Believe it or not I got out on another trail ride this afternoon! The 10-year-old girl who takes lessons on Keno came along and rode him, while I rode Jetta. It wasn't like southern Utah, but hey, we'll take what we can get up here! It was sunny and not too muddy or cold. Jetta was well behaved minus a thwarted attempt at jigging. Keno was gentlemanly as always but got super sweaty after carrying his fat self up a few hills. Jetta didn't even break a sweat. Still, it was fun and I can tell that subtle (very subtle!) changes are coming and spring really will get here eventually! For that I am grateful!
I didn't take any pics today, after all, who wants to see mud and slushy ice? But here are a couple more pics from southern Utah. If I close my eyes and squint, I can almost imagine that's where we were today. I said, almost!
No excuses here, but just let me say that no one knows what life will throw your way. My life has taken a very dramatic turn the last few months, and as a result I have been unable to concentrate on blog-writing. No, I do not have a terminal illness or anything of the like, but it's still been challenging.
But moving on, Jetta and I just spent a fabulous 26 short hours down in the red sand desert near St. George to get out of the snow and see the sun. I was desperate for sunshine. This has been a long, cold, dismal winter with tons of snow and overcast skies. I needed a break and my good friend Judy invited me down. Jetta was certain we were only heading for the arena when I loaded her into the trailer. Three hours later I unloaded her in desert paradise. I'm sure she was as happy to see the sun as I was.
The indoor arena has been the only dry, ice-free place to ride this winter and I can honestly say she hasn't gained much from our work down there. Two reasons stand out: lack of consistency due to the fact that I am working most of the time due to paragraph one, and the simple fact that she is very anxious about arena work. I'm not sure where the anxiety comes from, but she's had it from day one, although I didn't do much arena time while the trails were good all summer and fall. But we get resistance, teeth gnashing, hollowing, stiffness, etc. Poor me--I was thinking my sane, fun horse was gone, but thank heavens she was still a good trail horse when I got her out on a short snow ride two weeks ago. And she was stellar on our first over-night outing this weekend! Check out the videos!
I will try to post more regularly. I hope as evenings become lighter (and warmer!) I will have more riding time. I am trimming a lot of hooves, doing sports massage therapy, teaching riding lessons on Keno, and working part-time at the school still. It's a lot, but it's good!
