Getting back to our selves

 After weeks of being sick or "not right", I finally feel recovered from the crud of the past 1.5 months. What started Nov 7th finally lifted on Dec 16th. While I have definitely been much sicker than this, I am not sure if I have been that sick for this length of time before. I have definitely lost a lot of muscle tone and stamina, but I am determined to get it back. Even if it is December and we are facing a significant winter storm on Friday.

I rode last Friday for the first time in over 2 weeks and while I wanted to ride outside to avoid the temptation of working, the ground was way too wet and the only other option would be the paved road with a 55mph speed limit. I chose the indoor arena and, no surprise, I couldn't help myself and did some trot and cantering. Overall? Mia was good. She felt really good, she was super eager to step up and be forward when I asked her to. Me? After 10 minutes of riding I started coughing and had a super hard time stopping. I rode for about 10 more minutes before calling it a day and felt it all day long.

On Sunday I felt a shift and the tickle in my chest disappeared. I was able to do some remodel work on the house without feeling beat up so I rode again, bareback. Mia was still very good, and very happy to get to work. When I started the ride, she was pokey and not forward. When I picked her up, asked her to step under, and bend her rib cage, suddenly I had a horse full of power and suspension, at one point she almost bounced me off of her back in the trot! Note to self - ride in the saddle! I kept the ride to only 30 minutes and while I was wiped, I felt good and Mia felt great. 

We repeated the ride today, except I rode with a saddle to help me contain some of her impulsion. Mia again was slow and bored until I picked up contact and put her together, then she was super happy to get to work. I am working on some fitness and not nit picking her, but she really did an excellent job of stepping up today. We did a lot of shoulder fore, 10m circles in corners, transitions, and laterals. It was cute, at one point she was all "This is hard!" and I was all "I KNOW! But YOU wanted to get working, so here we are!"  Silly mare. She got plenty of carrot and treats for her efforts and all was forgiven.

The storm this weekend is supposed to be a real doozy, this is the exact reason I wanted Mia to have a stall. With wind chills in the -30 range for over 24 hours, plus precipitation at the same time, I want her to be out of the weather. With water that isn't frozen solid and wind that isn't trying to kill you. While she is out almost 24x7, there are times where extreme weather is just too extreme and I would rather not risk her being in it. After almost 2 months, there are some things I miss about my old barn but the new barn is taking really good care of Mia and I am happy here. Fingers crossed that the weekend isn't too brutal on us!

Yet another reason I am not riding my horse

What a heck of a month and a half. In November I moved Mia to a new farm that was a touch closer to my house but also had a stall for her to be in during inclement weather. While I was okay enough where we were, the shelter wasn't ideal, the footing of the turnout wasn't ideal, the setup wasn't ideal, and her pasture mates kicked her butt a lot. So on Nov 1, Mia got a new zip code. Very quickly she settled right in and has made friends wherever she goes.

I make friends with everyone! Haz you treatz?

I started riding as soon as I moved and we got in some decent trail and working rides. The new barn is located in the middle of flat farm country so there are flat fields all around us, save for a small patch of woods directly behind the pastures. The flat fields allow for some trot/canter/gallop sets and the woods are just enough variation to not get bored (yet). But then I came down with some sort of head cold/sinus infection that tried to turn in to a lung infection that then required two different courses of antibiotics. Not a lot of riding happens when you can't breathe.

Trail ride! 

Right as that cleared up, hubby brought home Covid from his work travels and I have been down for over a week for that. While the symptoms are not severe, my breathing definitely has been challenging  (again) when doing more than mild movement. We spent a week being quarantined and I worked hard to only go to the barn when no one else is there. So far, so good and in the last 1.5 weeks I have only seen other people twice. Once was a lesson happening, so I avoided the entire area, and today a random farrier showed up. Not mine, so it was easy to skedaddle!

Mia is looking good going into winter!

The hope is that by next week I will feel good enough to start riding again. Mia seems super content at this barn and I haven't had any real issues with the barn. And really, the only compliant I have is the arena footing. It is super inconsistent in deepness, some parts being 6+ inches deep of sand and others having less than an inch. It can be really hard to ride in, so I am trying not to be frustrated with it. I'm not yet willing to move again over that, especially when they are treating her well and I really have no other complaints. 

Ready to get back to this though

So I have now checked off  "House Reno", "Moved 1500 miles", "Huge Abscess", "Multiple Minor Injuries", "Lung Infection", and now "Covid" on my 2022 "Why I haven't Ridden My Horse" bingo card. I'm REALLY hoping I can start back up again. The 2023 season is coming and I want to be ready to kick butt!