Clinic Recap: It's All About that Bend

*****
 Disclaimer: This recap is based on my memory and understanding of what Cindy Ishoy taught. It is very likely that I got some things wrong so any disagreements/judgements should be on me not Cindy.
******

The clinic was starting the next day until 2:30 and I was the first rider. There were also people to feed in the morning which meant that I could sleep in and have a leisurely morning. It felt so weird but lovely to sit and have coffee with Paula and relax. I got to the barn at 10:00. Carmen was not happy because the horses had gone outside and left her all alone! 

I could have found a spot to turn her out but history indicates that she doesn't really settle so I cleaned her stall, took her into the ring to lunge and look around  and then sat down to keep her company.

Keeping Princess Carmen Charlante company #don'tleaveme

A post shared by Teresa Alexander-Arab (@teresaalexanderarab) on Mar 29, 2018 at 7:04am PDT

Don't let her expression fool you- she was actually quite relaxed with me and was happy to drop hay bits on my mead.

I braided her mane and gave her a really good groom. Braiding was not 'required' but I find that it is very calming for both of us so I like to do it. I went into the ring about 30 minutes early to walk around and get us to both relax. My friend Cindy came to watch (not to be confused with Cindy Ishoy the clinician or Cynthia who rides Irish). She took the photos and videos of the lesson. Shanea came as well to watch.

When Cindy came in she asked me a few questions- I explained that we were out of shape and just getting back into work. She asked a few more questions and then had us go out and walk around.

Carmen and I were both a bit tense. Honestly, my thoughts were in a bit of whirl:
okay, sit up and follow the movement, put your leg on, Carmen we do not spook at the door or the sign or hay or the door, how do you ride anyway? Why on earth did I think that this was a good idea? Don't even look to see how many people are here watching. 

Right away Cindy was after me to get her more bent- particularly to the right. I really thought that we had a good bend but it wasn't enough and when I look at the videos-I have to agree: what felt like a good bend was really not a bend at all.

Because it is very important to me to be honest I'm going to share some videos from this ride. Please don't be too harsh- honestly I am very harsh on myself anyway. I am disappointed in the degree of tension I see in my shoulders and arms- Carmen was very tolerant of me in that regard. I was honestly riding as best as I could. 

Early in the ride doing our trot work: 

At 3:44 you can see Carmen looking askance at a round bale at the far end. Cindy was so sweet asking people to not jump around and getting after some dogs. I said that it was okay because this was part of the reason why we were there. 

I was sure that I had completely forgotten how to ride. Cindy asked me to do a 3 loop serpentine and I  could not figure it out at all in the small ring. I apologized a lot.  At one point we had this conversation: 

Cindy: Teresa, you are trying too hard. 

Me: Yes, that is my thing. 

Cindy: okay. I really appreciate how hard you are trying to do everything I want but you don't need to think so much. Let me do the thinking and you just do what I say and it will be fine. 

That was just what I needed to hear. I could take a deep breath and let Cindy do the 'riding' for me. 

At this point I should say that I really liked Cindy's teaching style: she is clear and direct and positive. I didn't have to struggle to figure out what she wanted and I didn't need to listen to long explanations. She is also okay if there are mistakes. The says that horses at Grand Prix level have made a ton of mistakes. Don't get upset- just fix it. 

Here you can see me trying to more bend. Honestly it was a real struggle and Carmen was not too keen on the idea. I was also opening my rein far too much- an old habit that has returned. 

You can see how she likes to keep an eye out for things and spooks at a person walking up the stairs. But this was so useful because the work just kept going - there was no 'break' for spooking, just breaks when the work was going well.  

However, as we got more bend I could feel her softening and relaxing into the work. It was definitely easier to keep her on the aids and she was more rideable. Of course she also was not too thrilled with this as it is also harder. 

Cindy was really helping us with our issue of haunches in going to the right. I was trying so hard with my inside leg that I thought that it was going to fall off. 

Here is some later work where we are doing canter and some lengthens: 

We are looking more relaxed. There is a spook in that corner but we were able to ride through it with no big drama. You can see that she is a lot more relaxed over all.

I have to say that working on leg yields with a mirror is awesome. I can see how I overbend the neck.

While Cindy was not negative in her teaching style she only praised when it was warranted. So getting 'good job' or 'good riding' was something to be treasured and had real meaning. 

When we were done Carmen and I were both sweaty. The weather had warmed up but she still had her winter coat. I walked her out and then hopped off to walk her some more. I took her out of the ring and put on a cooler and took her outside to dry off. We went for a little 'hack' in hand to check some things out. 

I was really happy with session we had and I realized that this was just the bootcamp we needed. Not sure if Carmen agreed. I groomed her to get her to dry some more and then ended up grooming her more later. I was happy to see that, while she might have been tired, she didn't seem to be sore anywhere. 

Cindy didn't finish teaching until 7. I watched some really great lessons and then we all ate together. Cindy was staying at Paula's and we didn't get home until after 10. I was so tired that I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. Pretty sure that Carmen did the same. 

Clinic Recap: Dealing With Things

I had planned for a leisurely morning and leaving around lunch time. However, I found out that if I wanted to ride in the ring I needed to be there sooner because of lessons beginning around 3:30. So that made me rush a bit to get ready.

I know that rushing and trailer loading are incompatible so I made sure that I was all calm when I went to load her.

While Carmen might have her issues- trailering is not one of them and she walked right on. I know she's worried about it because she won't take a treat when she loads but she's obedient and listening so I figure that the relaxation will come.

The drive took less time then I thought which was great. When I got there she unloaded and walked right into the barn like she knew the place. Thinking back to when entering a new place took a bit of work I was really happy.

Carmen walked into her stall with a regal air, found some hay in the stall that she deemed acceptable and decided that it would do.

she and her neighbour were quite enamoured with one another. 

There wasn't a lot of time so after letting her settle for a bit and find a spot for my things and then brought her into the indoor to look around and lunge. There's a lot to look at in the indoor- multiple doors in and out, round bales of hay, a viewing area at ground level and then above where the tack room is also located. Two of the walls are all mirrored and there was jump poles, standards and blocks to make cavalettis in a pile. 

So in other words there were multiple things for a sensitive mare to react to. 

Our ground work went really well and she was quite tuned in so I took her back to the grooming stall and got her tack on. When I was mounted and walking her around there were also people getting everything tidied up for the clinic. They were so kind,  asking if it was 'okay' if they kept working. 

I said of course. I wanted them to keep working that was part of why we were there. I didn't want anyone walking on eggshells around us. I was there to scramble some eggs. I am determined to not be the person that asks everyone to be quiet so that my mare doesn't spook. 

So I worked with Carmen at walk, trot and canter and we went all over the ring. I was trying to get a feel of where she was reactive and to be calm and ride her through it. 

It was, in truth a tense ride but not a bad ride. We dealt with everything with a minimal amount of fuss. I would have liked to ride longer and I actually could have but I felt that I was interfering in a a lesson and decided to call it. 

I was happy with how things had gone for Carmen's first time off property this year and what was likely my 6th ride. I drove to my friend's house where I was spending the night and had a relaxing evening chatting with her and catching up on the news.

 I went to bed excited and nervous for the next day. 

Mud Wrestling

In retrospect that might not be the best blog title. I wonder if it will increase my 'hits'?

Oh well, sometimes you have to go with the most apt title and let the chips fall where they may.

I can't believe that you would imply that I would ever
engagein such a thing....

Back in early February my friend Paula asked me if I was interested in participating in a Cindy Ishoy Clinic the end of March. Cindy was a member of Canadian Dressage team that won a bronze in 1988 and she came fourth individually. She comes to Nova Scotia regularly to provide clinics.  I have watched these clinics in the past and even done an article on Cindy and Sue (the stable owner) for a local magazine.

Sure, why not?  I thought. I figured that by then we would have started back to schooling and the timing would be good to get us going.

And then the weather worsened. And despite my best hopes there was a day here and there but not enough to get in our groove.

I had hopes for last weekend and this week but honestly the ring has not been great. I did get a ride in on Saturday (it was great). Yesterday the ring was okay but not great so all I could do was walk. Carmen was happy with that and it was a good session for what we could do.

In the past I would have been freaking out about this. But I really wasn't. I figured the goals of the clinic would be to get us going again and see what I need to work on.

Today was sunnier but the wind was cold. So the ring never really thawed until this afternoon. My farrier came out around lunch time. Which was great but it takes about 2 hours to do the two of them.

When I checked the ring was 3/4 clear but there were a lot of puddles. The footing under the puddles was fine so I figured we would be okay.

picture this with multiple puddles, like 40 or so....

I started on the lunge and she was pretty good. When I got on she was initially good but then decided that the wind blowing the trees was just too much. I sat out a medium spook and got her back under me. I kept on expecting her to work and to keep her brain in the ring rather then outside.

After a couple mini melt downs she gave a huge leap/bolt. I sat it out, put my feet back in the stirrups and brought her around in a circle and got her stopped. She continued to have a fit so I decided to dismount and hooked her back on the lunge.

Honestly I think that my light riding has set her up to expect that she doesn't have to work, not really. I then began to work her butt up and down the room. She clearly needed to work out her issues and I found it much easier from the ground (although part of me was pissed at myself for getting off. I was also pissed at myself for not asking for more from the ground so I could have seen this coming. Also pissed for not being psychic and knowing always what I should do).

Once I had set up my expectations from the ground I got back on.  I am not getting off if you just 'behave'. We need to work.

And by 'work' I was just looking for a bend, forward and basically not losing her mind over possible demons in the trees. I made sure that I was really paying attention to her tension and when it happened I would immediately start a 10 metre circle.

On the plus side, puddles are not an issue for Carmen. She will walk, trot and canter through them with no issues.

When I had a lovely trot to halt transition across the diagonal I hopped off. Both of us were spattered in mud.

I sighed. Why did I have to buy a grey horse?  We are going to look like pigpen in the clinic. My girth was brown with mud- you couldn't seen any black at all.

Her tail is a mess and it's too cold to wash it. I did dip the end in a bucket of warm water. Which turned the water brown but the tail looks the same. I did manage to get the worse of it brushed off.

So two (slightly dirty) marshmallows are heading to a clinic with no real work behind us. What could possibly go wrong?

Oh well. We're going to the clinic and we're going to have fun. I'm sure that Cindy is quite used to dramatic, reactive mares. I hope to get some insights on how to get her loose over the back and tuned in as well as some ideas on conditioning.

 I have enough self-confidence that I won't let Carmen be overworked or made sore.

Me, I'm fair game.

Wish us luck.

Two marshmallows about to be toasted

Where does the Time Go?

March 24th marked the third anniversary of when Carmen became a Canadian.

The first time she and Irish met

There have been so many ups, downs and in-betweens.

so much has changed since then (Spring 2015)

The weather was cooperative and the footing in the ring was really good- there was a layer of snow on top to make it extra fluffy. I started with lunging her and she found something quite spooky at the end down by the woods. it was interesting- she started with a spook and bolt. Despite trying really hard to listen it was just too much. But once I walked down that way she was quite happy to follow me. 

Closest I can get to a comparison (March 2018).
Clearly I suck at getting comparison photos

Once things were settled I hopped on. It was a ride of ups and downs- she was clearly spooked by the far end. I really couldn't see what it was but I think it was the snow on the trees blowing off. I didn't mind so much- we just worked at being calm and forward. There were some really good moments and some big spooks. I had to appreciate the irony of her having happy/floppy ears through troll corner and tense/tight through a different area. 

from my first ride on her at home

from this fall

I was working on our stretch walk across the diagonal. It was pretty good towards troll corner but not so good going towards P. I was determined to give the rein though and I did. She did one big spook spin going back to the safe zone. I simply gathered up the reins, brought her around the corner again and asked her to stretch again. It was never a good stretch but I never gave up on it either so yay me.

It was interesting, I was reading a post by a person I know only through FB and she was talking about how her horse makes her be authentic and face her own inner demons. It really resonated with me and inspired me to write this in response: 

"This is beautiful. Carmen made me face myself and my grief so that I could be whole. I think that was why we chose each other. I don’t know if I would have recognized her brokenness if I hadn’t been broken myself. We needed each other on a level that I have never felt with another horse. I know it sounds all mystical but it’s really not and there was a lot of blood, sweat and tears in our journey together. It was hard. But I am a stronger, more self aware person then I was three years ago and she’s a big reason. I thought I’d share so you know you’re not alone"

It has been a big journey- I have grown in confidence and self-awareness in riding Carmen. The difference in the two of us is not so much in the riding but in the every day interactions. We are comfortable with each other and she no longer seems worried about my reactions. I find that I expect her to act sensibly and she does. When she's worried she looks to me to see if it's okay (need to get that when she can't 'see' me in the saddle too). 

Often I'm in the barn and look up to see this

She's part of the family. 

Weather Beaten

Yesterday we were hit with yet another Nor'Easter. The original forecast had it starting Weds night and being over by Thursday morning. We were supposed to get mostly rain.

It seems that Mother Nature does not like to be predictable because it started late Thursday morning and we were hammered with snow. Normally I would leave work early to avoid the worst but it was my last day before my 'use it or lose it' vacation and I had a ton of work to do. I ended up working a bit later then planned.

not fun. Winter can piss right off

Fortunately Ed was home and brought the horses in when it got bad. Not that they needed persuasion- they had been hunkered in their stalls anyway.

Upon heading entering the barn I was greeted with grumpy horses and stalls that looked like I hadn't picked them out in a week (honestly I had done them in the morning).

Irish: Thank heavens you're home. This is an OUTRAGE. I've been in my stall all afternoon. I am a TB, I need my FREEDOM. 

Me: Actually you are half QH. Plus all he did was shut the door- you were already hiding in your stall. 

Carmen: And I'm starving. I can see the hay but there's NONE in my stall. Call the SPCA. 

d'Arcy: you need to let the horses out so I can help you bring them in. 

Me: I'm pretty sure that you had hay. You ate it all. 

Irish: Don't you dare deny me my heritage. I identify as all TB thank you very much. Plus you are missing the point- the male servant took my choice away. It's fine if I decide to stay in. It's totally not cool for him to make the decision for me. 

Carmen:  Not one stalk of hay was given to me. You can see for yourself. 

d'Arcy:  that's my job after all. 

Irish: Carmen! Stay on topic- it's about us being prisoners, not you turning yourself into a hippo. 

Carmen:  HOW DARE YOU! I am Rubenesque not some scrawny thing. 

Me: Okay okay you two. Knock it off. Carmen, I will get you more hay. Irish you are in until morning. 

I brought Carmen out into the aisle and parked a wheelbarrow of hay in front of her while I cleaned her stall. 

d'Arcy:  yes, put her out. You can't bring them in without me. It's a rule. 

Carmen: this is more like it. *nom nom nom* You should put this in my stall not that horrible hay net contraption. 

Irish: Morning? Morning? Good lord woman have you lost your mind? I want to go OUTSIDE. This is UNACCEPTABLE. 

Me: Not gonna happen sunshine. It's still snowing and blowing out there. 

my woods after the storm

Carmen: Oh Irish *nom* lighten up.*nom* It's all fine now*nom*. Have you started getting our dinner ready yet? 

Guinness:  Look I found this stick. Isn't it awesome? Doesn't it just make you want to throw it again and again and again? 

Irish:  No, she's lallygagging in the stall and playing with that dog. 

someone loves the snow anyway

Me: I'm going as fast as I can. There princess your stall is clean, I've put in fresh shavings, topped up your hay and freshened your water. 

Carmen: Wait, bring that hay buffet in here! I liked it. 

I bring Irish out and park him by the wheelbarrow. He immediately knocks hay out of it and onto the floor where he picks through it like a food critic who found a hair in his creme brûlée. 

d'Arcy:  ok, leave the grey one in but bring out the brown one. I'm ready to help you. 

Irish: don't you have anything better? I'm really not sure of the quality of hay this year. It's lacking the fresh green flavour that I love. 

Me: Well there's nothing I can do about that- the grass will come in on it's own schedule. 

Irish: Excuses. You're not trying that's what I think. I want to go back in my stall. 

Me: Not yet I'm not done yet. 

Irish:  It really is awful the way you keep taking away my freedom of choice. I'm going to lodge a formal complaint. 

Guinness: Stick stick stick. THROW THE STICK. Pleeeaaassse. 

Me: Who with? 

Irish: I haven't figured that out yet. But when I do you'll be in big trouble missy. 

at least I got to snowshoe today.

Me: There, all clean. Okay Irish you can go back in your stall. 

Irish: good thing- I was just going to get feisty. 

Me: heaven forbid. 

I got their dinner ready and they both seemed much happier.  I then headed into the house to make dinner for Ed. It was his birthday and our rule is that you don't need to cook on your birthday. I had picked up some samosas and pakoras on the way home (best time to go to the grocery store is during a storm) and made a red curry. 

This morning I strapped on my snowshoes to take Guinness for a walk (d'Arcy can't handle the snow anymore). 

Guinness showing off how much faster he is in the snow

The woods were like a cathedral. I am always so grateful
for this small patch of forest that I own. 

I figure that if it had to storm it was best on the day I had to work. Now I have 11 glorious days in front of me to enjoy.

SaveSave

SaveSave

Welcome Spring!

Today is the first day of spring and for once it wasn't bitter cold or rainy or snowy or blowing a gale. Instead it was calm and sunny. Guinness and I went for a walk in the morning and the light was so pretty. I could feel the earth beginning to wake up.

Guinness is becoming the perfect walkng companion

Unfortunately, I had to go to the city for the day butI managed to get home close to five and the sun was still shining.  Ed had a meeting that evening but he knew I wanted to ride so we decided to not have supper at the same time (we usually eat together). I wanted him home since Carmen and I were still early in getting back to work.

I brought her in and got her ready. She was a bit bemused as this is normally dinner time but she was happy enough to follow me up to the ring. I started her on the lunge but she was so calm and tuned in that we didn't spend a lot of time on it. I asked her to whoa and she stopped and regarded me with a calm and quiet gaze. I'm ready. Are you? 

I hopped on we started to walk out. She felt a bit tight so we spent a lot of time at the walk just stretching and relaxing.

Actually, the truth is that we were just toodling around - I was unwinding from my day and she was stretching out muscles that were just getting back to work. While I could feel her looking around and I knew that if I 'dropped' her she would likely spook there really was nothing to be stressed about.

no media for this ride, so enjoy this one from Friday. (PC Ashley)

I have been missing having a horse that I could hop on and just relax. So I fully appreciated how nice this was. Carmen would alert to something but I'm getting so much better about not reacting to it defensively that she's starting to trust me (mostly). Irish hung out in his paddock near by, the sun was shining and the birds were singing.  I could feel myself breathe in and relax. 

I asked her to trot and she was quite tight. I didn't get after her or pick a fight (I could feel her getting ready for one). The truth is is that a quick tap with the crop would have settled it but I didn't want to mess with the mood. I trusted that she was feeling tight and just calmly worked on getting her to stretch out and relax into it. This required me to be steady in the tack and to give my rein (but not drop it). Within a few minutes she was beginnign to loosen up and give me her back. 

we didn't do anything other then walk and trot for about 30 minutes. It was enough to wash away the tensions of the day for both us. I hopped off and fed her supper (Carmen: thank heavens, I was starving to death). 

We're scheduled to get some weather Weds/Thurs (some mix of rain/snow/sleet/wind) so I was really happy that I had ridden when I got home. 

One more cute photo from Friday: Julia had hung her vest on the rail and Carmen was reacting to it. I brought her to a walk and she marched right up and put her nose on it. I love that she's trusting me enough to do this sort of thing with minimal fuss.

I shall slobber on this

Something is Better Than Nothing

We finally got our power turned on Thursday morning. It is always such a relief when it comes back even though we were doing fine.

Thursday was a sunny day- sort of. It was one of those March days that goes from sunny to flurries to windy every 20 minutes. I had hopes to ride but when I got home the wind was fierce again. Carmen was positively vibrating in the cross ties and really struggling to listen to me. So I decided that a groundwork session would be time better spent.

I'm really glad that I made that decision. Carmen clearly wanted to listen but was wound tight. She had a few bolts on the lunge. I don't think that she was afraid though- more just full of piss and vinegar. I let her canter a bit and then asked her to slow down. She totally ignored me and was starting to get too wound up.  I summoned my best 'Royce voice' and said 'WHOA'. She came to a screeching halt and faced me looking quite relieved. We had some really nice moments of her tuning into me and other moments of her coming back when I insisted. Overall I was happy with our session. I am finding that I get the same level of satisfaction in our progress in the ground work as I do with the under saddle. I so wish I had learned about this years ago.

Carmen practicing her whoa- note how her mane is blowing
(also not that I managed to keep her from getting too chunky over the winter)

 Friday however fell firmly into the category of 'okay' weather. Julia arranged to come out to ride Irish and Ashley decided to come and take photos and hang out. I had been hoping for more sun but it wasn't simply breezy and not bitter cold so that was something. I just put on my layers and decided to get on with it.

I hopped on Carmen and we walked off. There was none of the shenanigans as our last ride. Not that there wasn't tension- there was but it wasn't like before.  I did my best to not shorten the reins but instead put on my legs and asked her to walk into the contact. There were patches of snow in the ring but the footing was good. The snow was a great training tool.

I'm really making progress in keeping my legs on when she gets tight and asking her to do something. I've learned that I'm much better off doing something rather then nothing. Even if that something is a mistake. Like the poster says:

When she gets tight and feels like she's going to spook I simply wrap my leg around her and ask her to do something -bend through the corner,  go straight, transition, leg yied. It doesn't matter what I ask. I will see what has her attention but I won't focus on- instead I say on the task at hand. And it's really working for us.

When she started to feel relaxed at the walk I asked her to trot. I could feel her whole body stiffen as she considered her options:
 A. canter off
B. buck
C. spook
D. throw haunches in
E. all of the above

Me: Easy girl, do not do any of the things you are thinking of. 
I kept my leg soft, I let the rein stay the same and I just rode her without fussing. She settled into work. Through the ride I could feel the tightness in her back and I just kept asking her to stretch out. I gave lots of praise (when warranted).

Funnily enough she didn't spook once. But she had moments of sass. Those I rather enjoy to be honest. I'm starting to appreciate her for who she is- sassy, opinionated, perfectionistic and easily thrown off her balance (she kind of sounds familiar but who could that be???).

sassy Carmen- but hey look I'M NOT PULLING ON THE REIN!
(ignore the leg that is too curled up)

We picked up a canter and it was lovely and forward. Well, until I asked her to go up through troll corner. Which also had a pile of snow there. That caused her to really sit back and I had to sit up and ride her through.

I love this photo: Julia and Irish are clearly having a ball. Meanwhile, in the background, Carmen is clearly reviewing her life choices that brought her to live with this crazy Canadian.

hey look- I'm not leaning forward. Irish is ignoring our shenanigans and
focussing on being saintly (yes he lost a bell boot in the ride)

After our canter we walked for a bit and then I asked for a trot. And BAM there it was- a forward, flowing trot. It was beautiful to ride and one that I have felt only a few times riding her. I tried to ride it and not interfere. A few times I could feel her lose control of the power from her hind end - she would get faster and fall on her forehand. I would ask her to half-halt and she would come back. 

It was a great way to end the ride. 

Today was the return of bitter cold winds so no riding for us. 

But that's okay because I got some riding in. And that's better than nothing.

Powerless

Basically my life right now. 

Yesterday a Nor'Easter blew through our province. It hit hard and fast. I was at work and saw that it was starting. I figured I had time to finish some things up but in 30 minutes the world outside my window was white. I hurried out and had one of the worst drives home through a raging blizzard. 

The wind was insane- we could hear it howling outside like a banshee. 

Opening the barn doors was a challenge. Sometime in the night we lost power and it's still not on as I type this. Thank heavens for generators. Also at some point in the night the snow turned to rain so there was not as much snow down as when I went to bed. 

Ed and I headed out to survey the damage. In general we got off fairly easy. There was no major damage but still some work to do: 

The doors literally blew off the shed. Which is a pretty neat feat when you think of it.

 Some flashing from the barn was blowing around. I held the ladder while Ed climbed up and tore off the dangling piece. I had images of it blowing free and chasing my horses around the field. Yes, my imagination has some bizarre turns.

There was more damage in the woods. There were some trees down blocking my trails so that will be more work.

Not even sure how? 

I would be tempted to leave this to pop over but I don't think that Irish could do it so it will be removed. 

 This one I managed to drag away myself.

Farm chores make you strong.

More carnage along the edge.

March is doing me in. But what can I do? I can't change the weather. And I'm trying to not let it get to me. Miraculously enough my ring seems okay. Once this wind stops I might actually get to ride.

And as though there were not enough trees down here's video of Ripley (my son's dog who's with us right now) trying to chew down a tree:

We figure that she's part hound and part lab but could she also be part beaver?

Dogs are weird. 

Cranky

No not Carmen.

How could you think such a thing?

It's me.

Winter has decided to have one last hurrah and it's putting a serious crimp in my plans. The lesson I had booked today had to be cancelled.

Stupid weather keeping me from this

I've tried to get to Karen's but weather and other commitments have gotten in the way. 

Bleh. 

Today I thought I might be able to squeeze a ride in between the snow but it started to rain around 8 and then turned to snow. 

So I made cookies. 

Ginger cookies for the humans

Because nothing says 'I give up and I'm just going to get fat -so screw you winter' like baking cookies. 

And since I don't want to get fat all by myself I decided to try baking cookies for the ponies. 

I know that it just looks like hamburger but it's  basically oats,
carrots and molasses. 

Based on taste testing I would say that they were a hit. 

Of course, I also discovered that the fridge in my tack room is kaput. 

Sigh. 

I didn't just make cookies and get fat- I also took the dogs for a walk in the woods. Guinness' come is really coming. 

Spring is coming, I know. 

Just hurry up please. 

Heart's Ease

I know I should not be complaining about the weather- it's certainly been mild. But I still have not been able to get back into a regular riding schedule and it's driving me a bit nutty.

Last week there were some beautiful days but I was 500 kms away for work. When I returned home the weather had turned cold and rainy.  This weekend had mild temperatures but oh my god, the wind was terrible.

Call me a wimp but I could barely face being out in it for a little bit of time.

Riding was out of the question.

On the plus side the wind is drying out the mud.

Irish is starting early with his 'let me into the grass field now' stare. 

Fortunately I had a distraction- a few of us from work were in a Curling Bonspiel. It was a fundraiser for the hospital. It was a lot of fun and a great team building exercise. I do enjoy curling. We had 6 of us sign up- only four can play at a time so we cycled in and out. We didn't win any games (there were a lot of very experienced teams and three of members were new to curling) but I think that we had the most fun.
P

So I  had a good weekend and I should feel happy. And I wasn't unhappy.

And yet, I found myself cranky this afternoon. I took the dogs for a couple walks and I cooked a roast beef supper complete with roast potatoes and yorkshire pudding.

And I was still out of sorts. So after supper I left the dogs in the house (much to their dismay) and went out to the barn.

I started with Irish. I groomed him from nose to tail while he stood there enjoying the scratches. Carmen watched closely and gave a nicker. I figured it was at Irish but when I moved away from him she nickered right at me.   I brought her out to groom and she soaked it all up. She showed me a couple itchy spots and while I detangled her tail she just relaxed.

I then cleaned both the stalls and told Ed to let the dogs out. I played fetch with the two young hooligans before coming inside.

And I felt completely better and content.

Anyone else out there feel out of sorts if they don't get their 'pony time'? And it's not just about seeing them -I see them every day because I feed them and clean their stalls. When I boarded I used to believe  that my horse would be more attached to the barn owner but now I realize that there's a difference between care and caring.

Now I just need this weather to improve so I can ride. In a fit of blinding optimism I have a lesson tentatively arranged with Shanea.