Back And Ready For Action!

Spent a week gazing out over the water at this loveliness

 Hey there, Blogland, did ya miss me?!

Of course you did. Your lives were significantly less hilarious and had fewer adorable ponies in them while I was away on vacation last week.

I had a great week of sitting on the beach, reading novels, imbibing adult beverages, going for runs on the boardwalk, and eating whatever I felt like. It was pretty glorious.

Lagoon View

But, unfortunately, I have a job and adult responsibilities and bills and furry kids who need me, so I could not run away to the beach forever.

My return to real life began abruptly on Sunday afternoon when a certain Dog got stung on the tail by some sort of malevolent insect, prompting me to freak out that he had a spine injury and take him to the emergency vet. He is, thankfully, fine after receiving a shot full of anti-inflammatory drugs and some dex to take care of any potential allergic reaction. That was one freakin' expensive bee sting.

EXCITED ABOUT NOT HAVING DEADLY MEDICAL ISSUES

Dino and I got back to work that evening, and while I was happy to be back in the saddle, homeboy was a little miffed that HIS vacation was over.

"This is what I think of you and your "training" and "riding""

In all honesty Dino was really good for his first ride back after living the retired life for a week. He was quite forward, and the only naughty moments occurred when he tested me a bit, trying to figure out if he still REALLY needed to listen and work. He did. I tried to keep things pretty easy for him, and we ended up doing about 40 mins or so of simple flatwork. Bending, stretching, and transitions. I made myself quit when Dino cantered softly and in some semblance of roundness in both directions instead of giving in to the temptation to keep working. All in all, a very nice first ride back after a well-deserved rest for both of us. We'll have a few more days to continue getting ourselves tuned up, then a lesson at the end of the week!