I'm on vacation!

A huge sigh of relief. As of Friday at 2 p.m., I was officially on vacation. I left work, did one final errand to ensure that the last of my work was done for the next two weeks, and promptly felt my shoulders relaxed a little bit more as each minute passed. 


My boyfriend and I went to my office holiday party that night, had fun, but had to leave early since he had to work at 7 a.m. on Saturday. Boo. I volunteered to drive him, in exchange for him attending to party. Double boo. 



I had a productive day, though. Lots of errands run, lots of painting done to finish up Christmas presents. These photos are not what I was working on, but just a sample of some of the things I did for gifts. I'll take a picture of the horse and the frog I did for my grandmother and mom, respectively.

   

And, I rode the Promise monster. 


It was about 50 degrees and windy. Bear in mind that 50 degrees in Florida feels pretty frigid, because we're accustomed to 85-90. That's a huge difference! She was fine on the lunge line, a little frisky, but I wouldn't let her canter, so she couldn't really play. Still being cautious about that right hind. She was stiff in the hocks due to the weather change, but worked out of it pretty nicely. 


We had to walk back to the barn to get my helmet and gloves...I hadn't been sure I was actually going to get on with how busy the arena was and how stiff she looked coming out of the stall. We walked back to the arena and I stuffed her full of candy canes before mounting. 


It's been 2 months of no riding, compiled with stall rest for most of it and a pretty drastic change in weather. My wonderful, grown-up pony didn't bat an eye. She looked back at me as if asking, "You ready, mom?" And then walked off nicely when I asked her to. 


We walked for about 25 minutes. Lots of changing direction, lots of bending and giving. Her mouth was incredibly soft after having her teeth done earlier this month. Once the arena cleared out a bit, I decided to do a little bit of trot. We went about 3 laps in each direction before walking some more. All in all, she felt great, forward, energetic, soft and sound.


I gave her Sunday off, and rode again on Monday -- it was even colder at 40 degrees. Brrr! (Shush you northerners!) The barn owner told me I was brave for being out there riding in that cold, lol. I replied that I had almost wimped out, but realized that I used to ride in 25 degrees and snow outside, because I couldn't trust my mare in an indoor arena full of people and horses...so, I really couldn't wimp out just because I wasn't sure I'd worn enough layers. :)


She was great on Monday, also. I lunged her a little bit longer because I really wanted to get her using her hind end and working into the bit. Although she's put all of the weight back on from when she was laid up, she still has no top line and the muscle has been slow to come back along her spine and hips. I warmed her up at walk and trot in each direction and then attached her bit to some loose side reins to give her mouth some contact while I drove her from behind. She wasn't happy at first, lol, but after a few times around, remembered that if she relaxes into them, they're not so bad. Not to mention they are not even leather side reins, they are nylon with elastic at the end that connects to the bit. It's not as if she couldn't evade them if she really wanted to. But, she's good about just accepting the contact and giving to them once she gets over being annoyed at them. 


She was a bit tense through the back when I got on, but no doubt was a bit sore from Saturday even though we mostly walked. She walked out of it within a few steps and then was just perfect. She wasn't 100% engaging behind, but she was trying, and considering the lack of muscle still, I can't complain for trying. Her mouth stayed soft and I even got some decent steps of lateral movement now and then. 


Again, we mostly walked...did 3 or 4 laps of trot and then one 20 meter circle of canter in each direction. My main focus other than her using her hind end was me holding my hands steady and asking her to move into them and come into a frame, rather than accepting an artificial head set. I did a lot of our walking with no stirrups to get my legs to lengthen, relax and steady my seat. It was a good day of work for both of us. In fact, I'm still sore!


I won't ride again until after Christmas. Too much going on. :)