Friday, June 15, 2018

My Horse is Obese and Other News

Guys. I'm officially a fourth year vet student. How did I get here already? I can't believe I'm actually getting to treat patients for real!

I know I don't post a whole lot, but for those who do continue to read my blog, I have a few questions.

First off, I'm going to be working a lot of long hours. Medicine and surgery rotations are notorious for super long hours (and I have 3 months total of those rotations). It's fairly common to have shifts longer than 12 hours, and not unheard of to have shifts that are 24+ hours. You don't get breaks to eat or sleep, so I need to figure out some sort of system with food that I can stick in my pockets that doesn't need to be heated. I don't like Cliff bars (they taste like dirt to me), so does anyone know of something that can be eaten as a meal replacement bar that tastes somewhat palatable? I feel like a lot of bloggers would know things like this. Also, I'm willing to make things too if anyone can point me in the direction of a recipe.

And secondly, I'm not sure what to do with this blog. I enjoy blogging, especially when people take the time to comment, but I just don't have a whole lot of time. What do people want to see?
  • Posts about vet school? Things like advice for people wanting to go to vet school, what the daily vet student life is like, or "educational" posts about interesting things that I learn?
  • Baby horse updates?
  • Details of training, clinic, and show rides with Jetta?
  • Product reviews? I have a lot of things I could review at the moment, just haven't gotten around to it yet?
  • A mix of all of the above?
I'd really love some feedback! Please and thank you :)

In the pony world, both girls have been slightly neglected. I've had finals, orientation, and getting the house in order for me to go into clinics plus a new roommate moving in. It's been a little hectic!

Jetta and I got to go on a fun trail ride with PR after finals that was MUCH needed. Unfortunately we got over half way around the loop... and the trail was closed for logging. So we had to turn around, resulting in a 10 hour trail ride, definitely longer than intended!





I love my long-legged hippo mare <3

Jetta got a fairly good cut to her hind leg that I discovered when we went cross country schooling. I kept it wrapped for a few days with some corticosteroid cream to try and keep it from developing proud flesh. It was healing nicely so I let it go naked and it looks fine, just refuses to heal completely, which is a bummer. Jetta's not lame per se, but she's definitely a little sore. But holy smokes guys, my horse is OBESE. This is not something I ever thought I would say about my thoroughbred that takes forever to put weight on. She has gotten a little chunky in the past, but never like this. She's seriously a 7 out of 9. She's typically between a 4 and a 5 which is perfect. She's getting very little grain right now, but her weight just took off when the spring grass finally came in. She may be getting a grazing muzzle very soon...
It looks so much worse all wrapped lol

SO FAT


Other than that, I have a glove review to do here soon! I won a pair of Roeckl's from Hillary's contest which was awesome! I've never owned a pair since they are just too expensive for me, but I can't wait to ride in them a few more times.

PS. I got to do a photoshoot for PR and her horse Bailey and I LOVED it. I'm always trying to convince my horse friends to let me take fun pictures for them and they were such good models. My favorite gift to give people is pictures of their four-legged babies. This is my favorite picture because she looks like a fairytale princess <3




Thank you in advance for any and all comments!

10 comments:

  1. I'm just a blog reader (no blog myself), but if you like peanut butter, these are super easy to make:
    -2 cups PB
    -1 cup oats
    -1 scoop protein powder (vanilla, chocolate, or coconut would taste best)
    -1 cup unsweetened coconut
    -1 cup honey
    -1 tbsp vanilla extract

    Mix it all together in one bowl, then form into balls; makes about 13 small or 8-9 large. I usually eat 1 large for a hearty snack, or 2 large for a meal. Hope this helps!

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    1. That sounds good, do you keep them in fridge? I have been bad about taking a snack to the barn on weekends and then that wiped out feeling hits.

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  2. I like the Nature Valley Sweet and Salty bars — MUCH tastier than Cliff.

    I also enjoy reading whenever you have time to post — I mostly enjoy reading about the stuff you learn at vet school and riding training general life of the girls!

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  3. Good luck during 4th year! I think I mostly survived on vending machine food, but if you like to cook you can make some pretty good protein balls using protein powder. It was more work than I ever wanted to do on clinics though!

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  4. I've been following your blog forever and love to hear about your ponies! If you have time I think a lot of readers would be interested in any cool cases you might see as a student, too. And as for food, I really like the Baltiva cookie things. They taste like grahmn crackers or something. Easy to eat, and give you energy.

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  5. I vote for a mix of all of the above.

    I also like the Special K Protein granola bars. They come in a bunch of flavors, taste like normal granola bars, and give me an extra boost of energy on the go :)

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  6. Congrats on your progress! Ditto on the Special K bars and vet stories. :D

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  7. My cousin does ultra-marathons (she's crazy, I can't even make it a mile) and this is her favorite go-to energy snack. I've made them a couple of times and they are quite filling, without being hard to digest. I skip the orange extract and orange peel, and use honey for the sweetener. It's really easy to modify to your tastes, super transportable, and freezes great. You *definitely* need to roll them in something cause they are sticky (I use ground flax).

    Ingredients:
    1 cup regular rolled oats
    3/4 cup sesame seeds
    2 cups assorted dried fruit, chopped (mixture of dates, cranberries, blueberries, cherries apricots, apples, figs or mangos in any combination you like)
    1 1⁄2 cup currants (or combination or currants, dark raisins and golden raisins)
    1 cup flaked coconut
    1 cup blanched almonds, chopped
    1/4 cup flax seed
    1/4 cup sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds (or other small seed or nut combinations of your choice)
    1/2 to 1 packet vegan protein powder - vanilla - Optional
    1.5 tsp coconut oil (scant)
    1.5 cups light corn syrup or agave nectar (1⁄2 cup of this can be Maple syrup or honey for a different flavor)
    3/4 cup chunk style peanut butter (I use the natural peanut butter - only peanuts and salt)
    1 tsp orange extract - you can go a little light on this
    2 tbsp grated orange peel
    Spread the oats in a 9x13" baking pan. Bake at 300 degrees for about 25 minutes (until toasted). Toast the sesame seeds in a frying pan over medium heat until seeds are golden (about 7 minutes), shaking frequently to prevent scorching. Combine the oatmeal and sesame seeds in a large bowl. Oil the 9x13 pan with the coconut oil.
    To the bowl, add your dried fruit, currants, coconut, almonds, seed and grain mixture, and protein powder. Mix well.
    In the frying pan, bring the corn syrup or agave nectar to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and quickly stir in the peanut butter, orange extract and orange peel. Immediately pour over the oatmeal-fruit-grain-coconut-nut mixture and stir well - it will be stiff, so put some muscle into it! Quickly spread into the oiled pan and press into an even layer, using a spatula or parchment paper if it gets too hot. Cover and chill until firm or keep at room temperature until firm (at least 4 hours).
    Cut into 3/4" squares (bite size). Then mush into a ball, and roll in chia seeds or hemp seeds to control their stickiness. Put several in a plastic snack bag. They freeze well.

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  8. That last photo is amazing!

    And all of the above in response to blogging. Don't stop!

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  9. Thank you everyone for all of the comments!!

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