Equestrian Blog Hop

Today I am posting my responses to the latest equestrian blog hop. This one comes from Rain Coast Rider. You can also read Anxiety At A‘s answers. Always fun to see what different people have to say! If any other horse bloggers out there would like to participate, leave a comment with a link to your own post. I would like to read it!

1. What’s your favorite thing about your current horse?
   Shiloh: His personality! Shiloh is sweet and personable. He generally maintains a calm demeanor and/or quickly returns to calm after a startle or other moments of distress. He’s just an overall pleasant horse to be around.
   Piper: I’ve only had him a little more than a year, but so far he has loaded beautifully in a trailer, stands well for the farrier and is easy to catch in the pasture. Those things may seem small, but if you’ve ever had a horse who struggles in those areas, it makes you appreciate a horse who is cooperative in those tasks.
2. What do you find to be the most challenging thing about your current horse?
   For both Piper and Shiloh, the separation anxiety issues that have appeared since Bear’s death have been challenging. It bothers me when I sense a horse is unhappy, and I find some of the accompanying behaviors, especially the whinnying, to be quite distracting.
3. If you could only hire one person to help you, would it be with coaching, riding/training, or barn work?
   Definitely coaching. For the most part, I enjoy doing as much stuff as I can myself, but there’s nothing like educated eyes on the ground to help you problem-solve and improve your horsemanship.
4. What’s Something You Want to Learn or Wish You Were Better At?
   Where to even start with this question? There is so much! If I had to pick one, it would be mastering my nerves. Not letting my frequent “what if” fears dictate my actions in the way that they so often do. It is a constant struggle.
5. Shout out to your support crew. Who are they?
   Husband, friends to ride with and Winter riding instructor! They all help me in different ways, at different points. There is lots of stuff I wouldn’t have done in my horse life without them.
6. Favourite book, website, podcast, or other equine resource?
   Oh no, another question where I don’t even know where to start! There is so much to choose from! If you have read my blog for a while, you know that I frequently include links to various resources that I find useful to my horse life.
7. If money was no object, what would you do all day?
   I imagine I would do exactly what I do now. But more of it, to a greater degree and with more style. 🙂
   I would also be more involved in the world of horse rescue. The rescue horses that don’t have training are hard for the average horse person to take on because the average horse person doesn’t have the skills to train (and hiring someone else to train is expensive). Horses miss out on adoptive homes for this reason. I’d like to be involved in accessing training for these horses. Maybe through funding a grant program for training or hiring full-time trainers to work at specific rescues?
   I would also explore the idea of running a mustang and burro sanctuary. The government keeps removing our nation’s wild horses and burros off of US public lands at an unprecedented rate. If the government can’t be persuaded to change course, the next best thing in my book would be relocation to private sanctuaries where they can live as close to free as possible with some added care and oversight as needed. I’m thinking something along the lines of Sky Dog Ranch or Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary. I also really like the idea behind the Wild Horse Fire Brigade. Their goal is to release wild horses into wilderness areas where the horses can thrive while helping to maintain a healthy environment through their natural behaviors and preventing forest fires.
8. Because this is real world and horses are expensive, have you ever had a side hustle or considered having one?
   Well, I started this blog and its corresponding Etsy shop as a way to make some money on the side. Unfortunately, it has not worked out that way yet. In fact, when I consider blog and shop expenses, I’ve lost money rather than made it.
9. What’s the best horsey decision you’ve ever made?
   Keeping my horses at home. It’s something I had wanted to do since I first set eyes on a horse. There’s something very satisfying about achieving a long-delayed goal and then maintaining it for however long it continues to work for you.
10. Worst decision?
    Ouch. This is another “I don’t even know where to start” questions. There are a lot of decisions I would like to redo if I could. Things I did but shouldn’t have done. Things I should have done but didn’t do. I’m constantly reassessing things in my head.
11. What’s the best thing that happened to you or that you accomplished in 2022?
    Taking Shiloh out to trail ride a couple of times. I had been wanting to do with him for the last four years. Trail riding with Shiloh was another one of those satisfying “delayed goals finally achieved” situations. The other thing was participating in a miniature horse-driving clinic. It reawakened my long-held interest in both miniature horses and the discipline of driving. I’m now excited about exploring both those areas more in the future.