Love yourself to Betterment!

This is what I am working towards. I never realized that loving my body had to come first, before the taking care of it with exercise etc. I thought I’d love it when/if I got fit and it looked better to me. But that mindset was faulty, and it never was a strong enough force to spur me to work on it. But taking care of something you love; that is a powerful drive.#newjourney #loveyourself #takecareofyou#poweredbylove

How do you feel about your physical self?

I know..... even the question makes me tired. My mind shuts down in some instinctual protective way, to shield me from the pain of answering, and delving into this pool of dismay. And why is that? Why is it that we run from doing our own harsh self assessments? If I asked a friend that question, I think her answer would be: "I know I shouldn't feel this way, but...."

What are the chances that the end of that sentence, is: "....., but I love it!" Yeah right..... More likely she would say: "I know I shouldn't feel this way, but I just feel so fat." Or "out of shape," or any other less than positive description.

I asked a few friends just to make sure I was on the right track, and here are their answers:

"Fat Belly."

"Lazy" same person: "Is that a good answer?"

"Meh. Need to be in better physical shape."

I'm not sure why I started pondering my own feelings about my own body. Last year I turned 48. I also lost a person that was essentially important to me, and the idea that I was taking my health for granted took root. Being an overthinker, I did that. Coming out of the shower one day, I looked at myself in a full length mirror and felt nothing good. I looked at myself for a long time, and thought

 "what is wrong with you?" 

My body works as designed. I was given this perfectly great body that works just like it needs to, and I am taking it for granted. Worse than that; I am squandering it by not celebrating my good fortune, and by not caring for it well.

"Well that's no good" I thought. Over the next few weeks the feeling persisted. I was not caring well for my body. I didn't exercise enough, and I was unwilling to make any real sacrifices for the benefit of my health. I ate crap foods, and although active I didn't really make conscious choices with the health of my body in mind. Well I am no longer going to do that.

I love my body! 

And its high time that I live in a way that honors that! Here we go! 

My experience with Positude

As you may know, my mare Pippi has been struggling with back pain seemingly associated with her cycles. We have seen Vets, tried a number of treatments and some have been more effective than others. Basically she has some genetic back issues, tends to have very tight muscles and, her cycles are seemingly quite painful.

Regumate -  worked great as it distrupts estrus, ie shuts down the cycles. Cumbersome as it is toxic to humans (which makes me leery of long term use for Pippi), and expensive. $224.95 for 100 days

DepoProvera shots - we did 7cc every 21 days, trying to time it right (so it hits within 2 days of the cycle). Less expensive than Regumate. Didn't have to ask Barn owners to handle like with Regumate, which was nice. It worked, but there is a quick tapering off and so she feels great, and then gradually worse until the next shot. A barn environment is not clean, so there is always a risk of infections with needles and shots. Pippi does not mind shots, as long as you don't try to sneak it by her.

Raspberry Leaves - 2/3 cup once per day pure organic leaves, I fed these for quite a while and I can't really say it helped.

Positude- 
I found out about Positude from Marcilyn,  Equine Massage Therapist, that has helped us tremendously by teaching me how to help with Pippis locked and sore muscles. She had read an article about Equine Elixirs that mentioned that they were coming out with a new product: POSITUDE!

"Positude™ is made from highly concentrated plant, berry and root extracts, while other products are made from powders. Positude™ is more effective because extracts contain only concentrated active ingredients, while powders consist of many inactive and inert elements resulting in a less effective product.

• All natural
• Contains no prohibited substances
• Safe to handle
• No injections
• Helps maintain even hormone levels via daily delivery system
• Picky eater approved"

The above is directly from their website. The ingredients in Positude are pictured on their site, and  are Chaste Tree Berry, Raspberrry leaves, and Dong Quai. Liz, the inventor also listed them during a radio interview with The Plaid Horse Podcast.

I contacted Liz, who I spoke with personally in late November 2018, and she kindly allowed me to purchase two months worth of Positude. They had yet to launch the product, but were in production.

Two bottles, just like the one pictured, arrived, and instead of doing the next shot of Depo I switched to Positude. We did 10 days of the loading dose of 1oz, and then stepped down to the maintenance dose of 1/2 oz per feeding. Pippi seemed to respond to this product very very well. Her back was less sore, she moved easier and stepped further under herself, she no longer tightened her back when I palpated it, her muscles were softer and more pliable all over, and she was less spooky and anxious. SUCCESS!! WOOHOO! End of story! Thanks for reading, that's all folks......

Only of course, it wasn't, because not long after switching to the maintenance dose, Pippi started showing signs that she was in pain ......again. She was stiff and sore, even though I had continued the muscle massages and stretches. She was ducking away from pressure on her back and she was spooking a lot more again. I contacted Liz at Equine Elixirs, who was once again very attentive and we discussed what the issue could be. Liz said that the vast majority of horses respond perfectly fine to the maintenance dose, but that a very few had to be kept at the higher daily dose in order to see results. It didn't surprise me that Pippi would be in that category as she is a very muscular and strong mare. I mean my farrier thought she was a stallion that had been gelded late, when he first saw her.  

So....... 

A 120 oz bottle of Positude costs $199.96 and I am estimating shipping around $20. So Positude would cost me $100+ per month. 

Four months of Depo Provera costs me $95, no shipping, so about $24 per month. 

SmartPak has a product called SmartMare Harmony with similar ingredients in a pellet form. I have no way of knowing the amounts contained in the Positude, but as a rule extracts are more potent as they contain no fillers. SmartMare Harmony also hasa lot more ingredients, and a lot of "Inactive Ingredients" that may water down the effectiveness. It costs $33.12 for 28 days shipped in Smartpaks. 

So, here in the real world......

 I am already at the top of my horse budget and I just can't spend $100+ every month on Positude. I'd love to, but it is just not fair to the rest of my life.... If you can afford it, I would recommend Positude. I'd love to give it a try now that heat season is coming back, but there is no need to see how much it would help as I can't afford to keep doing it. My decision to not continue with Positude has nothing to do with the product, which I had success with, and is solely based on my own finances and budget. 

For now I am trying SmartMare Harmony, and if that is a no go, we are going back to Depo and good days and bad days. And life goes on.....

Just my thoughts......

Opinion coming at ya:
A few months ago I ran into an acquaintance, who has an equine business, that was super annoyed, and told me what had her so riled up. The gist of it was that she received a phone call from a rider who wanted her to come to her barn to provide the service for her. It was a bit of a drive, so the provider would be charging a larger trip fee, but had good news for the caller. She explained the trip fee, but said "I have another client at your barn, and she has been waiting for someone else to want me to come out, I'll give her a call and then you can split the trip fee with her." To the providers surprise the caller did not want her to do that. She explained that she didn't want to "Split her appointment," and that she "wanted the focus to be on her and her horse." The provider assured her the appointment would not be shorter, and that she would take care to let the other boarder know not to approach her until she was done, and that this would save them both some money. But the caller would not be swayed, saying that "if "Betty" doesn't have the money to pay for her own trip out, that is not my problem." In the end the provider did call the other boarder, asking her to arrive at barn quite early, did her horse first and did not charge her a trip fee. She just said "no fee as I am going to be in the area anyway," and did not tell the boarder what had happened. (I know right? I bet there was some barn drama after that huh?) 

get it? hahaha

Now, let's be clear, as my mom used to say "assholes and saints are everywhere." But this story illustrates that those who live a little tighter financially, would probably appreciate the consideration of other riders. Sure you have the right to want and get what you want if you can afford it, but just keep in mind that being kind and considerate is priceless. Think about the financial needs of your fellow equestrians before you pick a hotel, a restaurant, a show, extras for a trip. Especially when a group is going, and make sure that it fits the budgets for all involved so that all can be relaxed and have a fun time together. Just because you have the funds, or may be willing to whip out the credit card, please don't expect your companions to be in the same boat. Be up front about costs, try to keep overall costs down, and if costs are shared leave out the extravagant extras. Not all has to be split. If you want that extra whatever, allow others to say "no thanks" with all cost information available, and pay for those things separately. An added cost of $100 may not be a big deal for some, but many people have their budgets planned down to the $1. 

Think of everyone when planning and try not to "price anyone out." Most people I know would be happy to share the trip fee, and that's the only time I have heard of anyone refusing outright. Maybe there are other reasons we don't know about behind the refusal (the other boarder being a lot to handle, butting in, etc). But I have heard many riders upset about costs being higher than they needed to be for shows, clinics etc. And being charged for things that they didn't want, use or expect. That's not cool! 

Just my thoughts......