In the past several months I've written
tons of blog posts in my head. Great things like “Personal fitness
– your horse is an athlete you should at least attempt to be one”,
“Horse shopping – some thoughts on what's important”, “Hoof
abscesses – they are from the devil”, and much more. The problem
is I just can't find the time to actually sit down and write.
On top of horses, family etc... I've
been homeschooling my son Ryan in first grade. Doing preschool with 5
other kids ranging in ages from 2-5, oh and teaching parent child
swim lessons. Lots of good stuff but to say I'm busy would be an
understatement.
I finally have a few minutes so I
wanted to share an update.
This winter has been a bit crazy on the
horse front too. I got the privilege of helping my friend Kandi look
for a horse. We made a trip to Canada and I got to meet Bunny's
breeder and see how she was raised. No wonder she is such a nice
horse! A lot of thought went into her breeding and she had wonderful
care, training and handling. In the end, Kandi ended up buying Syd,
who is a half sister to Bunny. I've been helping them get started
under saddle. They are a wonderful pair and I can't wait to see what
they will be like in a few years.
Kandi's new horse Syd the Kid, a half sister to Bunny.
Bunny and I have been taking it easy
and enjoying relaxing rides, dressage and helping Syd figure things
out. But in the middle of that I also got my first experience with
hoof abscesses. Let me just say I hope it's my last. You can't see
what's going on, you just try to help the darn thing get to the point
where it will drain, soak it, keep it clean and hope for the best. I
was just thankful it wasn't in the middle of the season. In case you
are curious, there was no puncture wound or nail etc... the vet and
farrier said that sometimes when it rains a lot, like it did right
before she got the abscess, the hoof expands, traps a bit of debris
and the rest is history.
When I have a minute to think, I've
been thinking about this coming season and what I want to do. I've
been asking some questions of people who's advice I value and then
thinking some more.
I LOVE the longer distances, 75 and 100
miles. I love the people who ride them, I love the way they ride
them, the challenge of it all. This season I'm going to try to ride
two 100's and as many 75's as I can fit into my season (I'm thinking
6 rides total, works well for my family and my budget). The problem
is, there aren't that many longer distance rides. Now I understand
why people gripe about that. If you only want to do one now and then,
great! But if you would like to do several of them, on the same
horse, well then things get tough. I'm not so patiently waiting for
all the rides to make it on the ride calendar so I can try to figure
this out.
In the meantime, Bunny is sound and we
started going back to work about 2 weeks ago. It feels great to work
her again and she is happy to be going somewhere.
I have to say I am super bummed about
there being no HOTR (Home on the Range, a ride close to home, in
terrain much like home, usually my first ride of the season) this
year. I was planning on riding a 75 there. I've wanted to ride a 75
there for a while now and this was going to be the year, not so
much... Hopefully they'll have it again sometimes so that I can get
my chance. In the meantime I'll keep conditioning and try to figure
out what ride I will do instead.
Hopefully you all have some ideas of
what you want to do this season. I think it's great to have something
you are working toward. Maybe you should think about moving up a
distance, if you haven't already.
Hopefully I'll see some of you at
convention or I'll see you on the trail!
Bunny and I pulsing down at Oregon 100.
I love the look she has, it shows just how kind and hard working she is.
This pictures was taken after we had done 75 miles already.
