But Wait, There's More!

Sometimes I feel like I'm living in one of those infomercials that continue to go on and on and on, repeating and rephrasing the same schpeel and, wait for it, "But there's more!" (Wait, what infomercial isn't like that?)

This happens every fall. I get swamped with stuff to do, am away most weekends traveling with the team, have a heavier class load than the spring, and it just seems like I never have the impetus to go to the barn and do anything other than chores and groom. I am lacking serious motivation right now, which is odd, because it's not like I ran into a roadblock with either horse. Ernie's been steadily gaining weight, looking fabulous, getting back long-lost muscle, and actually been quite happy and calm. I know exactly what I need to do with Stella Mare; horses don't really have reciprocity when it comes to training. You can teach them something on the ground, but once you get mounted it's a whole new ball game. Stella is perfect on the ground; now I need to start getting on her regularly and teaching her to relax again the way she does during ground-driving and long lining.

But I just don't have the energy. It's so unlike me. There's a saying, "If you want something done, ask a busy person." And it's so true. Busy people ALWAYS find time to get things done, because generally it's a personality thing: Type A, organized, outgoing people who are driven to work and work hard at everything they do. That's me. Unfortunately, every else knows that's me, too, and consequently I think I'm being asked to take on even more than I can handle, and it's costing me precious energy to work with my horses.

Sometimes saying "no" is needed. I think I need to start adding that word back into my vocabulary more often.

As a side note, the heat has dissipated from its looming position over the state of Vermont. I wept a little (tears of joy, of course) when I saw NORMAL September temperatures in the 60's and 70's, not 80's and high 90's. Ernie is starting to get fuzzy (NOOOOOOO!) already, which tells me the cooler weather is probably here to stay.

I'm going to organize pictures of Ernie into a series so I can see how he's filled out. I'm trying to keep a visual log of his weight as well as a written one so I can track changes in him better. More to come tomorrow!