One Step at a Time

[aiminglow]

Ann... I have a question for you which is right off-topic... but you're someone who could answer! I have found dogs' faces very expressive - they show really plainly what they're thinking (it seems to me), from "oh good you're back!' to "you can't prove it was me!" to "you've got to be kidding!" Can horses' faces be expressive, or is all their expression in non-face body-language?

 

[AnnSparks]

Ann... I have a question for you which is right off-topic... but you're someone who could answer! I have found dogs' faces very expressive - they show really plainly what they're thinking (it seems to me), from "oh good you're back!' to "you can't prove it was me!" to "you've got to be kidding!" Can horses' faces be expressive, or is all their expression in non-face body-language?

That's a very good question! And to a person who doesn't hang around horses much, it probably wouldn't look like horses have much in the way of facial expressions. But they actually have a lot of expression! I forget how much they exactly have, but I know it's supposed to be pretty close to how many emotions humans can express. Horses just have different facial structure and muscles, so their expressions come across differently and a bit harder to read than a humans.

But their body language is also HUGE to knowing how the horse is feeling. Expressions and body language tend to go hand in hand. Loose, wobbly bottom lip means they're relaxed, as does having a back leg cocked, and their eyes being half closed/fully closed. They're alert/curious when their heads up, ears pricked forward, eyes are bright, and no loose lip, but not tight either. Fearful, their eyes change angle (not really sure how to explain this but I'll add some pics), their lips will be held tight, they'll stand stiffly and ready to bolt in a moments notice. Aggressive is the same, except their ears will be flat back and they may gave aggressive head tosses, pawing a hoof, or threatning to nip, and a swishing tail. If you don't listen to these signs, get ready to be bit or kicked xP

These are also the more obvious signs of the horses mood. There's tons of tiny signals horses give off with their faces or body language so when working with them, you have to learn fast how to read them and know how to speak their language so that you can communicate effectively with them.


Examples:

This is the second time I ever met Jack, and the day he came to live with me. He was a rescue case and was terrified of people and would bolt often when led around and if he wasn't caught, he'd flee as soon as you entered the pen with him. And in this pic, you can see by ears and eyes and lips, that he's very unsure about this situation. His bottom lip is shorter than the top as he's holding it tight in unease/fear. His eyes look worried, and his ears are in different directions as he's unsure what he needs to pay most attention to since he doesn't know what's most likely to eat him and what is safe.

This is Sam, showing how impatient he is. Jack was being slow, so Sam got grumpy with him. His ears are all the way back and his eyes are glaring at Jack. The moment following this pic, Sam actually nipped Jack's butt. So this is a good example of a very aggressive moment.

In this pic, Jack is relaxed, but listening. It was his second farrier trim while with me. His ears are back, but not flat so he's just listening to what the lady is doing. His eyes are relaxed and in general, his face and body are telling me he's slightly unsure (head is also held slightly high) since he doesn't know the lady very well, but he also knows what's expected and is relaxed in the fact that he trusts we won't harm him in any way.

Here, Jack is very unimpressed and quite relaxed. His ears are back to listen to what I'm doing and the sounds that the bottles on him make, but aren't pinned. His head is somewhat lowered, bottom lip is a bit longer than the top lip, and his eyes are partially lidded. All signs that he's relaxed and really could care less about what I was doing to him lol.

Another pic from the first day I had Jack. His head is up, ears forward, very much alert. His whole body is sort of being held high almost a little stiff, showing that while he's curious, he's also cautious and very much ready to run if the situation is unpleasant.



Hope this helps answer your question. In the end, you can see that that expression and body language are only part of the equation. Once you put them both together, you get a very clear picture as to how the horse is feeling.
It also varies from horse to horse. Some are real troopers and won't show when they're in pain and often have the lazy/bored face. Others are real comedians and are over the top with their expressions (like Sam showing his grumpy face) and will go so far as to through tantrums when they're even slightly uncomfortable.

Honestly, horses are like a combo of cat and dog personality. Best way to sum it up really lol. And their personality effects the emotions they choose to display and when.

 

[aiminglow]

Thank you very much! That's a beautifully clear explanation, and really good photos, too, to show exactly what you mean! I can see the expression in both Jack's and Sam's eyes - and their body language too, of course. I'm intrigued by your assessment that

horses are like a combo of cat and dog personality.

I'll remember that. Thanks again!

 

[Llama]

Charlie horse is the only term I know for those types of cramps. Maybe it's a canadian thing? Not sure lol. But that term gets applied to cramps mostly in the calf muscle, but also for cramps in the foot as well. Not sure how it got that name though.

Not a native speaker. I love to learn new expressions though and I really enjoyed your "horse expressions" post!

 

[Cate]

Great photos & explanations Ann. Have you read My Gentle Barn by Elli Laks? I finished it today. I think you would find it interesting, especially about the rescue horses & learning to read their signals.

 

[alligatorob]

Thanks for the post on horse expressions, I know horses are amazing animals. I have always liked the story of Clever Hans, the horse with great mathematical skills Clever Hans - Wikipedia it shows how well horses can read people.

How goes the diet?

 

[AnnSparks]

I'm glad everyone enjoyed the horse post

@aiminglow I'm glad the explination made sense. I actually saw a video earlier about this and horses have 3-5 more facial expressions than monkeys, and 1 more than dogs. In total, they have 17. So they do indeed have plenty of expression lol.

@Cate I haven't, but I'll definitely have to look into it!

@alligatorob It is quite amazing. They're definitely way more expressive than a person may think at first glance at a horse and how well they can read us as well.

- - - - - - - - - -- - -

Mini Update

Not much change really has happened with weight or diet. A few days ago I weighed myself and I was at 215 lbs, but this morning, I was up to 217. Only thing that was different was that yesterday, I only ate 2 meals. It was a day off and I wasn't moving around as much since I was focusing on my art for most of the day. So I had breakfast at 11:30 and I had lunch/supper at 4. I didn't even eat much either since I just wasn't hungry. I drank less than I should've, but even so, I still got about 6 or 7 cups of water so I wasn't off by much.

So I'm not sure what caused the small weight gain but Wednesday marks another week having passed so it'll be interesting to see what the weigh in then will be.

Today I'm spending my time cleaning and rearranging things, as well as doing meal prep for the week. I also haven't eaten yet. I was hungry at one point in the morning, but in order to eat, I have to cook, and I had to do the dishes before I could cook, so I did the dishes. But then I got distracted and kept going from one thing to another. I have drunk like, 5 cups of water so far though so I'll make the water quota of 8 - 10 cups by the end of the day I'm sure. But I can tell that not having eaten has effected me as my energy level is a little on the low side. But now that I've sat for a moment and typed up this response, I'll get on it to have at least a little something to eat before continuing to rearrange things.


I'm also currently thinking of making videos to record my progress, meal prep, and so on to hopefully have that help with a visual journal to track my progress. Have any of you tried that and did it help or not make a difference? Also debating whether or not I should post those videos on youtube as a way to have accountability that way as well, and potentially inspire others to do their own weightloss journey. I'm unsure about all this, but it is a thought I have currently bouncing around in my head.



Also, some pics of the boys. Tempartures have finally risen and the snow is melting. So Sam got to have his jacket taken off and was feeling pretty good about that. Also, Jack is starting to shed his thick coat, so I'm wondering if we're in for an early spring now. I'm not sure, but I kind of hope so. Anyway, enjoy the boys and their goofy poses

 

[Trusylver]

Weight fluctuations over a couple of days is normal and does not always mean you have done anything wrong or that you have gained fat. If you weigh every day or two look for trends over a longer period of time, not individual fluctuations. The other option is to weigh less often weekly or monthly. Try to weigh in under the same conditions each time (time of day, bladder, stomach contents, hydration)

 

[AnnSparks]

So I've found a keto version of pancakes and they taste so good! They're also very filling. Each one is about the size of the palm of my hand and it honestly only takes 2 or 3 of them before I feel full. I've also premade some salads so that they're easy to just grab and go for work lunch along with other premade food. Also have some gold colored cutlery just for the fun of it now too lol.

Also have been thinking lately how it would go if I ended up working with a personal trainer as a way to help me do the workouts I need and gain more knowledge on how to work out properly. Not sure if I'll be doing this yet, just an idea for the moment

Tomorrow will mark another week since I've started this journey so I'll probably do the weekly weigh in and do take some measurements too and see where I'll be at.

 

[alligatorob]

Those pancakes look good.

Good luck with your weigh in tomorrow!

 

[Llama]

Those pancakes look good.

Seconded! What do you have with them? Fingers crossed for the weigh-in

 

[Cate]

They do look good. We would call them pikelets. We used to have them with butter & golden syrup when we were kids. I think I need to unsee them again
Good luck for the weigh-in!

 

[liza]

In agreement with everyone else--those pancakes look awesome!
I think a personal trainer sounds like a good idea. Do you have a gym nearby?

 

[AnnSparks]

Glad you all like the look of the pancakes! They definitely are delicious. @LaMaria I have peanut butter and syrup with them. I found a syrup the other day that is very low in carbs so it works to have it in small doses while still doing keto.

@liza I live a little out of town, so the gym isn't exactly nearby but it is right in town. However, I live in a very small town and when I looked into things, we only have 1 gym and 1 personal trainer. So I have very limited options if I chose to go this route.

- - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - -

Week 3 Update


Starting Weight: 220.5 lbs

Current Weight: 217 lbs

Well, I'm not where I hoped to be, but I'm still going to look at this as a win since I'm not at 220 lbs. I've actually been watching some videos on youtube of other peoples weight loss as well as just different ways people eat and exercise to be able to lose weight and then maintain it when they reach their goal. And watching those videos have helped me look on this more positively again.

Inches: (Amount lost/gained)

Neck: 14.8 in (- 0.3)
Arm: 13.5 (+ 0.1)
Chest: 43.8 (- 2.2)
Waist: 46.1 (- 0.7)
Hips: 45.5 (+ 0.1)
Thighs: 24.8 (+ 0.3)

When it comes to the inches, some have gone, others stayed pretty much the same, and some went up very slightly. So this has also helped boost my mood about this as well since it also shows me that I am making some progress in this area as well, even if my weight was a little unstable for a bit.

I also hadn't exercised as much as I set out initially to do because 1 - temperatures dropped that my mind was more focused on hauling wood into my cabin to keep me warm and did no riding since there's no heated arena for me to ride in. 2 - I was in a bad mind space for a bit so I didn't really even look at the exercise bike.
So I didn't really do much there. Things I did do was haul a few loads of wood though. Always felt like my arms were going to drop off by the time I got back so I did get a bit of a workout that way. Walked through a lot of deep snow and that's kinda like resistance training since deep snow is tiring to walk through. And ya, that's kinda some unintentional type of exercise that I got in instead.


For food, I have also realized that I've had a few too many sweet potatoes. I had some left over and I know they're supposed to be healthier than regular potatoes, but sweet potatoes are like candy to me and I find it VERY hard not to eat everything in one sitting. I have managed to have some self control and not do that these last few weeks, but now that I've come to the end of the sweet potatoes I have, I'm not buying any more.

I think I'm also going to drink a bit more tea again as well. The first week I drank a few cups of green tea and I did lose a decent amount of weight during that. Have found a tea that has 0 calories, 0 carbs, 0 everything really lol. It comes from Davids Tea and is quite good. This particular tea is supposed also give a bit of an energy boost. However, it hasn't done that for me. But I honestly think I may be immune to stuff that gives energy boosts. I've had other drinks in the past that are supposed to energize you but they've barely ever done anything. But oh well. Not like I need it that much.



So! With that all said, I'm doing better, feeling better, and ready to tackle this again!

Pic of Sam enjoying the warmer weather

 

[Cate]

Sam looks like he's having lots of fun!
I'm glad you're feeling a bit more positive about it all, Ann. Stick with it and make adjustments when necessary. I feel I'm starting all over again, so will join you. We can do this

 

[aiminglow]

Oh, walking through deep snow is definitely a kind of resistance exercise! And hauling wood - both of those sound like plenty of exercise to me! Good for you being three pounds down, too - that real, recognisable loss - you're doing well.
Yes, sweet potatoes are a bit too appealing - mind you, for me ordinary potatoes are, too! Hang in there - don't deny yourself too much - and maybe only buy small quantities of anything likely to make trouble for you as a leftover. (I used to say that my favourite breakfast was leftovers on toast! And it was, too. )

That's a great picture of Sam having fun in the (not too deep) snow! (Oh, about the tea that claims it'll give you an energy boost - I'd be very skeptical of things on product labels, unless it's legally mandated nutritional info!)

 

[Llama]

Caffeinated teas (black, green, white) are the only ones I'd trust in that respect

 

[AnnSparks]

I feel I'm starting all over again, so will join you. We can do this

Awesome! I look forward to hearing how you're doing as well.

- and maybe only buy small quantities of anything likely to make trouble for you as a leftover. (I used to say that my favourite breakfast was leftovers on toast! And it was, too. )

That's a great picture of Sam having fun in the (not too deep) snow! (Oh, about the tea that claims it'll give you an energy boost - I'd be very skeptical of things on product labels, unless it's legally mandated nutritional info!)

That's something I'm learning in general actually, to buy small quantities of things. I come from a family of 5 and and everyone is heavier than I am, so there was often a lot bought and so growing up around that, I tend to see things as buying a lot at once from that. But because I'm just one person and buying fresh foods, they tend to be only good for a week or so at a time. So I end up wasting some food cause it goes bad before I get to it or I eat it all which is more than I need. Definitely takes a big adjustment to learn to shop for yourself.

And I am skeptical of such things, but I do find it fun and interesting to try new things and see what actually helps with energy boosts. Like despite coffee related drinks not giving me much energy, I have found out in the past that coke definitely gives me an energy. So far, it's the only drink (other than hard lemonade) that gives me energy boost and wakes me up for a few hours.

Caffeinated teas (black, green, white) are the only ones I'd trust in that respect

I do have green tea as well, but no energy boost from that. And black tea doesn't taste good to me. Never tried white though. Might have to get that at some point and give it a try.

 

[liza]

That all sounds really positive Ann. Good weight loss, good exercise (I always feel that nice outdoor air and real life movement is so great!) and really good insights.

The first week I drank a few cups of green tea and I did lose a decent amount of weight during that.

I also was drinking lots of green tea when i first started my diet. I think it helped me. It actually does work for me to give me an energy boost, but also is satisfying sort of like food with the flavour and warmth. I also like using herbal teas for that too, I really like lemon ginger tea or nettle tea.

 

[Llama]

I do have green tea as well, but no energy boost from that. And black tea doesn't taste good to me. Never tried white though. Might have to get that at some point and give it a try.

Green tea gives a milder, longer-lasting boost than coffee (or so my friends say; I drink neither). If you don´t get an effect from green tea, white isn´t likely to do the trick, either. I know I can´t sleep if I drink a lot of coke, so I guess it gives me a boost even if I don´t notice it so much.