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!