It's been a long time since I have ventured into blog land! As life seems to be circulating a different axis due to COVID 19, we are finding our new normal. I've transitioned to working from home and picked up a second full time job running my In-Laws office - something I did before I began working at the college. To top that all off, I'm knocking on the door of the 3rd Trimester and nearly 7 months pregnant.
The day I took Sierra home from the arena back in March, I discovered she was injured and what initially appeared as some scrapes turned into a puncture that proved tricky to heal. It required two rounds of Antibiotics, and daily scrubbing for what seemed like forever. Just when I thought I had it healed, it reared its ugly head once more and we were back at square one. Luckily, it's been several weeks now without a flair up and I think I may finally have it under control.
Due to her injury, I wasn't riding. As it began to heal and she came sound, Spring peeked around the corner and things began to become soggy, damp and mucky which didn't yield any riding time. My arena and fields were unusable, and given my situation I wasn't comfortable hacking down the road with the time off she'd had and the likelihood of having to go alone, but luckily patience paid off and I have ridden twice in the past few days! Both rides were very short and casual but exactly what I needed and Sierra seemed to really enjoy it!
On Friday, my hubby wanted to drive our Clydesdale, Lass, and I had been planning to take Sierra the next time he took her out. I grabbed my helmet and threw her sidepull on, and set out without a saddle. I decided to hand walk her to start, as I wasn't sure how she would act. She's never gone out with Lass driving before, she's had 2 months off, we went down the road with cows and horses on either side, and so on. She began the adventure quite amped up, but quickly settled and I decided to get on. Hubby stopped and helped me navigate how the heck to get on when you can't put any weight on your tummy, and with the help of the Stoneboat pulled be hind Lass and him holding my hand from the opposite side of Sierra and pulling me over, we made it work. Much to my surprise, Sierra was absolutely perfect. As we reached the point where we decided to turn around, I knew my ride would likely be coming to an end. I had previously vowed to not try and sit through any thing even remotely athletic on her end, and that if things got even slightly questionable, I would bail on my own terms. Sierra was evidently allowed to gallop home in her past, and she's always gotten a bit squirrely when we turn around to go home so I was well prepared. She was extremely predictable and when she gave a few sideways steps and head shakes, I jumped off and handwalked the rest of the way, chuckling at her antics. All things considered, I was thoroughly impressed with her and it was a great day!
A few days later, hubby and I got home from work and he was working outside so I decided to pull Sierra into the barn for a good grooming session and before I knew it, I was throwing tack on her. I had to get creative because my tall boots no longer fit due to swollen legs/cankles/feet and I've been reduced to riding in my cowboy boots. Additionally, I'm in no position to be schooling anything and Sierra is just as responsive in a sidepull and the swelling and water retention has seriously reduced the grip strength in my hands, making holding regular reins difficult. I could swap the barrel reins onto my Dressage bridle, but that's far too logical. Finally, my Jump saddle is much easier to get out of if need be than my Dressage saddle, so we looked absolutely ridiculous and I rode for a whopping 5 minutes, but it was so lovely. My arena footing is still quite wet and I was really limited to where I could ride, which made doing anything more than walking or trotting on one longside nearly impossible. Even though it was short, the time spent brushing, tacking, and feeding her copious amounts of treats and mash was so needed and it's been so lovely to just take things slowly and smell the roses.
While my riding life has slowed to nearly nothing, breeding and foaling season is arriving and Vida is nearly ready to grace us with whatever she and Parcival have cooked up for us in 2020!
Glad to read you are ok!
ReplyDeleteI am glad to hear that everything is going well. I can't wait to hear about all the babies... (human and equine).
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