

This was a work day and I didn't get a chance to do anything with the horses but feed them. I did get to Costco to get Cowboy's corn oil. Providentially, I got a nutrition newsletter from The Horse about feeding horses in the winter, how much they require and how to supplement with oils. A 1000 lb horse requires 20 MCals (20,000 calories, wow!) for maintenance, and that can be provided with 20 lbs of hay. You can provide up to 12% of the calories with corn oil. A cup of corn oil provides 2000 calories (keep that in mind next time you deep fry something). When the weather is cold, the horse requires more calories--when the thermometer dips below 50 degrees F, they need an extra 2000 calories for every 10 degree drop. I'm adding a cup a day of corn oil to Cowboy's already enormous and complicated diet to try to put some weight on him. It was dark by the time I fed him his first dose so I couldn't see his expression, but he gobbled it right up so I think he likes it.

Tomorrow is another work day but I'm hoping to squeeze in a little horse time, at least to clean paddocks. I've ordered the equine body work book and meanwhile am going over an old book by Jack Meagher about using massage to treat muscle injuries. He refers to 25 specific stress points that should be checked out on the horse, and treated with massage if necessary. I'm hoping to start at the neck and check out Cowboy and Dexter to see if they have any problems.

I'm really looking forward to longer daylight hours! Thank goodness we're past the winter solstice.

I got no exercise today and while my intentions are good, my diet resembles the M&M diet--you've probably heard of it, the day starts out with dry toast and grapefruit, you slip in one M&M midday, and by evening you are consuming an entire chocolate cake with ice cream. Not quite that bad, but the resolve does tend to slip as the day wears on, the hunger grows, and the stress level builds.

This morning I weighed myself. I mustered all my courage and stepped on the scale for the first time in months. Not as bad as I feared, worse than I hoped, so I guess that means it's what I expected. After months of avoidance, I decided that to measure the success of "the program", I needed to know the starting point.

My success plan in terms of food is a little fuzzy. On the one hand, I want to prepare healthy meals using only organic locally grown foods. On the other, a freezer full of frozen diet dinners seems more practical. I compromised and went to Trader Joe's and bought semi-prepared low-fat foods. We'll see what happens.

As long as I was measuring, I checked Cowboy out as well. He weighs in at 938 lbs according to my tape. He could stand to gain 50-100 lbs. I may supplement his diet with corn oil. I can get it in bulk at Costco when I pick up the mega-pack of frozen diet dinners. Anyone hear of Jack Sprat and his wife?

I also checked out a couple crucial measurements on the horse. He measures 38" from poll to withers, and 40" from withers to tailhead. Ideally, these should be equal, so he is a little long-backed. Possibly from hunched shoulders from poor saddle fit.

We worked a little on OnLine skills, working toward our green Level 3 Parelli string. Of course, I passed Level 2 about 6 months ago and am still waiting for my blue string. I've called them and e-mailed them, and now have about 3 certificates and have had my name listed as a Level 2 graduate in the magazine, but still no string. The more I try to get them to send me one, the more elusive it becomes. It has become a sort of obsession. I lay awake at night cooking up schemes to get them to mail the *^#(@) blue string to me. I don't know why I am working so hard toward the green string when the strings, the Parelli universal symbol of achievement, never seem to arrive. It doesn't seem that the blue strings don't exist--when Laura passed Level 2, they sent her 2 blue strings, in separate shipments. Of course, Laura is a Gold member, while I am just a standard member, so it seems that money does indeed talk in the Parelli world.

Forgive the rantings of a disillusioned Parelli disciple.....

The good thing about starting these programs at New Year's is that there are lots of inspirational articles out there to help you get going. There was one in Parade on Sunday that offered up the analogy of the Elephant and the Rider. The Elephant represents the emotional impulsive side, while the Rider is the rational analytical side. While the Rider seems to be in control, in a battle of wills the Elephant will always win due to superior size and strength. The Rider tends to over-analyze and over-think, and while the Elephant sacrifices long-term goals for short-term gratification, it does have lots of energy and drive. So a goal must appeal to both in order to achieve. I'm not entirely sure how to put this into practice, but as a lifetime over-thinker and over-analyzer, I like the idea that there is an Elephant in there somewhere with energy and drive, and I hope I can tap into it. Actually, I already have, but only the part about sacrificing long-term goals for short-term gratification...

It's Sunday and a day for a ride. The plan was to leave at 8:45 for Pt. Reyes so I set my alarm for 7:00 to feed Cowboy and Dexter. After a bad night's sleep, I finally drifted off just in time for the alarm to go off. Not a good thing. Tired and cranky took on a new meaning. The boys did get fed and I was only a little bit late by the time we left, but I wasn't in any better mood. The fact that, with the addition of Cowboy's new barefoot boots, I am toting about three loads of "stuff" to the horse trailer isn't helping. The weather at the Five Brooks trailhead was cool but sunny. Cowboy was in a fabulous mood and charged cheerfully up Stewart's Trail. Dexter's mood was matching mine and he was irritable and spooky. We finally discovered that, if we put him and Laura in front and had Cowboy and me bring up the rear, he was in a much better frame of mind. Due to muddy conditions, we stuck to Stewart's Trail and picked a lunch stop along the road. I was hungry and anxious for my lunch--which, as it turns out, was still back at the trailer. Laura sacrificed half her sandwich and Dexter sacrificed his Wheat Thins with peanut butter (his favorite snack). Dexter didn't actually offer up his snacks but I ate them anyway and now I owe him. I've forgotten many things in my life, but NEVER lunch! I'm blaming the barefoot boots--seems like I mentally count off the steps necessary to get ready to ride, and adding a step means that some other step drops off the list. Like putting the lunch bag on the saddle, for instance. After lunch, we continued up the hill, but finally Cowboy came to a stop--his sign that his back is bothering him and my sign to get off and walk. Another part of the fitness program! I stayed afoot until we got to Firtop, a nice pasture area at the top of the mountain, where we let the horses graze for a bit. Cowboy requested that I dismount on the way down the mountain as well, so we still have lots of work to do on his back issues.

We got back home and put the boys away, and I started the process of cleaning Cowboy's filthy paddock, retrieving the rest of my gear from the trailer, and preparing the horse's evening meal (Cowboy is on the weight-gain diet and Dexter is on the weight-maintain/prevent gut problems diet, so meal prep is a bit time-consuming). Laura brought my beer over--I grumbled about how many steps there are to unloading and feeding and she pointed out that it is all in the name of the fitness program. So is walking back over to her house with beer in hand to get the 25 lb pail of Platinum Performance that is a staple of the boy's diets. And don't forget the weight training involved in carrying that pail back to my house, counterbalanced by the beer in the other hand. I tried talking Ken into releasing another 24 lbs of beer so I would be truly in balance but he seemed reluctant.

So the Year of Beauty and Health is off to a stumbling start, lacking organization and planning but still progressing after a fashion after 3 days. I'm trying to come up with some sort of tracking and inspiration system. And I'm hoping to get more sleep tonight.

New Year's Resolution: only watch TV when there is something on worth watching, and I haven't already seen it. Result: In spite of over 100 channels at my disposal, I'm not watching much TV.

2 posts in one day, this is really going well! Just wanted to post an update after the cake decorating session. Kathy couldn't make it so Mary and I pressed on. Mary came up with the brilliant idea of using STYROFOAM cake forms rather than baking actual cakes, saving us lots of time and countless calories. And those cakes were just as light as air! We have resolved to meet monthly and decorate a cake appropriate to the month. Next month, Valentine's Day! Since the styrofoam saved me from total diet devastation, I have at least ruled out the option of postponing the entire fitness program until after I can get the books and will try to improvise some sort of regime until I get written guidance.

Here are some pics of "Cake Day".

Happy New Year! Actually, that was yesterday but someday I plan to join the Procrastinator's Club, so.....

I spent New Year's Eve watching "Julie & Julia" and was inspired to start blogging again. But what to blog about? Certainly not cooking...I am not going to be working my way through ANYBODY's cookbook. But since the horse blog was already set up, why not blog about the horses again? I did feel the need for some sort of theme, though, and since it is New Year's and all and we are all hopefully making resolutions, why not blog about resolutions where the horse is concerned? What made Julie's blog so effective in the movie was that she set a goal with a deadline, and then made it public which put some pressure on her to achieve, and just look what happened! So, this is about A Year of Beauty and Health for Cowboy and me. Since Dexter doesn't really belong to me, he gets to hang out in the background and snicker while all this is going on.

Cowboy and I can both use some work in the Beauty and Health arena. Maybe "fitness" would be a better word. Cowboy needs to gain weight. I need to lose weight. We could both use some body work. Cowboy's topline needs improvement--he has a slightly roached back, followed by a dip, then a jumper's bump, and a raised tailhead. Collection is but a dream. So I plan to develop a physical therapy plan for Cowboy to turn him into a Superhorse. As for me, I want to improve not only my appearance but work on strength training and flexibility, and hopefully lessen chronic leg and hip pain in the process.

We have already started on Cowboy's journey. I finally broke down a few weeks ago and bought the Parelli saddle and pad which promise to improve his back and topline. His shoes were pulled a month ago and he is now going barefoot (except for the hideous "barefoot boots" that he wears in rocky terrain. I don't think I have ever developed a passionate dislike for anything so fast in my life).

Being a Left Brain Introvert (in Parelli terminology), I can't just leap into a program by, say, eating less and exercising more. No, I must research and plan this out. To that end, I went online and checked Amazon out for books on the topic. I found a pair of books by a renowned equine physical therapist who wrote THE book on equine massage, and he also has 2 other books on body conditioning, one for the horse and one for the rider. Perfect! One book was about $19 and the other was available from a linked source for less than $3, which was great but it put me below the limit for free super saver shipping. I never pass this up so I needed another item in the shopping cart. Then it dawned on me that I have an Amazon Rewards Visa card with accumulated points. Turns out that, thanks to buying that saddle, I have enough points for $125 in Amazon shopping (enough to get that very expensive equine anatomy book on my Wish List), which I redeemed online, thinking I could get the rewards online. Wrong. They will ship the certificate to me. Estimated arrival date Jan 19. What a dilemma--do I go ahead and order without the certificates, or wait for them and just muddle through on my plan without guidance, or just postpone the plan until the books arrive? I haven't decided yet (the Procrastinator's Club would be proud) and have consumed the rest of the Christmas cookies while mulling it over.

Maybe it would be better to wait a bit anyway, until all the Christmas stuff is gone. And my plan for today is to meet with my cake decorating friends, Mary and Kathy, and practice our cake decorating skills in hopes that someday we will make our fortune selling cake. So there will be some cake to dispose of as well.

Hmm....I see some roadblocks in this plan.....

Meanwhile, here are Dexter and Cowboy dressed up for Christmas.

Happy New Year!