Plan for the worst. Hope for the best

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

Anyone who keeps horses knows that nearly everything is about managing risk when it comes down to keeping these animals safe and sound. Food, water, and shelter – the basics – are typically at the core of it. And then there are food supplements, hoof care, dentistry, tack fit, fitness level, herd dynamics, turn out and turn in and much, much more to consider. You know what they say: Plan for the worst and hope for the best.

And then, there are external factors. Things thoroughly out of your control, such as falling leaves, random noises, and fireworks.

Fireworks and horses

I remember as a child, my dad would bring me to watch the weekly fireworks during the summer. I would usually enjoy them, right up to falling asleep halfway through.

Today is a different story. When I hear fireworks go off, I run to the windows facing the paddock and peer out, praying to the horse deities that my horses aren’t freaking out. I’m lucky that so far they don’t seem to care either way, but, after recently welcoming a new member into the herd, I wasn’t sure what would happen with fireworks going off.

Thankfully the last time we had to contend with fireworks, a prominent member of the community was kind enough to warn dog owners of the upcoming fireworks and thus warned the large horse community as well. I made arrangements to bring the horses in and felt better for it and then went to ride my horse at another barn.

All that planning and then…

Well, wouldn’t you know that those plans fell through entirely due to babies waking up at the wrong time? So my husband ended up peering anxiously through that same window and found two non-hysterical horses in the paddock, watching the light show.

This all goes to show you that despite careful planning, sometimes things go awry. And despite careful planning, sometimes you just don’t need it. So much energy into something that thankfully didn’t happen.

What do they say? Plan for the worst and hope for the best? I guess that was my motto today!

Have you ever planned for something only to have everything go wrong anyway?

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