A situation, task, etc. that seems difficult or frustrating: With no sleep last night, I'll be on the struggle bus today.

I have a confession to make. I am struggling. And in the interests of being open and honest, I am going to write all about it. Never being one to shy away from sharing even the deep, dark, and twisty parts of my journey with my horse, it only makes sense to share this part, too. Sure, it’s scary, and it makes me feel vulnerable, but it’s also cathartic and hopefully, will be helpful in solving the struggle.  

A few months ago, they painted the jumps in the outdoor ring. Great right? Well, my mare, Fire, does not like change, especially when no one has consulted her about it. She has been mildly offended when someone weeded at the far end of the ring without checking with her first, and if anything is out of place, she is the first one to draw attention to it: NO, that shovel does not belong there! When they added new plants along the way to the ring last year, it prompted many “discussions” to convince her that it was, in fact, still safe to go to the ring despite the new greenery. 

The newly-painted jumps caused a massive issue with getting down to the outdoor ring. This journey involves a short walk down the hill, and it sounds so silly describing it here, but it became a fight to get down there. Luckily, I am just as stubborn as my horse, so we always get to the ring even if I have to be creative to get us there. But if other horses are already in the ring, no problem, she walks down there like a champ.

Always giving my horses the benefit of the doubt, I have worked with my vet to make sure the issues are not physical. Fire’s had her teeth, soundness, and saddle fit checked, and has been scoped for ulcers. There might be a few more avenues to consider, but right now, I am at a complete loss as to what to do and how to fix this. As I pride myself on being able to fix almost everything, this problem has completely evaded me. It might be time to ask for help, which is likely my least favourite activity, second only to going to the dentist.… 

Every problem has a solution, and just when we’ve reached wit’s end is often when that solution begins to reveal itself. It’s now a few weeks later and almost all of these problems have now been resolved. In my next blog I’ll share some of the surprising solutions I discovered.