Old Man Winter Strikes Again
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| The boys have been doing a lot of this and not much else... |
But then by the time our scheduled ride time came around on Sunday, the temperature was barely hitting 12 degrees, with a "feels like" temperature somewhere in the single digits.
So, my barn buddy and I made the disappointing decision to stay home by the fireplace while our double-blanketed ponies hung out and ate hay all day. I do feel a bit like a lazy toad for not sucking it up and riding, but everyone has limits, and mine is temperatures below 15 degrees. I DID go for a 30 minute walk/trot down the road on Friday afternoon, so at least the pony got out a bit in the last few days.
We are hoping to get out to the indoor later in the week after today and tomorrow's horrible snow/freezing rain/ice monstrosity blows over, and I may even have a lesson recap to share this weekend!
In the meantime, my thoughts have been alternating between embracing this winter break in training, and worrying that I'm not making the most of my time. Back and forth from "Lots of horses get the whole winter off and go back to competing in the spring just fine," to "Dino is 18 this year and I need to spend every waking moment making the most of the time we have together." I get worried about being in a good place for the Lainey clinic in April, excited about upcoming competitions, and then anxious about being on our game by the time spring rolls around.
It's been a rollercoaster of emotion, believe me!
But, I've also been scoping out some new training options for this year since my wonderful main trainer has made the switch to showjumping land, and I'm not sure yet if she will be available to teach us come spring. Things are looking pretty positive, and I have a few eventing and dressage trainers on my short list to check out to see who best fits us - both in teaching style and in budget and schedule.
Good things are happening, albeit under the surface. I can't wait for spring to see all my plans in full bloom!
I'm right there with you, I'm trying to embrace the breaks, but feel totally lazy sometimes for having taken any time off. I hope that groundhog was right and Spring is coming soon!
ReplyDeleteugh boooooo winter :( but yay for making all these exciting plans for when the weather does eventually (hopefully!) improve!!!
ReplyDeleteHang in there!
ReplyDeleteAlso it's supposed to be 60 here today and after that early non-winter you guys had, I feel the need to rub that in.
I mean. At least he's turned out and can keep himself moving? Yeah? Eh? Sometimes that's all I have to console myself.
ReplyDeleteembrace the break! sometimes they really are valuable for you and your horse!
ReplyDeleteAre you part of Nicku's #goalbreeches Facebook group? I've found that doing a little bit of exercise myself (indoors) makes me feel less like I'm sitting around doing nothing when it's too cold to ride!
ReplyDeleteah I love the bulb metaphor, but sometimes it is so true, you brew up plans and have to slowly chip at it and its growing its just hard to see
ReplyDeleteI had NO idea he was 18! He looks great!
ReplyDelete