Waking The Dragon

Bridget is pretty much the funniest and least enthusiastic workout buddy ever. She's pretty pissed off that I'd even consider her for the part, but sadly for her there are a few things going on necessitating the return of Bridget as my reluctant fitness pal:

- I'm in money saving mode and therefore not currently taking lessons at EC's. But, I want to keep in good riding shape for when I jump back into lessons.

Does this picture make her belly look big? ;) Heading out in the sunshine for a bareback ride - so good for my core and balance!

- Im feeling like there's a chance Sophie might mature smaller than expected. So, I need to lose weight ( I need to anyway, this is just extra incentive with a time sensitive deadline since I'd like to start her this summer)

14hh today at almost three years old...her siblings were apparently closer to 15hh, but I don't think she'll get there.

- My favorite exercise is hiking. Bears and cougars and the like (and weird creepy dudes) worry me. I'm getting less brave when I see wildlife on the trail and we don't currently have a dog.  I feel safer with another human. Or a Bridget!

B humoring me today.

- I did that thing and signed up for a clinic, so we both should probably should be at a moderate level of fitness.

A hike for me on Friday, with a pit stop for some longeing for Bridget.

A good thing about having B as a workout buddy is that no matter how tough you're finding it, B is always complaining more than you. Feeling unmotivated? No worries, B is way grumpier about doing the thing than you are. I actually find it quite amusing listening to her moaning and groaning, particularly as we're mostly just walking at this point :D

So hungry, she worked so hard you know.

The best part though, is when you're finished! You've never had a gym partner so proud of their efforts. B is pretty sure she kills every single workout ever, despite the fact that she's only put in the minimum effort the whole time :)

On our way to the indoor on Thursday night.

Home at dark on Sunday.

Beat Up

Poor Sophie's integration into the new herd appeared to go well, but when she came in on day 2 she had a lovely hematoma on her chest from being kicked and some nice deep scrapes all down one side of her. I won't lie, part of me got a little protective and frustrated, but the bigger part of me knows she is an absolute pest who I'm sure needed some boundaries installed by the other horses.

She's still super cute though! The damp spots are all lotions and potions the barn owner has been putting on her. Spoiled pony!

I took Bridget out Thursday night for or usual ride and she felt a little off behind again. I had G video and it's noticable there too. She's not stepping compketely through with either hind, moreso on the right. Its not super noticable, but I know what she normally moves like, and it's there. So, that makes me very unhappy and worried.

Sophie and a herdmate yesterday - notice S is now keeping a respectful distance.

Part two of that equation is that watching the video, I was unhappy with how I look riding her. It's been awhile since I've had video. Its not obvious in still pictures but in video I can see how my weight influences her balance a little now and then.  In truth I'm over my normal (not thin on the best of days) weight these days, and as I always feel like I'm borderline appropriate size wise on her, an extra 15 pounds over my norm is too much. So of course, I'm thinking she's off because I'm squishing her. Logically, I know thats probably untrue, but logically I also know the less I weigh and the better I ride, the easier it is on the horses. I've been struggling mentally and let a lot of the regular routine of exercise/eating/generally being kind to myself things slide off and on these past few months. It's unfair to those around me (and my horses) to persist with that though, regardless of my mindset.

Crappy video still from yesterday.

So, let's add some weight loss goals to those fitness ones, shall we? Enough is enough...I'm tired of beating myself up over this but not being proactive enough to fix it.

Far away is more flattering, lol

And, obviously the vet is coming (on Wednesday) to take a look at Ms Bridget. I may take her out on the lunge later this weekend just to see if she's happier without a saddle/weight.

My wonderful husband is all " If you're worried why don't you just get a bigger horse to ride? Then we can still go out for dinners and watch too much Netflix" Thanks for the support, honey :D

What a recap, lol. Basically I think all of us here are feeling a little beat up right now. But, it's a beautiful sunny fall weekend, and we've got a plan, so it's not all bad :)

Things I Did This Weekend

I've been looking forward to three day weekends for quite a long time! This was my first one, and I can't believe how much I got done. By Friday at noon I had already worked out, gone for a hike, stacked a ton of hay, cleaned paddocks, and gone for a ride. I'm so used to rushing to fit everything in that it definitely felt weird to have an entire afternoon with no plans! As of today:

- The yard and garden are all tidied up.

- I hiked and did a yoga class four mornings straight.

Saw this cutie first thing almost every morning at the start of my walk. They're so tame they don't even move off the path sometimes :/

My favorite section of the trails near our house. This part follows a creek down to the ocean and is always shady and peaceful, with some fair sized trees

- Got all my hay for the winter stacked and stored.
- Organized my tack and gear at the barn.
- Cleaned my tack and saddle pads.

B wearing all freshly cleaned gear

- Ordered a wider gullet for the new saddle (and some sale shirts...I'm not to be trusted!)
- Both ponies trimmed and groomed to a shine.

Bridget is an almost coppery color right now, so shiny!

- Rode 4 days in a row.
- Paddocks are all picked and cleaned.
- A nice dinner out with G
- A nice dinner out with friends
- Built the cat an awesome fort

Actually just the box the saddle came in, plus some assorted paper to shred. 

- Floated on the lake (without the cat ;)
- Read two books. Sheila Wilcox biography, and Girl With The Dancing Horse (Charlotte Dujardin). Both were OK, not great.

Friday night, I started organizing my things for Monday, and I was like "WAIT...technically the weekend has only just started!!" Pinch me, this schedule is wonderful!

My rides this past week were pretty low key. It was quite warm out, and B has had too much time off of late, so we mostly walked around the neighbourhood, with a bit of trot and canter mixed in. I couldn't resist cantering around the farmer's market grounds adjacent to the barn. That's possibly a no-no these days, but it's still technically part of the regional agricultural park, so I don't know. Prior to life as the farmer's market, it was part of the equestrian club grounds and even had a little cross country course. There are a few small logs left around the perimeter that proved too tempting for us to resist. Midge was having fun, but we kept it to just a few, I don't want to overdo it as we both are regaining fitness and her jump saddle fit is dubious.

Toodling around the neighbourhood yesterday

Got This

I was a little nervous for this week's lesson. My coach tolerates all sorts of things from me, but I know people who don't put in the time and do the homework aren't her favorite people to teach. And, guess who didn't do any homework? Me. I failed spectacularly. Not only did I not follow up on my lesson 2 weeks ago...I hadn't even ridden since then. Such shame!

Even my cat is judging me for the amount of sleeping I'm doing.

I had "reasons" to not be in the saddle...I was away on vacation, away working, away at the horse trials. Bridget had a cough. And then I was just plain old tired.

Alternate place to sleep, free of judgmental kitties.

So, yeah. I nearly cancelled. Feeling like I hadn't ridden in forever, the first Monday back to work after a holiday, plus the early morning ferry ride and 2.5hr commute made me a little sad. Then I remembered my promise to myself to never back out of things or make excuses because I'm not ready or the timing isn't right. If the opportunity is present, I'm supposed to be grabbing it.

And, you guessed it, I had the best lesson ever. The transitions were sharp, and the energy was good. I kept myself accountable for my body, Audrey kept herself honest about hers. I didn't back off from pushing her a bit, and OMG we even got a few steps of passage (she's very much still learning it too, so it felt pretty special to me that she offered it up for me and my not so perfect asking)

I'm still woefully out of shape, so I didn't play as much as I would have liked - it's hard work riding big moving, sensitive ponies! There were lots of moments that just felt amazing in the saddle, though. Like I might be addicted to the feel of going from collected to medium gaits and back...totally understand now Robert Dover saying that you should always feel like no matter what you're doing, that you could instantly access any other thing. It made sense, obviously, in my mind, when I heard that, but the energy required for the horse to be that on the aids and reactive is a different feel than I would have imagined. Bridget and I can play with extending and collecting, but it's very much a balancing act and it evolves over a few strides while I generate the appropriate bounce/energy. Riding A, you get the energy established at the beginning of the ride, and then she's pretty honest about keeping it at the ready for you. You literally just sit up a teeny bit and keep your leg there and you're bouncing on a trampoline :) Loosen your hips a little and you're bouncing across the arena in huge leaps. SO MUCH FUN!

Fingers crossed this little cutie is half as much fun to ride as Audrey when she grows up.

Thinking on it, I believe I had a great ride because although I dropped the ball on actually riding, I've been doing yoga every morning and walking most days too. I know that's not the same as riding, but the yoga? Totally life altering for me and really helping me sort out all the tightness in my lower back. I'm making progress towards getting better mobility in my shoulders too. I'll never be a super bendy, flexible person, but I'm enjoying how each morning is a bit of a check in for where my body is at, and I'm starting to become a lot more conscious of all the little movements and changes of posture that affect me positively or negatively. So, for example, in the saddle, when EC is like "looser with your lower back", I'm better able to do that because I'm more aware, but also because the range of motion is improved. I think Audrey appreciates that.

Actual image of me doing yoga. Never said I was good at it, but I do like it :)

Apologies for my continuing bad media...I have new pictures on my tablet, but of course here I am at lunch on my work computer with no media. In the spirit of actually posting updates, I feel like I'd best just get this out there now :)