It would be difficult for me to enumerate all the opportunities I’ve experienced as a member of the Chronicle editorial staff, but this Thanksgiving the Chronicle led me to do something a little bit crazy. I drove to the track to pick up a horse I’d seen exactly one photo of on the Internet.

Of course I knew about off-the-track Thoroughbreds before working at the Chronicle. But it’s a big leap from knowing something exists to participating in re-training them.

Tuesday, Feb. 9, was the opening day for Morven Park. I had planned to enter Charlie at novice with the thought that he’d move up to training level at his next event after that. Mother Nature had other plans.

I’ve been stuck at home for two days now because our half-mile driveway is impassable due to feet of snow. My husband dutifully plowed it several times yesterday only to discover at about 4 p.m. that the wind had erased all his hard work with drifting snow.

The good thing about having your horses at home is that you can feed them in your bathrobe.

Not that I’d ever do that…

I have a new puppy—a black and tan Jack Russell named Kieran—so I have to get up at least once in the night every night to let him out. I pull on a bathrobe, find my glasses and shove him out the door.

This weekend Kieran woke up for the second time around 7 a.m., so at that point I decided to get up and feed the horses as well. They were looking both hopeful and cold.

Feeding time feels a little strange these days. I scoop out the grain, add a little oil for Joshua, my hard-keeper, and that’s it. I head out to the field to feed.

I like to think of myself as a minimalist when it comes to my horses’ feed. They live out 24/7—which would be my preference even if I did have a finished barn—and they have plenty of access to water and hay or grass depending on the season.

But as your typical horse person, I’m prone to always wanting to do a little extra.