Holiday Weekends (equal) Love

There's nothing like a long weekend to make going back to work today totally suck help you recharge and get things done. Of course, my intentions were far more ambitious than I actually was, but that's pretty much the story of my life. I did a lot of dog cuddling and couch laying...

But I did get some riding in:

Thanksgiving AM on Bailey: we spooked and balked our way through like 35 minutes tops on the road, as the arena was still frozen from a cold overnight. Mostly W/T as it's apparently too hard to canter.

Black Friday on Arya: Arya came out of the pasture sweaty as the temps had climbed way higher than I expected. She then got rained on as she zoomed around on the lunge, and put in a sassy, bucky ride, which resulted in her being totally covered in sweat. Why was she bucking? Who actually knows. She did, however, trot over a pole without panic-cantering after it and immediately was allowed to be done, because GOOD PONY.

Saturday PM: I levered my butt out of bed in the evening (because yay, randomly feeling super sick and weak!) and rode a horse, because that's what you do when you feel icky. I used the lights for the first time and had a good but short walk-trot-canter ride. Bailey was SO good and I was super impressed that she wasn't spooking her pants off because lights and shadows and omg it's dark outside the arena, etc. More info on the lights is coming soon, because seriously... they change lives.

Sunday PM: Again, more lights because we must always play with the lights! Arya got brought out to do ground work and got a lot of treats to encourage her compliance.

I'm hoping to get out and ride tonight - probably Arya, but maybe both if I am feeling ambitious. This weekend was marked by lots of being super lazy, and I feel like I need to nix that immediately. I managed to throw off my sleep schedule with a few days of going to bed late and being allowed to sleep in, and this morning 5 am was disgusting. Ugh.

I'm trying to not let my brain go into total Squirrel mode over Arya's bucking, and will go back to the dressage saddle tonight and see if it continues. My first thoughts were saddle fit and chiropractic, and I really don't want to get into either until she's working more so I can actually benefit from that.

I did spend a lot of time spending money this weekend; our washer is leaking, which led to a late night trip to the nearest Best Buy so I could manhandle washer-dryer pairs. Appliances are too expensive, and I'd like to turn in my adult card now and go back to simpler and cheaper days, please! The only pro is that we're going to keep said leaky washer and put it on casters in the garage for horse use. It won't be totally sophisticated, but I'll be able to wash pads and wraps and maybe even sheets (if I am feeling brave - it's a center agitator...) in a washer, leaving me only blankets to do with my hose and trailer set up from the summer. Not complaining!

To counteract all of the adulting, I also hit Riding Warehouse's sale, a Back on Track sale and am excitedly pestering Amelia from Dark Jewel Designs with ideas for my new browband and strands. I haven't pulled the trigger on an Eponia Bridle yet - which is silly, because that is my birthday present and everything else is technically Christmas presents, but I probably will just... do it. Today. Maybe when I'm done writing this post. The horse kids are making out like bandits this year thanks to my Hubby, who said "spoil yourself a little bit because I'm spoiled (he got a new truck) and just buy what you want. I don't really need details." which is an entirely daring thing to say when you're married to a horse person. I'm scheming up presents for my horse friends as well, though recent developments with my friend and boarder, J's horse, Ginny, have put a bit of a damper on the excitement there.

Ginny and Arya got into a big old knock-down drag out fight about a month ago; Ginny got the short end of the stick and had wounds along her back that still aren't covered by hair at this point. And then Wednesday last week, they got in another fight. And again, Ginny got the short end of the stick, with a lovely blood-icicle hanging off her fetlock from a nice juicy cut on her leg. And in between all of this, Ginny has  been, sometimes like a madwoman, kicking her stall wall. Watching a horse stand there and double barrel a wall over... and over... and over again isn't a very positive way to spend one's time. We've tried creating a wall, wondering if she was jealous of Bailey's food, or worried about her own food. She was annoyed by this, and seemed concerned she couldn't see her friend. So we've got a half-wall up (aka half the bars by Bailey's feed tub are covered) right now, but between the fighting and the distinct unhappiness at being in the barn, we've had to have that awkward "you're my friend but maybe your horse should live somewhere else" talk. And I'm going to miss having a friend to ride with, deeply. It's been hard to get out and have a social life when my whole life (animal wise) is at home, and I feel that I am responsible for their comfort and care. It's been nice to be able to be social while still feeling like I'm giving them 100%. Alas, if the horse is not happy, it's not good for anyone, and it's especially scary because I didn't witness this last fight - the first one happened at the gate around feeding time, so I've been adjusting my routine to prevent Arya getting too food-protective, but it's clearly not the only factor. And it's uncomfortable to know I could come home to.... anything at this point.

And because that's depressing, here's the donkey's face after she put her tiny piggy hoof in her slow feed net and needed to be rescued (don't worry, the net has now been picked up so it's no longer at pawing height):

She will probably go out relatively soon, though the thought of her getting caught in the crossfire of a kicking fight is not a particularly nice one. Soon, Donkey, soon!