Thanksgiving: Thankful Edition

What a ride! This time last year I was just a few months into my new job, was a few days away from owning Wilbs, and was getting ready to spend another chilly winter in the cottage!

With Thanksgiving upon us I thought this might be a good time to share a few things that I'm thankful for this year......

I'm thankful........

To have a job that I enjoy going to every day. That is deeply involved in the equestrian lifestyle. And that allows me to have an entrepreneurial spirit and affect change. My team is fantastic- there is not a harder working bunch in the industry.

That we have a comfortable home even if it is a bit cramped. Despite losing out on the past 5 (yes 5) offers we have a lovely spot that allows us to take our time and find a home that's right for us. Frankly, the longer it takes the more we can save. I'm slightly glad that we didn't get the house yesterday- that's a lot of cold, hard cash heading out the door.

I'm thankful for my cat, Linus. He's the ever faithful sounding board and always agrees with me. Also always up for a good cuddle until he decides he's not and bites me.

My horses of course. Even though Wilbur is on vacation I'm glad he is enjoying himself and can look forward to having him home. Polly is such a sweet girl and a most pleasant diversion. And the barn where I've met such a wonderful group of people- truly a barn family.

My very own family- obviously. I was so happy to be able to visit my parents this past October and spend some time with just the two of them. Of course my sisters- who I must make an effort to keep in better contact with next year (hello- do I hear a New Years resolution post in the works?).

Speaking of families- I'm so lucky and thankful to have such a great group of in-laws! I love the random newspaper clippings and emails that arrive to break up the day!

Last but certainly not least- my husband Paul. Firstly, he's super handsome. But beyond looks....he's so supportive in all of my endeavors. Always gently reminding me of "work/ life" balance. So thoughtful, helpful, and kind. I am a lucky, lucky girl.

I was saying to my Mom a month or two ago that things just didn't feel quite right in the world. Despite being a little off-kilter this year I am reminded by this list and so many other things not mentioned here and that I live a wonderful life.
I'm thankful for that.

Tack Trunks: How Many is Too Many?

Tack. Trunk. Obsession. I don't know what to say. Three tack trunks is a little excessive. 

I'll attribute this neurosis entirely to my big blue tupperware. I toted that Tupperware to not one, not two, but three different barns- and across the country from Indiana to California to boot. Bless my trainers hearts, they always found a spot for it. Albeit in the far back corner under a pile of blankets. 

While there is nothing wrong at all with storing riding gear in a giant tupperware, I had always admired the shiny barn trunks lined up in a row. 

When I bought Wilbur I also bought a "large" trunk from an online retailer and waiting eagerly for the arrival. It was small. Small enough to be called cute. Call out here for failure to measure.  

And naturally I had done a pretty substantial amount of shopping to supply Wilbs in the funnest of outfits. So I lived a bit like a nomad- with the essentials in the cute trunk and the rest overflowing my other trunk- the trunk of my car. 

Then the Smartpak trunk arrived. I freaking love everything about it. It's huge, fits most of my stuff (cue cute trunk), has a bandage lid top. Perfection personified in a wooden box. 

Fast forward to May when I joined the KMT team. My dream of having a barn branded trunk was about to be realized and in a fit of excitement I ordered one. It was supposed to take 6-8 weeks the arrive but we never got a call and I milked that extra time for as long as it was worth. But I knew that it had to be waiting for pickup at Western Saddlery so I mustered up my bank account along with the 6 $20 gift cards we had won showing this year and picked it up on Saturday. 

It's beautiful. It has my name on it. The KMT trunk is now storing the blankets, show gear, and Wilbur's tack while he's gone. 

And the cute trunk is sitting in my backseat (yes- it fits in the backseat of my Honda Civic) waiting to go to a new home. I'm hoping it goes to some horse crazy girl who has a very large tupperware of her own. 

Team KMT IEA Show

When I signed up as a volunteer for the first IEA show hosted by KMT I thought I was in for a fluffy day of eating chips, watching the show, and occasionally handling a horse.
I was instead given the task of barn manager and got my own clipboard. After a strategy meeting held on Saturday (in which I had no good reason to be at the barn.....except....well that's a post for tomorrow) I was given a 6:30am on Sunday call time. Kelly was REALLY nervous.

Despite her nerves the show went swimmingly! All horses were in the ring on time, all of the handlers (each assigned to handle a horse for the day) did their jobs to perfection including tucking their horses into bed and cleaning tack at the end of the day, and even with 60 middle and high school kids running around I did not have a mental breakdown.

Although I did have a big glass of wine at the end of the day.

Ponies are Baby Horses

I caught a second ride on Lizzy Friday morning- just a quick hack. I showed the photo to Paul and he asked if she was really wild. Nope- Lizzy is 23 years old- she fell asleep in the cross ties.  

Paul looked a little discombobulated and when I asked why he told me that he was surprised by Lizzy's age since he thought that ponies were just young horses that hadn't grown up yet. 

Equine Insurance Isn't So Awesome After All

After a few phone calls today we may be pulling Wilbur out of pasture for a hot minute to get some additional diagnostic work done at Pioneer.

I'm not quite sure what I was expecting out of my equine insurance policy. I thought perhaps it was like a car insurance policy- you run into the side of your garage and your premium goes up but they still cover your bumper should you happen to do it again.

Not so with a horse, friends!

Wilbur came back from his July horse show a little sore in both front. We took him up to Pioneer to have some baseline x-rays and coffin joint injections. When he went back into work in late August it was clear that he was still sore- particularly on the front right.

I guess I was a little naive in assuming that should he still have issues after coming home from his break in March- that those diagnostics would be covered. Unfortunately the insurance coverage renews every year and the claims agency places an "exemption" on all pre-existing conditions. Since the vet did not determine an exact cause for the soundness issues- that exemption will essentially be his front legs. Meaning should he go back to work and end up lame (or worse) all medical will be out of pocket.
I actually feel a little bit blind-sided. I had thought that by dropping him into pasture that I was saving everyone a bit of time and money- hoping that he just needed rest. Our policy renews on December 3rd but we have an extra 30 days coverage on the policy.

I had a lovely chat with my vet, Natasha, today and she  recommended some additional x-rays and perhaps and MRI. Hopefully we can uncover the issue and get that exemption limited in scope.
So I think I'm making the best possible move by having further vetting rather than hedging my bets just on time off.
To my fair my insurance agent has been wonderful in walking me through how best to manage the policy to my advantage.
Fingers crossed! And on a totally selfish note- I'm excited to see my guy again in the new few weeks!