Folks, it’s been a busy month. Blogging is pretty much always the first to go on my schedule. A quick update on life then I’ll try to get back into regularly scheduled programming—just not as often as before.
New job with the USDA is going well. I think it’s one that I will be at for a long time. The new schedule (8-4:30) is something I’m getting used to. I now run in the mornings before work. The later end-time put me driving out to the barn after 5:00. This was putting me home after 8:00 most nights. I know there are a lot of you out there who have it much worse than I do when it comes to commute, but coming home that late every night wasn’t something that I could sustain. Spending only about an hour making/eating dinner and seeing the husband wasn’t good, so Mort got a new home last weekend.
I was sad to leave the people at ACS, but I already feel less stressed with Mort being closer. He’s now at a barn that’s about half as far away. It’s a small and cozy little farm that’s set out in the woods. It’s got two outdoor arenas and some trails that we’ll check out in the future. He was a bit nervous the first couple days but seemed to be settling in well by day three.
Mort has one more day of his ulcer meds. I’ll then be starting him on SmartPak’s SmartGut Ultra. It’s one of the few supplements that has actual clinical research behind it regarding ulcers. I’m hoping that will keep him a happy camper. He’s also got alfalfa cubes on board and a change in diet.
The GastroGard seems to be doing its job well. When it’s not been unbelievably cold, Mort’s personality under saddle has been back to normal.
Day one at Avalon Farm I just brushed Mort and went over his care instructions with the barn owner. If I can help it, I generally try not to ride the first day or two at a new place. Obviously, this can’t work at shows or clinics, but I do follow this rule when I move barns.
On Saturday, the weather was above 20 degrees for the first time in a couple weeks, so I couldn’t resist jumping on him. He hadn’t been ridden in two weeks—and hadn’t been ridden regularly even longer. It was cold. It was a new place. Naturally, I decided to hop on bareback. He was wonderful. It was an energetic ride where he was happy to go faster any time that I asked but also came back to me with little complaint. What a good boy. We kept it short and sweet and easy, just a little walk and even less trot.
Sunday had some bad weather in the forecast, so I tried to get out there before it started. The rain started right before I saddled him, so I opted for lunging instead. The rain stopped shortly after we started lunging. I decided to hop on and he was great. We did w/t/c and while he was a bit sticky on the sideways aids he really put forth a good effort with everything else.
We rode with a saddle and such on Monday and Tuesday evening before the temperatures dropped (again). He did really well. I had to make myself get off because he was just giving me such good effort. It's a good problem to have, convincing yourself to get off your horse and not push him too hard because you're having such a good time.
We did a couple short, bareback trail rides this weekend and he handled it all well.
I’m hoping to get back into a routine now that his tummy feels better and the weather seems like it’s going to cooperate (mostly). He’ll get a few weeks of easier/shorter work to get both of us back into shape. I’ll mainly be focusing on those never-ending concepts of straightness, transitions, etc. After that I hope to get us working toward the move up to second level.
Here’s hoping I’ve got more than five minutes of free time to work on the blog between work, Mort, running, and the new property. We’ll see how that goes…
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