So much has happened since December that I haven’t had a chance to properly recap 2019 and lay out the plans for 2020.
At the beginning of January 2019 I was taking a hiatus from riding. I had Blade, Zeno Bay, and Vai Via. I was in a great routine of spin class with my mom.
I also did a week of farm sitting for a new friend who became a weekly trail riding buddy this summer.
I brought my grandma to see the retired thoroughbreds of Old Friends at Cabin Creek
More about our trip: Taking Grandma to See the Horses
I rode along with one of my best friends and saw what a day in the life of a farrier was like.
Read the interview here: Interview With a Farrier
Read about our day here: A Farrier’s Assistant
By February Zeno Bay was looking and feeling like a totally new horse. This is a 21-year-old thoroughbred gelding. I began to foster him with the rescue group in September. Being on a grain-free diet and outdoors 24/7 we successfully got him to gain a fantastic amount of weight in only 3.5 months.
All about Zeno Bay: Happy Birthday To…
A wonderful group of friends invited me out for cow sorting.
A couple girlfriends and I took a trip to Pennsylvania for the Horse Expo in March!
Adventure Time here: The Blade Chronicles: Mom’s Ignoring Me
We became chicken farmers in March as well! In two months we raised them on our porch until we finished building the coop. We designed and built the coop ourselves.
Article when the chicks arrived: New Additions to The Green Horseman’s Clan
Article when the chickens moved outside: The Blade Chronicles: What are Those?
When the weather got better we enclosed the carport to protect the hay better.
I also moved tack out into the tack room of the barn.
More on our projects here: Projects
VaiVia began to show how playful and special he was. We always knew this but he started to relax and come out of his shell in the springtime.
More about VaiVia: Celebrations This Week and V’s Big Story
I had the honor of interviewing a fabulous young trainer who has been making waves in training wild mustangs.
Read the interview here: From Cheering to Training, An Interview with Samantha VanFleet
Through the spring and summer, I worked on projects and developed a new love for carpentry.
Some of my projects: The Busy Life of the Green Horseman
And Some More: Vacation Means Getting Stuff Done
We did end up hiring someone to help create a fantastic sacrifice area around the barn. No more flooded stall and hoof-deep clay mud!
I managed to severely sprain my ankle. I don’t believe it was broken but considering it still bothers me 6 months later I’d wager that something tore. Despite this I managed to hobble myself all around to hang out with friends.
More on that here: When the World Gets You Down
and here: The Blade Chronicles: Someone Tell Mom She’s Broken
I had the chance to try out cross country for the first time on my trainer’s amazing palomino, Cassian. I still call him my palomino unicorn.
Cross Country Clinic: An Adventure With My Unicorn
Zac and I had a date at the county fair. I enjoyed seeing a bunch of horses performing and doing something different than the average horse.
Something special about a county fair: Horses With Different Vocations
Bt the end of summer tensions had risen to a boiling point with the rescue and I began to make plans to find a second permanent horse before sending Zeno Bay and Vai Via back. I hated to see them go but it was a bad situation only getting worse with the rescue itself. As difficult as it was for me it was also exciting because I was able to begin looking for a new horse to become our permanent family member. I saw a lot of really great horses.
All about the search: The Green Horseman’s Latest Quest
In the middle of my horse shopping, a very special pair rode into town. Meredith and Apollo from The Centaurride stayed with a friend not far from my home. Though her path didn’t lead her to stay at our home I had the honor of treating her to a nice warm meal.
About the Centaurride: Centauride.org
Link to the article:
Tiger, or R Tom Cat, galloped into our hearts in September. For a brief period of time, I was the proud home of four bay thoroughbred geldings.
Sunday Special: Announcing My New Horse!
The Blade Chronicles: My New Brother
Fall hunter pace season was underway. I planned to begin by attending LKTA. Tiger had thrown a shoe and gotten a hoof bruise. Instead, we discovered how amazing Blade was!
Read it here: We Hunter Paced; But It Was Not What I Expected
In the weeks to follow Tiger participated in two hunter paces. We had a lot of fun together despite not knowing each other incredibly well.
Read all about it at: Tiger’s Hunter Pace(s)
December had to have been, without exaggeration, the worst month of my entire life. I didn’t write about it all but in a brief summary:
- The worst pain:
- Maybe TMI for some of you but I had an IUD (intra-uterine device) inserted. I’ve never had children. The process had to have been one of the most intense pains I’ve had to experience. I have been bitten, kicked, trampled, broken bones. It didn’t compare. I was in shock; shaking, sweating, and nauseous for hours. It took days for the pain to fully subside. Bardi and Kain both comforted me while I recouped.
- Broken EVERYTHING:
- Our ATV wouldn’t start. We bought it new and we simply couldn’t get it to turn over.
- The dump cart I used for mucking the paddock and hauling out bales of hay or water bit the dust. The welds wore out and the sliding door was bent out of shape.
- Our ShelterLogic collapsed, taking with it a corral panel….both were completely bent in half.
- Lucky To Be Alive:
- One weekend Zac and I ventured to the store…roughly eight minutes away from our home. We wanted to beat the incoming storm. We were on our way home and the snow had begun but was a light dusting. We played it safe and drove slow. Approaching an intersection slowly (yet downhill) we failed to stop….we slid through, across the street and into a ditch. We came within 2 feet of a telephone pole and miraculously no cars were approaching the intersection at the time. Somehow we managed to pull forward and into a person’s driveway to get out. At the next intersection, about 500 feet later, we learned that in our road departure the brake lines were severed. Zac had to use the emergency brake to stop the car from rolling into a much busier road. We made it home safely and had the car towed but we are very lucky.
- Food poisoning:
- We have been enjoying HelloFresh and I had been planning to write all about the amazing meals we’ve been cooking together as a couple. Unfortunately one of the meals we made was no good. We suspect the chicken was bad. We had a very rough couple of days…BOTH of us were sick to our stomachs! Thank goodness for two bathrooms.
- Heartbreak
- Blade broke his leg catastrophically while playing in the upper field. What was a joyful afternoon full of love and happiness ended with an indescribable loss. Friends, family, and neighbors all cried. Tiger mourned.
I lost my best friend in December, but not before enjoying him charge through the fresh knee-deep snow. Blade and Tiger played joyfully together often before his death.
Tiger has been healing well with the arrival of his new friend, Nahe.
And I am beginning the year with some amazing new swag thanks to Cheshire Horse and my loved ones!
NOW IT IS 2020
What’s next?
Most of what I accomplished last year came on a whim. I didn’t have plans for it all and I can’t really say what exactly is to come for the year.
- I plan to continue building jumps.
- Continue hunter pacing.
- I am hoping to ride at Equine Affaire and/or in a clinic.
- Really focus on my weight because I deserve it and so does Tiger
- Decide on what’s next for the family; Tiger will need a permanent sibling.
WHAT TO EXPECT ON THE GREEN HORSEMAN
Since I’m getting to this recap and forecast a couple weeks late you may have already noticed something new on the site.
Introducing The Sunday Review.
EVERY OTHER SUNDAY I will be publishing a new review of a product I have purchased and used. The review will populate in your regular feed but you can reach it through the menu up ^^top^^.
The first review of the year began with The Sunday Review – CAVALI CLUB SPECIAL. The second review is scheduled for THIS COMING SUNDAY 01/19/2020.
So to look again at The Green Horseman’s weekly schedule!
- SUNDAY
- The Sunday Review
- Every other Sunday
- The Sunday Review
- MONDAY
- Fun Videos
- Catch it on The GH Facebook page
- You can also find the FB page to the right——>
- Catch it on The GH Facebook page
- Fun Videos
- TUESDAY
- Take The Reins Tuesday
- Also found only on The GH Facebook page
- Features good reads from other blogs and websites
- Take The Reins Tuesday
- WEDNESDAY
- Wordless Wednesday
- A photo I have taken. Sometimes the photo has a quote but otherwise, there are no words.
- Wordless Wednesday
- FRIDAY
- Farm Friends Friday
- Also found only on the GH Facebook page
- Features a slideshow, a video, or some photos taken from the Green Horseman’s farm (or life in general).
- Farm Friends Friday
- SATURDAY
- Nothing scheduled for Saturdays at this time
So stay tuned and buckle in.
Visit often and drop some comments.
As always…THANK YOU SO MUCH for visiting, commenting, sharing, and your overall love and support.
The Green Horseman 
Too many ouches, I pray the rest of this year is full of loads of awesome times for you & your fam.
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Thank you so much! The last part of the year was rough, but I’m looking ahead with a smile on. Hoping for a happy wonderful year for you as well.
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