She was SO brave, y'all. I think it was the big ol pep talk I gave her. She did the "it's gonna eat me" dance at the hose, but eventually relaxed enough for me to get a lot of the dirt off. She didn't stop moving the whole time, but wasn't unmanageable. I'm so proud. I had to tell literally everyone I saw because it was such a big deal.

Sandy is still very dirty, but is considerably cleaner now. Next goal is to introduce soap lol. Her owner has some really nice horse shampoo and conditioner stored in the tack room that I'm gonna use.

It also started raining as soon as we were done, so we couldn't get any cute pics outside. I was gonna hitch her to a post inside for pics, but I was asked to help treat an infected hoof on another horse and that took a while.

I planned to tack Sandy up and work with her while she was wearing a saddle, but she decided to canter around the round pen when I took her out for grooming and she even jumped over some mud.

She tired herself out very quickly.

I also played some music while we were hanging out and she seemed to like it.

She got visibly upset when I rode around another horse after I was finished with her training and grooming and the barn chore I do to get to ride for free lol. I made sure she got a cookie to know she's still my fave.

This is my fave band and this song really resonates with me right now, as I have become incredibly disillusioned with my workplace, which I thought was really cool until they weren't anymore.

I thought I'd share it so folks who also hate capitalism and the work culture of the US can enjoy it.

Dave is the black horse and Joey is the brown and white one. Joey is always trying to get her attention, but she doesn't care about boys. She just wants to have a good time on her own lol.

I sponged her off today and she did not like it and was doing some grazing in the pic while I got a drink and rinsed the bucket.

We both got lots of good exercise in during the sponging because she kept doing the "it's gonna eat me dance" when I'd use the sponge and I wasn't giving up on the endeavor because I went through all the trouble of getting the stuff ready.

She eventually calmed down and I got a second round of sponging in and she was much less skittish that time. Maybe someday she'll get an actual bath. 🥲

It's 90F here and I was told she refused to leave her stall earlier, most likely because of the heat, so I'm just gonna leave her be today.

She was very spicy today over all. I think it's because she hasn't had any training sessions for about a hot minute.

We did a little bit of easy training today and then I let her graze for a while before I got assistance in treating her foot. It should be healed up by the time I go out on Wednesday!

She was very spicy about the whole thing, which is understandable given how her foot is infected. Hopefully she'll be feeling a bit better when I go see her on Monday.

I hate seeing her sore like this. I'm not used to dealing with thrush, so it's a bit hard for me to handle it alone. The horses I had as a kid had a much better farm to run around on, so their feet were always in great shape. Thankfully I have a lot of support and assistance in this time of learning and healing.

She was not happy about us treating the thrush because it is very uncomfortable for her. I gave her an apple afterwards.

Hopefully it clears up soon. I'll be applying treatment to it every other day until it's healed. I dished out like $60 on the good treatment, so hopefully it works

Taken during our training session yesterday.

We did backing up, lunging, standing still by the mounting block, and I put some of my weight over the saddle and in the stirrups without getting on her.

The other person who loves her like I do got to see her exercising with a saddle on and she was totally showing off for him.

Never seen her so excited before. Any time anyone passed, she yelled at them like, "Hey look at how much fun I'm having!"

She listened to all of my commands and was so happy. She really wants to please.

Best girl 10/10

Time to look for a new job ig.

My boss just grinned and laughed awkwardly as I explained why I want a raise and why I deserve it. The company wants me to get certifications on my own time and I want more money to make up sacrificing my free time. If I don't get the raise (pretty sure they aren't going to give it to me) I'm not getting the certs they want and will do the bare fucking minimum.

Then in a meeting with all the bosses and HR, I asked if they could ask the other employees to message me if they're coming in sick so I can mask up. I'm the first person here every day and I have an autoimmune disease and have gotten very sick from my coworkers multiple times this year. My superiors told me that they can ask but told me that I NEED to take precautions outside of work. They told me it's only fair that I take precautions all the time outside of work since apparently people texting me before they come in is too much to ask for. They brought up places outside of work that they know I go to and were so shitty about me not masking up there. I was also asked if I considered a permanent wfh position but was then told that permanent wfh would prevent me from advancing to higher positions. I have already had a promotion dangled in front of my face for a year only to be told that the standards I need to meet before that are higher than the standards people already in that position are already held to.

I was also given shit for calling off for being sick or having migraines. God forbid I take care of myself.

I'm getting surgery in July and their only concern when I told them was how much time I'll need to take off. I was prepared to only take one day off and suffer through working from home. Now they're pushing me to go on short term disability for my recovery. I can't financially afford that.