Hurricanes and Homework

Hurricane prep shopping: Have no fear, there is beer!

I try hard not to panic. Really, I do. But when the weather is on the TV at work and shows that a Category 5 hurricane is barreling towards FL and OH WAIT headed straight for Charleston with a direct path over Charlotte, all bets are off on the not panicking front. Not only was I concerned for my friends in FL, and really all people in FL because after what Harvey did to Houston the week before who wouldn’t be concerned, but I was now worried about my poor Goober. As much as he likes to swim and splash around the creek, at roughly 1400 lbs, I hold sincere doubts about his ability to swim for very long.

Reasons Why I Shouldn’t Have Been Worried:

1. We’re at least 3 hours from the coast (aka, probably no flooding).
2. He lived through Sandy up in NJ and was totally fine out in a field for the storm.
3. He’s a horse. He’ll turn his tail to the wind, no biggie.
4. No one else was really worried about the storm coming through, and they’ve all lived here a lot longer than me. 
5. The whole farm is fenced in, so god forbid the horses had to be turned loose from the barn or got out of their fields, they can get around the property but can’t leave. 

Reasons Why I Was Right to Be Worried

1. Goose is a precious unicorn and if anything happens to him I’ll never forgive myself. 
2. People at home were worried about Goober, especially his favorite Aunt Marissa. 
3. Flying debris, barn collapse, potential flooding, etc. (Note: None of this would have likely happened on the farm, but you know how your mind runs away with you sometimes…)
4. I reiterate: Goose is a precious unicorn and if anything happens to him I’ll never forgive myself. 

Because my friends are amazing people, it took just a few hours to come up with an escape plan should we have needed it. I texted Marissa who had already texted Jess who offered help in whatever regard I needed. So, then I messaged Jess, she let me know of a few commercial shippers and offered, if nothing else, to come get the big Goon herself. Did I mention how much I love my horse people? No? Well I freaking love my horse people.

Immediate relief came with knowing I had an escape plan. All of this happened the Thursday when the storm was striking the Caribbean and still looked like it would slam us in CLT. Even though it would have been downgraded to likely a Cat 1 by the time it came to us, it looked like a doozy. We were in the “cone of uncertainty” but there was nothing uncertain about the feeling of doom in the pit of my stomach.

After work, I stopped at a pet store on my way to the barn and picked up two dog tags. One side had the barn address on it, the other had Goose’s name, my name, and my phone number. If we stayed and the storm got bad, he’d have his leather halter on with a name tag, and another tag braided into his mane or tail. Safety first, I was not messing around. The girl at the counter asked why I needed two very detailed tags, (actually four, I picked up two for my friend too) and while I was caught off guard she was asking, I said they’re for my horse. The look on her face was priceless. “Oh, I didn’t know people put tags on their horses like dogs! Do horses run away and get lost?” So then I had to explain why the tags were from the hurricane and she said she didn’t even realize there was a hurricane. I swear, people give millennials a bad rap but let me tell you about the next generation…

I was still contemplating evacuating to Jess’s farm in VA, but had decided to watch the storm on Friday and make a final decision then. Since Irma wasn’t due to hit us until the following Monday or Tuesday, I had a little time, but was scared to wait too long in case a mass evacuation ensued. The longer you wait, the harder it is to get out. Looking back now, this all seems very dramatic but I’m living in a new place with people that I still only half know, and was totally out of my comfort zone. In NJ I would have been fine, but here I was, a little (okay a lot) worried about how this was going down.

By Friday, the storm had changed course (again) and was meant to hug the coast. We were no longer in major danger, so I decided to stay put. I had talked to both the barn manager and farm owner, and both assured me the farm would be as secure as possible and they were being safety conscious for our beasts. We were still expecting in evacuees from FL and the Carolina coast, so that was comforting for me too. Surely if people were evacuating TO us, I shouldn’t evacuate FROM us.

The weekend was lovely weather and I managed to get in a few excellent rides. One shining moment was over poles in the jump field. There was a three stride to a three stride set up with ground poles, still set from the clinic. A few girls were practicing over them so when Goose and I wandered out to the field, I decided to play too. My goal cantering in the first time was to do an easy four to a four. We totally nailed it! Could be the first time we’ve tried an exercise and got it right on the first attempt. We went through one more time and did four to three, and quit while we were ahead.

Sunday we were going to jump school in the field with Brenna. It was a gorgeous, chilly day (YAY!) and felt like fall. We warmed up in the dressage arena to make sure we had brain power in the wind, then headed up. Goose offered a lovely, mostly round trot, and then almost fell on his face. I heard a clang, and knew he pulled off a shoe. He was happy to keep trotting but I pulled him up, rode over to where he tripped, and sure enough there it was. At least he was tracking up? I’ve been breaking my own rule about always riding with bell boots in the field and I paid for it. Sigh. No jumping for us, but we watched Brenna have a lovely ride on Bizzy and Goose was chuffed he figured out how to get out of work. Luckily his foot wasn’t too damaged and he was perfectly sound. Cue text to my farrier asking if he could come out earlier than his originally planned Friday to tack on the Goon’s shoe. “SO SORRY it’s Sunday, and I know you’re due to come out in like five days, but you see…”

Before I left on Sunday, I made sure his leather halter had his name tag on it, all my things were put away in my trunks in case the wind tried to blow anything away, and I kissed Goose’s nose and willed him to not do anything stupid in case of an emergency. 

After nearly a week of ulcer-inducing stress, Irma came, and Irma went. It was vastly downgraded by the time we got any rain and wind, and traveled far west of us. We had some wind and rain, and it was quite miserable at the barn from what I was told, but we weren’t in danger and I’m glad we stayed. The horses came in for the worst of the storm and luckily we have enough stalls for even the pasture boarded horses to come up in bad weather, especially since they don’t really have shelters in the fields right now. It wasn’t windy enough for the roof to come off so they were perfectly safe indoors. There were a few boarders who were able to be at the barn during the storm and I’m grateful that they could be there to help out. Unfortunately, I live almost an hour away from the farm, and driving out in bad weather is awful and time consuming in traffic. Sorry South Carolina, but you people have no idea how to drive in any sort of weather. Had I been able to, I probably would have taken the day off work to ride it out with the ponies. Alas, office jobs frown upon random last minute days off to hang out in the storm with your horse.

Huge applause for animal owners who continue to care for horses and livestock in even the worst conditions. Taking care of the beasts is a lot of work any day of the week and is often a thankless job, and bad weather makes it that much harder. Animals need to eat and be kept safe, and weather doesn’t change their basic needs. I’m grateful that I have my office job that affords me a life where I can own a horse. I’m not ashamed to say it’s nice to not have to trudge out in muck, snow, hurricanes, and all sorts of inclement weather. But I remember the days working in those conditions, and I am forever grateful to the people who care for Goose day in and day out. I know it’s no easy task, and some days it really sucks. I hope in the future I’ll be able to have horses in my backyard, and I’ll once again join the ranks of the tough as nails people who get the job done regardless of circumstance. To all of you horse people (and farm people!) who rode out this storm and all the others in the past with your animals, thank you for doing what you do.

Also, I’m sorry my horse is such a pig in a stall. I know he is, I did his stall myself for years and he is a special kind of foul. He’s large, and pees a lot, and poops out huge elephant dumps. Shit happens and luckily he is currently pasture boarded so it’s not generally an issue. Tucker tried for years to teach him how to pee and poop in one spot, but Goose is a fratboy at heart and does what he does.

I don’t regret having jumped the gun with my GET GOOSE OUT plan. I’ve seen what storms can do to farms and animals, and I don’t ever want to be in that position if I have options to avoid it. As soon as people on local Facebook groups started posting about making sure horses get tagged for the storm, I felt like screaming NOPE and running away as soon as I could. Being proactive made me feel so much better about the situation, and I wish more people would plan ahead. You can always choose to stay last minute if things look up, but I NEVER want to regret not making plans if I needed them. If the storm hadn’t changed directions, I would have had him on a trailer on Friday heading up to VA and I would have joined him over the weekend, Zuzu in tow. I don’t care that we’re far from the coast. I was not going to mess around with a storm that no one could accurately predict that looked like it was coming for us. There was no way I was leaving planning to the last minute. I don’t have my own truck and trailer and needed to be thinking ahead. I don’t have my community I did in NJ. On any given day, I could have called up any one of probably ten people, and any one of them could have moved him for me. Down here, I have a lot of wonderful people and don’t always feel alone, but this situation made me feel like I was on an island and needed to get off NOW. It’s only because I’m still so new here and my go-to girls are several states north. I had no one to panic with! Except I did, because Marissa was texting me every day helping me plan and decide. I’m not alone, and I’m going to work on not letting myself feel that way. The whole equestrian community down here came together to welcome evacuees from the Carolina coast and from Florida, and it was amazing. For me to get more settled, it will just take time. Luckily Goose, Zuzu, and I aren’t going anywhere just yet so I know we’ll get there.

Post-Irma Homework

The week after Irmageddon (a term borrowed from my FL friend, I personally enjoy it), we had a few more fabulous rides. The barn was back to normal by Tuesday afternoon, but with things to do in CLT I had to wait to go out until Wednesday. We had a productive ride in the dressage arena (shout-out to my farrier for coming out on Monday during the storm to tack his shoe back on!) and I feel like we’ve made some real progress the past few weeks. Unfortunately, the beast is starting to shed out his summer coat and will soon become a wooly mammoth. This means spurs are a no-go for the time being. The only time he ever gets spur rubs are when he’s shedding out his summer coat and winter coat. During these terrible times, I have to rely on my leg and whip alone which usually leaves me with a far less responsive Goose. He’s not really a horse I ever want to get on without spurs as I really need that extra aid to get him to listen. Judge me for this all you want, but I dare you to get on without spurs and we’ll see who’s laughing then.

Why is he so cute?

I went into the ride on Wednesday with an open mind and a focus on doing things correctly, even if that meant sacrificing some forward motion or just working at the walk. He sat in the rain for a good part of Monday, had probably been sliding through mud, so I figured we’d go with what he offered and I’d try to find my zen again. Taking Kelly’s advice, I picked up my reins more quickly than I usually do and did some walking without stirrups to try to lengthen my leg and bump him up into the bit with better bending. He knows this game now and caved after a few circles with his head in the air. I let him do his thing and fight me (as opposed to me fighting him) while I stayed consistent with my cues, and eventually he figured out it was just easier to listen. We did a few halts, and I actually had him square up front with his head down! Huge win for us. We’ll work on the hind end, but it’s very hard to be Goose and he simply MUST rest one leg when we halt.

We went on to try some leg yields across the diagonal as per our clinic homework. While the hind end still trails a little, I forced myself to relax and made sure my cues were accurate. Lo and behold, when I relaxed my hand and body, Goose stayed round and gave me better laterals than I’ve ever had out of him. I subconsciously grip with my reins to try to keep him together and from getting crooked, which in fact blocks him from moving forward and causes him to go completely crooked. Once I relaxed, he took a deep breath, probably thought “It’s about freaking time you let me do what you’re asking me to!” and gave me several really excellent crossover steps. I quit after we had successes in both directions, and have a much better sense of what to work on in the next rides. We’ll be aiming for more consistency through the leg yield, more straightness through his body during laterals, and making it all the way to the other side of the arena. Right now, we’re making it over to the opposite quarter line, but hey progress is progress!

After all that sideways nonsense, we picked up the trot and I worked on keeping a steady hand and asking for correctness from the get go. He’s tricky because he gives in, I relax my hand as a reward, and he takes that and immediately flings his head again. He’s the worst kind of opportunist! By the end of our trot work we had a much more consistent gait and we had more positive moments than bad. The canter was lovely as usual, though I need to figure out how to get him to relax through his neck more. He tends to brace and get tight through his poll, relax for maybe a few seconds, and then get tight again. He holds himself fairly nicely, but he’s not as soft and bendy as I’d like him and now I know he’s more than capable after his unicorn moments with Kelly. I’m trying a few different things and just trying to remain consistent. Already looking forward to my next lesson, whenever that will be!

After such great rides through the weekend and Wednesday, I decided Thursday to just play around. We went to the front field and walked for quite some time, Goose out on the buckle and Zuzu running crazy in front of us. We did some trot (with bell boots!) and it was the first time in the field that I picked up my reins and he put his head down on his own. Good boy! When we’re playing in the field I don’t usually ask for a dressage frame because it’s just not necessary at this point, but I don’t allow major giraffing. I’ve worked hard to get rid of that “bad” muscle under his neck and there’s no way I want him to redevelop it. I kept my reins short, hands forward, and consistent pressure, and he stayed the same through our few laps of trotting. I let him up to a canter and he loped around happy as could be, and offered a more forward canter up a straightaway. Is there any better feeling than cantering your horse through a field? We quit with that as it was getting shadowy and sometimes monsters come out at dusk. We walked another few minutes around to cool out, then untacked and he begged for all the snacks. It was the perfect ride to end my work week on since I reserve Fridays for beers after work. Sometimes, I have to prioritize normal people things, too!

I’m glad that week is over and the storm passed with little incident. Goober is fine, I’m fine, Zuzu is a banana, and luckily we sustained no damage from the weather. My friends in Florida are safe and back home with electricity turned back on. The weather is starting to cool down a bit, I’m planning some fun things for me and the animals in the coming months, and life is generally good. Hoping to find some time to write a few backlogged blog ideas I have, but no promises since the weather is getting nice and fall is my favorite outdoor/hiking/barn time!

Update: I totally forgot to post thing blog when I wrote it last Thursday, so now, Thursday, it’s going up. Goose was perfect over the weekend and for my Tuesday ride and we got in some fun time. Also, the weather is back up in the 90’s and humid. Womp womp womp. Heading up to NJ (currently sitting in the airport) for my friend’s wedding, and I can’t wait to share some non-horsey things next week when I’m back in CLT.

Some extra pictures just because. 

His best shedding "derp" face

Trail riding with his pasture pal, Miles

This view gets me every time

Zuzu's office romance with Finnley