I think I’ve finally made peace with the riding obstructionist part of winter. Somehow, in the last week or so, I managed to just stop feeling guilty on days I can’t ride. I’m lining up indoor projects instead: lots of cleaning & cooking, some very initial organizing with the anticipation of moving later this spring. I will drop all of it like a hot potato as soon as the weather climbs back out of the Arctic.
In the meantime, I’m averaging about two rides a week. Last week, Friday and Saturday. Friday was a terrific schooling session under saddle. Saturday was a really productive longeing session.
Sunday, the temps were only into the double digits…when there was a clinic in the indoor. Monday I had to travel for work during the only double digit temperatures. Today I’ll be at work. Wednesday it won’t climb into double digits at all. Thursday and Saturday look the most promising this week.
We’re not getting hardly any snow from the blizzard. It’s hitting southern New England. Vermont is getting sort of spitty little haze right now, and we’re probably not going to accumulate beyond 8″. So basically a normal Tuesday here.
I did check on Tristan on Sunday amidst house-viewing. The edema is gone, thankfully, and he was happy and chipper and providing good babysitting guidance.
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At least you're at peace with it. No point beating yourself up over things you can't change! Glad Tristan's mystery edema is gone. 🙂
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he's so cute with the little baby horse! and glad you're releasing that guilt too – it'll rule your life it you're not careful!
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I think last year was the year I too made peace with the fact that riding in winter months is nice when it happens but is not a sure bet and I needed to stop feeling guilty for whatever level of riding was or was not occuring. This year, deciding that six months on and six months off was the better way for me to condition my horse right now just cemented my commitment to not let not riding during the winter stress me out. Glad to hear you too are letting go of the guilt.
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I've decided to call my current process “riding without reason” and while it is nice to just sit on a horse and sometimes be in a lesson there is also a kind of freedom to not planning for the next thing, whatever it might be. It also leaves a hole in the future I can put other things in, in an experimental fashion.
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its a tough thing to get over. This year I totally said EFF IT holiday for horses and I feel sooo much better!
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