Positives

Bridget passed her soundness exam with flying colors. I was very happy to see her looking so well! Part of me wants to be skeptical because we’ve been here before, but I’ve been encouraged to set the worries aside and ride the pony I have now, which is a sound one. The vet has no reservations about putting her back in work, and we have a fitness plan for her. I’ve got a follow up booked in two months when B should be well into proper work, and we can delve deeper then if any concerns present themselves. (Please no, let this be the end of it)

Fuzzy pony portrait

B and I are on week 1 of walking straight lines. My body still feels a bit fragile and uncoordinated, and that right leg still doesn’t always do what I tell it, so 10-15 minutes of riding at a walk is about where I’m at too. We are in this together, except I am much more excited about it than B 😁 

The rest of my free time consists of lots of hiking and physio exercises and making sure Sophie doesn't feel too left out or bored. I’m feeling grateful I’m back to being able to do many of the things I like. I’m especially grateful for Bridget, she is pretty beginner safe and quiet if you bring that energy. It's when a more experienced or motivated rider gets on that the fire breathing pony sass comes out. So far, she's reading the room accurately and being an excellent babysitter. Hopefully we'll get fitter and sassier together :)

Apple face. She sucks them into a pulp in the back of her mouth so you get this face for 5 minutes and she literally cannot focus on anything else while that is happening.

Getting From A to B

 Things have been progressing well over here. The big thing that has helped so much was being able to walk for a reasonable amount of time. Walking makes everything feel better physically and mentally. Some days are still very much a struggle but I'm getting good at recognizing the boundary of pushing through for long term benefits vs 'you've made a terrible horrible mistake you're going to regret later!'

Getting back to regular riding is very much on my mind, and with some hard conversations being had, I have to agree Sophie is not an appropriate mount for where I'm currently at. I mean, she's obviously an angel, but that means she does sprout wings now and then ;)

I swear B enjoys toying with her. Sophie gets a bit worried when B leaves, so of course B plays hide and seek around this corner whenever I groom her.

I have had all the time on the world lately to process all those regrets I would have had if riding was going to be limited. So, the target of where I want to get is clearer than it's even been. How to reasonably get from my current Point A to the envisioned Point B is the question.

I know a bunch of you are reading this going "Slow down, you're only just getting better, don't rush any decisions!" because I've had some real life friends with the same (valid) input. On the other hand, there is a lot to be said for having a path to start on and some goals to work towards (gradually!)

So, Bridget is getting a full lameness work up tomorrow. If nothing else, just to give me a baseline for what is fair to ask of her and what our current options are. I have a feeling this appointment could go either way - she's dropped fitness since she's had time off and honestly that's really not helped anything. It would be nice to have her back in a higher workload for a while to help me get back to where I want to be as a rider, but her wellbeing comes first and keeping her as my trail pony is great too.

Don't let her fool you, I had to resort to using a training aid (I know, I know, humor me because this is a temporary keep-my-back-safe thing with ponies suffering Spring Fever) It's as loose as it goes and prevents her completely getting her head up and bolting off when I'm actually just wanting some walk trot around the arena.

We are all obviously very attached to Sophie. Sophie is quirky, but far from difficult and I think it's far too soon to put long term limits on my riding aspirations. Sophie fits in perfectly with some of those Point B goals I have. Any decisions regarding our partnership will wait longer term.

Also wearing the longeing aid of shame last night. She was actually an angel though and didn't need it, unlike her big sister

Relive App

 In more good news, I'm feeling almost like myself again. I've been doing little hikes again, and my app says I get faster every time. I am feeling like I am the slowest person on earth right now, so it's nice to have data to dispute that (last week's T is now likely the slowest person ever recorded in the history of ;).

I'm using the 'Relive' app right now and I would recommend - it makes these fun little videos of your adventures, but also creates a static map and charts distance, speed, and elevation per use but also over time. I've set myself a goal of 100km this month, we'll see if I get there.

I thought I would share because while it's not equine centric, it would be perfect for trail riding! It's easy to share the little videos and any photos you take pop up through the video in the appropriate place. I'm finding it fun to send G a little recap of my walk as a jazzy little music video. It's the little things :)

Happenings

You know what I hate? Discussing personal medical stuff...I don't know why I have such an aversion to it, but it's making it hard to blog when I kind of need to mention it. The good thing about this space is that I can write directly about how it's affecting horses and riding, which I find much more comfortable than explaining to curious coworkers or acquaintances why I'm hobbling around :)

Anyway...this week's really great happenings are that I'm feeling much more myself in every way. I'm still struggling to stay where I need to be physically and not be frustrated I can't do all the things immediately, but there have been massive improvements in mobility and pain levels since my last post and I'm feeling so much better. I walk every second day and do physio exercises on the other day and each week I am able to do a bit more without regretting it later. I'm feeling super positive about being able to get back to a really good place.

You've never met someone who enjoys every moment of every day until you've met Sophie

I sat on a horse (Bridget) for the first time in 6 weeks and went for a little walk around (OK, my husband led me while I wore every safety item I own because I'm not physically quite there yet...but also, mental health needs consideration too). Using stirrups and navigating mounting with a saddle would be a challenge still, but toodling around in a bareback pad was perfectly comfortable and something I think I could be doing solo soon. I was joking that this is B's penance...99% sure a very impolite post jump pony maneuver and my resulting tumble a couple of years ago is where I got hurt. If not that, probably one of our other misadventures through the years, so she can do some time as pony rehab :)

Part time physio consultant in addition to her full time job as Sophie discipliner

I think I might be at a place in life where any of a long list of setbacks might make me take a second look at my life choices, but this has certainly made me reevaluate what I'm doing. I am currently feeling like I'm pretty lucky (fingers crossed for further smooth sailing) . A mix between 'time is short and anything can happen, live the life you want now!' and also 'my body needs to last so I need to be more responsible about looking after it'

Sophie again demonstrating YOLO, is less concerned with looking after her body since annoying B too much never ends well for her

With the chat last month about riding as a whole, or at least some riding activities possibly being off the table, I realized very quickly I had a whole giant bucket list I hadn't accomplished (and not even like I tried and didn't do it, more I just felt like I had all the time in the world to get to it...some day). This experience has done wonders for clarifying exactly what I want and need to prioritize doing.

S would always like to be invited along for any adventure.

It's too soon for some decisions, others have been no brainers. I'm not sending B for breeding, because I think my need for a Bridget 2.0 will be more immediate than the 5 or so years out I'd need to wait for a foal to grow to a rideable pony that can do much. Also, I think I'm going to be feeling less flexible about what I want and need, so at the very minimum I need to be looking at youngsters already on the ground and doing some things. 

B has been very snuggly lately - very unlike her!

Anyway, we move on and I'll check in when I have good updates to share.