Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Once again horses save the day

I had a good long weekend. I was around horses all weekend and that always makes me feel better. Friday I spent most of the afternoon at the barn. I got Aragon all ready and spent extra time grooming him and went to get on him and once we started trotting he felt off. Sure enough he was off behind. There was no swelling or heat or anything. He likes to lay down a lot so I figured he bumped himself or laid on it wrong. So I untacked him and brought him back to his stall, bummer.

Saturday I helped my roomate with her police training. They had active shooter training at a local elementary school and I got to be a bad guy with simunition guns and everything. Their kinda like paintball guns and when you get hit, it hurts. I only got hit a couple of times throughout the day, it was actually a lot of fun. After the training we were going to go get some lunch, my roomate was on duty. She got a call about a loose horse on the outskirts of town. So I grabbed a couple of lead ropes from my car and a bag of treats and away we went. We were on the dirt road and some people flagged us down and said that the horse was a little ways up the road. They said that they had ran after it and it ran away from them. (gotta love non-horse people) We asked if it had a halter or anything on and they said it "has a harness type thingy on it's head." Sure enough about 100 yeards up the road there is this pinto pony about 14.2 eating on the side of the road. I got out of the cruiser and shook the horse treats and he came walking right up to me. His harness thingy happened to be a halter so I snapped the lead onto it and started walking him down the road. He was pretty well mannered except he kept getting his lips too close to me and I whacked him away. For some reason I decided to check. What I thought was a gelding was a little stud pony. Great, a stud pony in the willy wacks of Maine, do the owners even know he isn't gelded I wondered. He did have what looked like saddle marks on his back which I took as a good sign that atleas he is being worked. He was actually a cute pony. One blue eye, nice short back, kinds pudgy and out of shape and pretty nice legs, his feet needed to be trimmed bad but that was about his only flaw, oh and the fact that he had balls hahaha.

So we got him back to his pen. I tied him to his shelter since he had ripped the fence down and gave him some hay and moved the water over to him. Hopefully his family would be home soon. So after we ate lunch I went home and got the dogs and changed and went to the barn and rode Possum. We actually did not have a good ride at all. He was bulging terribly on the landings of the jumps towards the outside rail. It was so bad that I grabbed a crop and just as he was cresting the jump I gave him a wack on the outside shoulder to remind him to stay straight. It started to work slowly. It was one of those rides that you think to yourself, what am I getting into at the next show. But I have to keep the faith. Everyone has an off day and he really isn't used to jumping outside on uneven ground.

Sunday there was a show and I went to cheer on my barn mates. There was only 3 showing and it was nice to sit in the sun in my lounge chair and chat and watch horses go around courses. Many people think that hunter shows are boring, but I could watch them all day. I learn so much by watching others, I have to since I don't take lessons so I absorb it all in. Everyone from the barn did really well as usual and I made it home in time to change and grab the dogs and leave before we had visiting hrs. (remember I live in a funeral home so when they have stuff like that I leave with the dogs so as no to bother anyone) We went to the barn and helped unload and then my roomie and I went out to eat.

Monday, yesterday was a great barn day. It was gorgeous out (it was all weekend) and I got to the barn first thing in the morning since we had a funeral at the house and got Possum all ready and shiny and pretty and rode him for over an hour. He was much better this time out and I gave a little sigh of relief. Our first show of the season is next Sunday so we really need to be sharp and ready. After Possum, I got Aragon out and cleaned him up as well and decided to see if he was better. He was. Still seemed like he was a tiny bit heisitant so we kept it to big open areas and straight lines. We did lots of walking and trotting and only a few canters. He actually did really well and picked up the correct lead every time but once and then quickly corrected it. After working in the outdoor I decided to work on his patience on the trail with halting. If it's one thing that Aragon hates, it's stopping on the trail especially on the way home and he is no dummy, he knows what's going on. But I just stayed calm and sat deep on him like a sack of potatoes. He is very responsive to leg and seat and you barely have to use your reins. HE finally figured out how to stand in one place but still do something. He started to paw incessently. It was actually quite funny and I figured as long as his feet weren't moving over any ground I would let the pawing go for now. Being a hrose was was 8 years on the track he does a really nice job. Because of the riding and stuff his coat and starting to gleam and shine. I love a rich bay, my favorite color. SO after riding the two guys I helped out with stalls to burn some calories and then raked the landing and take-offs of the jump outside since it was starting to get tracked up. Before I knew it I had been there all day and it was great. I'm also really watching what I eat and eating the bare minimum. I did have a breakfast sandwich yesterday and an orange and for dinner at around 5 I had a roast beef sandwich with veggies on wheat, that's it for the day. Today I had a small bagel with a little cream cheese and a handful of cheez-its. Because I hate to waste I'm eating the left over Chinese that I got with my roomie Sunday night and that will be it for the day. I'm trying to move more and eat less. If I can't be happy with my love life, or non-existant love life I'd like to look and feel good physically.

As for the guy side, still pretty much nothing. I did bring the dogs over to "G's" house last night so we could see them. I went for a walk while they hung out and we talked minimally. It was really hard and I realize that I am totally not over us and the things that went down and my feelings for him. I'm having a hard time with him having a gf . So I'm just trying to do my own thing and stay busy with my hobbies and animals. It's supposed to rain for the first half of the week so riding will probably only be in the indoor which sucks. I probably won't go to the barn tonight and give Possum a day off so I'll do some sit ups and push ups in the house to work out a little.

Yesterday was Greg's birthday. I called him to say hi and he was busy with the funeral and stuff and he promised that he would call me later, I told him not to worry about it but he insisted. SO about 9:30P I called him to say hi. I don't think he even remembered he said he would call me back. It was a brief and tense conversation that ended with him saying that he is just doing his own thing for now. I thought he was doing his own thing the whole time, but maybe I'm wrong. Ughhh, this sucks. I called my cousnelor and made an appt to see her next week to help me get my head on straight. Feelings suck! I wish I could just think with my brain 100% of the time, but it doesn't work that way. Well that's it for today. I'm working in the office most of the week since it's April vacation for the school kids this week.

2 comments:

Leah Fry said...

I don't know if this helps or not, but for some reason it helped me a long time ago: Feelings are all okay. Just feel them. But just because you have them doesn't mean you have to act on them. I don't know, mayve that's lame, but it helped me.

Anonymous said...

Pony therapy. Good girl! It works, trust me.