Dusk and the Setting Sun

Diego and I took a short ride last night. It was the first in almost 2 weeks... he was doing really well - no inflammation, enjoying the sudden cool snap (50's at night have now turned to 39! ) so I figured what the heck, let's try it.

I slapped on the boots, the bareback pad and clipped my reins to his flat-banded nylon halter. At first he looked at me suspiciously and made a move to walk away (then quickly got distracted by a bucket of food placed dumbly in the middle of the barn aisle.) but once we stepped outside he was clearly on his toes. By the time we got to the pasture I could feel he was pretty wired throughout his entire body. He stood still for me to mount (barely, tensely) from the trailer wheel-well  (great place to mount - will have to remember that) and enthusiastically took off at a FAST walk.

We made a loop around the edge of the pasture and back, a total of about 15 minutes, start to end. His back has such poor muscling that I just can't bring myself to stress his spine with my weight too much right now. I was surprised however in the ease at which he carried me for the most part.. then again I am trying my best nowdays to be a model of near perfect balance for him. This includes the ever careful alignment of my spine in proper orientation with his and keeping our center of gravities 'together' - one very good example is riding downhill: I do a mini 2-point seat. I tried this experiment several years back when I was still exploring riding before he got sick, turns out once I moved my center of gravity forwards, but in a balanced way D responded by moving down hills more freely and happily. Traditional riding logic would think that strange, but it kind of makes sense considering through out all my jump and huntseat training how I was taught to be balanced and light in all situations, even downhill. It was dressage training later that ruined part of my seat, ironically.

ANYWAYS! (tangents, tangents)

Back to the ride. D was feeling quite full of himself an opinionated - there was much head shaking, some impressive 90-degree turns (O.O did I mention I was bareback?), and on the way back to the gate a jig or two. Actually on the way back I afforded myself a treat, and when I see him today we will see if it was too much... but... I kept just enough contact to keep his head up, while letting him prance his way into a bouncy, collected trot. Normally I would strongly encourage him to walk again, fearing my merciless bouncing on his poor spine and his delicate hooves - but this time I said 'forget it. I'm just gonna sit here and stay balanced and hope he doesn't decide to buck me off in the end." (as he was still 100% wired). What came out of it was one of those events that really stick with you - those moments where you're in perfect harmony with your horse and both of you are enjoying whatever gait you're going along at, in relative easy and happiness. His head was up, neck tall fully extended, his poll flexed only slightly and although I bounced alittle, his back felt like a springy suspension bridge. If I tried I could almost imagine that I felt his front hooves hitting the ground independently - correctly. For those few strides he felt balanced, excited, powerful and truly perfect to ride.

Had dusk not been creeping in over the fields I think I would have wanted another round of the pasture, but as it was the cold air and impending darkness (along with wayyy too many strange horses trying to sniff his butt) was making D alittle jumpy/insecure. I am still trying to ride the fine line between our workouts and keeping him from feeling forced, alone and scared. It will come with time, but part of that comes from me respecting his feelings on any given issue. I was disappointed to note though that after 15 minutes of excitedly lugging me up and down pasture hills - he was not even WARM. It was like it had been no exertion at all!

Note to self: 30 minute ride/walks are DEFINITELY in order now!

I'm excited to see what today tells about lastnight's excursion. Was this too much? Will he be sore? Stiff? Depressed?
Or will I walk up to a bright eyed and bushy tailed horse?
Ahh that's the story of his entire recovery: you never know what tomorrow brings.

So I've decided to enjoy 'today' as it were when we can...

Spring Has Sprung

I sent a huge cloud of yellow powder into the air this morning when I turned my windshield wipers on...   yep.  It's that time of year. The big hardwoods at the barn are still looking scraggly but neon buds are popping out on the tips of their branches. The grass is blindingly green - poking up through the dead stuff from winter.

Everywhere horses are dropping mangey hair and stating to look gorgeous and sleek (except D: stupid Cushings coat), and riders are gearing up for summer. I think I've been bitten by the bug - the spring bug... I have the overwhelming urge to get back in the saddle and ride until I can't feel my legs anymore. The urge to gallop over countryside until I'm sunburned and sweaty.


Maybe it's the spring weather, those last few joyful rides on Diego, or too much of reading Andrea's old blog posts, or the girls at my barn dusting off the saddles and heading out for trailrides...   I'm suddenly dying to be back in the saddle, training for the next big thing, or galloping along endlessly over hilly terrain listening to nothing but hoofbeats and horse breathing. Or flying over tall obstacles and turning tight roll-backs in a sandy arena.

This brings up an internal debate. 3 years ago I had given up on my competition dreams, somewhat sadly. 2 years ago I came to a feeling of contented acceptance and was quite happy with my new journey with D. So, what on earth is this all about? Diego is never again going to be able to do the things he once did. I still have grand hopes of him making a recovery to "fit old horse" condition, but "fit old horse" & "fit young/middle-aged horse" are two different things. Most jumping is in our rearview mirror (sadly), as is taking uneven terrain at a fast pace. Older tendons just do not have the same resiliency as young ones: it's not safe. Getting him back in 'work' has proven difficult this month: we're enduring more setbacks from unexplained hoof inflammation and when he has that - I CANNOT ride. Work in hand can only go so far, he is not fit enough to trot or more than 10 minutes and the warm weather is not sitting well with him anymore (I'm honestly alittle worried about anhydrosis). *sigh*

Soooo with all that said - I'm obviously stuck. The 'urge' is killing me though. I had not previously thought past Diego to 'what if I had another horse?". So far all attempts to keep in good riding shape with a 'loan' have been very short lived. I've ridden a handful of horses since D's laminitis: anything from the green broke Throughbred to the old OTTB, to the pokey trail QH. I have truly appreciated each and very opportunity but have sadly realized something very important: none of them are D. I don't like ANY of them near as much. Sitting on D is like having 4 legs instantly wired to my own brain and nerve receptors. Sitting on other horses is awkward at best - like when I was a kid and took riding lessons on different ponies. New stride length, new type of movement, new timing, different ribcage width, different reaction times to spooks etc. This all boils down to that fateful day someday: getting a new horse is not going to be fun for me. :(


But on a happier note ~ I do have the opportunity to train some now, if I so choose. There are a couple of school horses at my new barn that I'm allowed to fool around with. I took one for a short ride yesterday evening at W/T (cute little chestnut). Boy do I need some work! I did ok, tried to be loose and light/soft, but I'm really going to have to get out in the field and trot it out to see how my muscles really handle riding again. I can feel the pull in my lower calves and my upper ribcage today... And I lose my balance all too easily. Funny how that works, used to my body knew right 'where to be' in relation to the horse at all times.


Hopefully I'll get some pictures soon. This whole blog has gone without for too long.
B.o.r.i.n.g!