Highs And Lows

 Oh my goodness, you wouldn’t believe how rotten Ms Sophie was this past week. Actually, if you read this blog with any regularity, maybe you would.

My horsey week ranged from texts from the barn that Sophie was playing so hard in the field that she was wiping out repeatedly, to having her wipe out under my supervision in the round pen. We were back to the non stop attempts to nip and paw, and of course standing tied is TORTURE again. 

Has feelings. Knows better than to fully express them so stands like this with her leg in the air...just so you know she wants to paw. 

The first few days of super energetic and naughty Sophie I chalked up to just paying my dues for giving her time off. Eventually though, I started to wonder if Adult Sophie is just going to kind of be...a lot. With a side of Capital D Drama.

But I’ve been super good about getting out consistently again. One of the great things about having horsey friends and a huge arena is that we can easily plan riding meet ups while still being responsible and following all the COVID guidelines. The second great thing is that I feel like I've got a super good group of riding friends right now and they are keeping me motivated!  My work schedule is just perfect now too and I’ve been quite lucky with the weather, only getting totally rained out on one ride recently. 

Mid week, I totally chickened out and asked friend R to hop on. Which proves what a nice person she is and what a crappy friend I am, because Sophie could have definitely done with more longeing (and a new attitude) first.

I finally got quite frustrated with S on Friday (as did Bridget, lol, I let her out to 'play' but by afternoon she was begging me to be put back into her own field away from the Sophie pest), so Bridget and I went out for a quiet hack instead. 

"Who me? She tells lies, I am the nicest pony."

Saturday started out the same as the previous week, but at one point Sophie’s eyes got big...I was like “Don’t you DARE!”...and so she didn’t and was actually fairly civilized the remainder of the afternoon. Maybe I did finally get my point across? Or she understands english and knows I was shopping online for something that doesn't need to be in as much of a program. She's a pony, either option is equally likely.

Yesterday, she must have finally run out of steam because she decided being asked to move faster than a snail is highly offensive, so opted to make that her daily daily drama, kicking at R's leg and bucking.

Mares!

Ponies!

Is tired now.

I did break down and message the trainer last week to book a spot for Sophie, but since she's a very good trainer we're waitlisted until May. We'll see where we're at then. Surprisingly, I'm kind of on the fence about it. The part of me that gets tired of how much work she is, is looking forward to her not being my problem for a bit and hopefully coming back with some more buttons I can use to keep her busy and focused. The more pragmatic part of me knows it's just a rough patch, it's typical smart young horse stuff, and that I have the tools and a good support network and we're doing just fine.

Two pony bottoms ready to go.

In other news, Bridget has been out quite a few days as well recently. Just walking around the neighborhood, acting as a portable couch, and generally keeping my sanity intact. She's feeling like a million bucks (literally) but walking and a little trot is where we're at as far as her fitness goes. I'm so grateful I can afford to keep the two of them, selling B would never be an option and I'm lucky to be able to have Sophie to keep life interesting and challenging!

B excelling at lawn mowing the other night while I did chores.

I have a feeling today's ride is going to be a good one :)