Begin Again

In my opinion, Spring, far more than January 1, is the beginning of a new year. 

In spring life grows out of death, the earth warms up, and the sun, my literal energy source, makes its appearance for a few more minutes each day. After the impossibly long winter we had this year, Spring brings hope.

Taking care of the minis this morning, I was treated to buds on tree branches, baby grass poking its head out of the ground, birds going totally bananas getting their nests ready, and the most lovely warmth from the sun. Getting to start my day outside, in the sunshine, with tiny furry horses really gets me started on a good note! 

Dino and I had a great time together yesterday afternoon, too. His legs are healing really well; he's pretty much shed off all of the old, infected skin and is growing brand new skin underneath. I decided to put him on stall board for the rest of the month since his pen is a swamp, and he really needs to stay dry and clean in order to continue healing. While it makes me feel bad to coop him up inside, it's the best thing for him right now. Michael and I are also going to put down rubber mats in the pen once it dries up a little to help prevent mud in the future. Good things ahead! 

Our ride yesterday was a lot of fun, too, even if we are both still not very fit. Dino needs a lot of small breaks at this point in the year! I've been trying to be patient and do a lot of quality work at the walk while he is still gaining fitness, and I think it will really pay off for us. We were able to do some work at all three gaits while being round and carrying ourselves for the first time this spring. Hooray! Dino wanted to rush along on his forehand a few times, but I was able to bring him back and help him carry instead of running, which was a great feeling. I also threw the occasional crossrail or 2'3 vertical into our flat ride, since pony is not fit enough to do a "full" dressage school at this point, and jumping keeps him happy and motivated, so it's working out for us. Plus I get to get my sea legs back over fences by just jumping a few each ride, which is perfect! 

Dino was totally exhausted by the end of our ride, and practically fell asleep on the crossties while I was cleaning up his legs. I'm thinking about doing a schooling dressage show in a couple weeks, depending on how fit he is by the closing date. If that doesn't work out, we might try some pleasure classes at a hunter show or two just to get our feet wet in the show ring again without having the pressure of jumping. Eventually, hopefully we'll both be fit enough for lessons with Elissa at some point, too!