Lose the Commute, Get my Life Back

Now that Connor has been at the new place for over two months, I wanted to share what's different now that I'm not commuting 1.5 hours each time I see him.

The details are getting done around the barn.
My tack is getting wiped down after every ride.  He's getting actual baths once a week now, and I'm able to spend a few minutes picking out his tail before each ride instead of a monster marathon detangling session a few times a year.  I don't feel like I have to rush home anymore, so the details get done.

Sometimes I go out to the barn and I don't ride.
When he was 37 miles/49 minutes away, going out and not riding felt like a waste of gas.

Katlyn holding Connor for his bath at NDPC.
PC: my momma

I can actually catch him in the field now.
More on this in another post, but yeah, this is a thing now.

Lot less of this going on these days.

I'm able to meet my farrier.
My old barn charged $10 to hold horses for the farrier, which, since the farrier came on Monday mornings and it would have cost me almost $10 in gas to get up there anyway, I always cheerfully paid.  Now, my farrier comes over my lunch break and I can actually hold my own damn horse for his trim.  Feels good.

He's happier.
The grazing muzzle is a pain in both of our asses, but I don't think I could ever drylot him again.  He's so happy going out in the group and grazing, even if he's still as much of a loner as he's always been.

I have more time for other things.
There was a moment recently when I was painting some trim, and as I wrapped up to head to my lesson (45 minutes before my lesson time!), I realized I had an extra hour of trim painting that I wouldn't have had if he was still at my old barn.  You don't notice things like that unless you make an effort to notice them, but when you do, you're grateful.

Like tiling my freaking backsplash which only took me two years to work up the nerve to do.  (This room was a bedroom when we bought this house)

I have to actually make a riding plan for each week.
When you can't get out to the barn every day, that sort of takes care of the week's riding routine for you.  When you can ride every day, you really have to plan out what the week looks like.  This has been a fun new challenge for me, but it's also one of the biggest changes.

Variation: we like it.