Goodness. Exhausted. Isn’t it funny how you start to complain about not having enough to do and then all of a sudden God drops several new projects into your lap, and then you’re complaining about having too much to do! Thank goodness it’s almost summer and the days stay light until after 8 so I have enough time to get everything done outside, but then I come inside (to my half-renovated apartment and three animals) and crash into my very unmade bed and sleep restlessly until the next (super early) morning. It’s kinda a vicious cycle and partly could be helped by me eliminating my daily naps…that’s been a work in progress, but lately I’ve been opting for a nap on my lunch break. That usually leaves me with plenty of time to finish what I have to do at work but with a new horse (Denali) and Allegra to ride, I managed to get very behind today and am just getting inside for a shower and some Property Virgins! Nevertheless it was a beautiful day and full of God’s glory.
The day started with a lovely gallop on Monkee. We opted for the three-ring today as he’s been getting quite strong in the full-cheek the fitter he gets. The 3-ring works really well if you keep your hands low and light…any tugging results in his neck bowed between his knees which is never fun to ride. He was much more relaxed today than he has been and he recovered quickly from each set. He is such a good boy. And I still managed to pull my back badly, despite the fact that he was reasonably easy today. I don’t know how I do it, but it is really bad…if I breathe a certain way or tense any muscles in my back involuntarily it spasms and I cry out like someone punched me. Going to try to put IcyHot on and just relax it tonight!
Next was Deon, who needed to trot today. We rode the first part of the hack with Dad and Booboo, so when Booboo left us Deon (the BN packer who has been everywhere and seen everything) erupted into a whiny neighing machine for the rest of the ride. Gotta love him. He trotted nicely though…it takes me forever to get him loosened up and moving forward but once I do and he lets go in his back, his whole trot changes and he feels great. I didn’t do much because of my back and time constraints but he was a good boy.
Got a few chores done, made feed and gave a few baths before heading down to get Alli. She was much quieter in the cross-ties today and stood like a perfect princess. We rode up to the ring on a loose rein and she literally didn’t peek at ANYTHING on the way. She went right to work in the ring and was better from yesterday (that tends to happen with C’s help!). She didn’t root her mouth very much at all and when she did I just bent her and pushed her forward. We worked on just keeping her nose up and out and pushing from behind to get her stronger. She wanted to curl but with leg and a soft hand she started to get the trick. I tried to just ride the canter today and not worry so much about the balance…she was much better and felt stronger already. I’m learning how much hand/leg to use when she gets quick, because it’s always been a struggle for me to ride sensitive horses. I feel more confident today though that I gave her a good ride and as always, she walked home on the buckle…even past a tree that was being cut down and thrown into a giant truck. She is a star. Gave her a nice Vetrolin bath and let her graze in the sunshine. And at that point, S came home with the big horse from Rolex!! He looked amazing, shiny and didn’t seem to have lost much weight. He went right into his stall, peed, rolled, and settled down to the serious business of cribbing. Atta boy!
Worked Champ briefly after putting Alli away. Little nugget. Put the tack on him and fly sprayed him and started asking him to go forward. He putzed around for about five minutes and then decided to have a hissy fit…which basically involved him cantering around me. He didn’t even bother to buck. Love his attitude! I made him canter until he was ready to behave himself and then we worked on transitions by voice command. The walk is the hardest for him, as he wants to either trot or stop and look at me. We got it though…he catches on super quickly. I did a little desensitizing work with him…flapped the stirrups around and flung the lead rope all over his body. He sighed and looked at me like “Really?” Then we had a nice long grooming session while he munched grass. He is so precious!
So at the very least, S said Alli is mine to ride for the week…so that’s all the news I have on that right now. We will see where it goes, but I’m happy to have her in my life right now. And as far as finding energy for tomorrow…let me get back to you on that!
God Bless,
Ry
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