Day 3 and 4, Horsey Blog Hopping

Day 03- Your best riding

This is a hard one for me. I personally don't feel like I've had a day of best riding. I know I have so much more to learn and grow with and any progress I've made has been so small and gradual that it's hard to see the changes unless I compare it to where I was years previous.

The biggest thing I can think of is when I was in regular lessons with Jim and I was able to get Gwyn working consistently on the bit during the lesson. It's something I struggle with and that Gwyn struggles with. I'm not sure she has the muscle strength to do it right now because of how long we've both been out of regular riding work but I'm hopeful that I can change that.

I say that as all my plans for this afternoon are shot because it's thunderstorming. I was going to do a lunging session with her with some raised trot poles to help start redeveloping her topline.

Alas.

Maybe I'll get it set up for tomorrow.




Day 04- A ride that impacted your life

In general, riding is impactful broadly for me. I am in better moods after I've ridden, regardless of the quality of the ride and having horses around acts like an antidepressant.

Probably the most impactful ride was the one that I was forbidden from doing. When I was pregnant with Hazel, the blood clot and subsequent blood thinners meant that riding was really not a good idea. All of my doctors said to stop.

I tried to follow orders and worked on trick training and clicker training. I took Gwyn for hand walks on the trails while Kaylee was at preschool. But ultimately I found myself really not feeling good and ended up having an anxiety attack at a prenatal visit. Too much had been pulled out of my control and I wasn't able to cope as well since my usual coping mechanism was part of the things I wasn't allowed to do.

There was a glorious february day. I had a window of an hour or so where the temperatures climbed into the 50sF. I told Eric I didn't care anymore and that I was going on a trail ride. He knew, bless the man, that I needed it. So we made a deal, that I would check in regularly, and if I missed a deadline, he'd call 911.

It was the best damn ride. Gwyn was a little snorty, but seemed to realize that this had become something special and she better not blow it. We were all by ourselves and it was just... wonderful. I felt better prepared to tackle the stressors of the clot aftereffects. I found a doula and I took back control of my pregnancy as much as was possible.

And I started riding again. No more than 30 minutes, always lunging first to evaluate Gwyn's excitability. I aborted at the first sign of funny business from her. And if I was alone, always with a dead man's switch, checking in with Eric regularly. It was a life saver.

LIebster Award Blog Hop

I was nominated by Grace over at The Horseback Artist. Woohoo! Now, I am significantly delayed in writing this, but I blame being sick and also not ever going downstairs to use my computer. As it is, this is being written over several days.

There are rules....

The Liebster Award Rules

1. Notify all nominees via social media/blogs
2. Link back to the person who nominated you
3. Answer the questions given to you by the nominator
4. Nominate up to 11 other bloggers with less than 200 followers
5. Create 11 questions for the nominees

The questions posed to me were this:Questions for my nominees: 
1. Why do you blog?

I blog because I like having a written account of things that I do in my life. I use this blog in particular to track the progress I make riding Gwyn and share that progress with a social network of people I'm 'competing' against for a Distance Derby.

2. What is your most popular blog post?

My most popular blog post (with the most pageviews, at least) is the August post where I catalogued every nearby place to ride. It is a handy list!

3. Which is your favorite blog post?  

My last ride in Washington. It was an amazing day and one that I will remember and treasure forever.

4. Which bloggers have you met IRL?

If we include Livejournal, which I think it totally legitimate given that I crosspost things from here to there, I have met several people from the likely now defunct LJ equestrian community. Some of them have moved on from LJ and I've forgotten their usernames, but I'll just list 'em.  Lindsay, Jean, and Cheri.  Cheri was Florida (and who I got Gwyn from), Jean was Washington (and an excellent bodyworker!), and Lindsay is Michigan. 

5. Describe your horse(s)/pet(s) using one image or gif.

6. What is your riding discipline and why did you choose it? 
I suppose right now I'm just a pleasure rider. I'm not actively competing in anything, or even training with anyone. I'm enjoying my dabbling in endurance. I feel it's something I can do on my own without relying on a professional in order to succeed. Broadly I ride english. Broadly. Ultimately I want to get back into eventing. I loved doing it as a kid and I'm working on meeting specific goals that will let me compete again. 

7. What is the most expensive horse-related item you have ever bought?
Probably my Thorowgood saddle. I had a saddle fitter personalize the fit and it was purchased new. At just over $1000 it's the most expensive item. The most I have ever paid for a horsey -thing-, however, was the shipping to move Gwyn from Florida to Washington. That was a little over $2000. The move to Michigan was cheaper at $1400. 

8. What is one tack/horse-related item on your wish list? 
A safety vest! I need to lose weight first, for this, but it's one of the necessary items I'll need if I want to even school for cross country and 3 day eventing. I'm not sure which kind I want, likely tipperary, I'm not sure I want the air canister ones that inflate because knowing me I'd forget when I go to dismount and I'd inflate it every time. 

9.  What is your favorite riding memory?
Riding in my first endurance ride in Spokane, WA. It was exactly a year ago, at this point, that I went to the Mount Spokane Endurance Ride and did the 15 mile trail ride Saturday and decided to do the LD on Sunday. It was an amazing experiene, even if I had my period for the ride, which was a major suck. But I completed! And Gwyn did it too and it was amazing! We were riding on the side of a mountain the whole time and the views were spectacular. 

10. What is your scariest riding memory?
I was pregnant with Kaylee at the time and took Gwyn out on the pipeline trail that my barn at the time was on. It was a gorgeous winter day, the kind where everyone and their mom gets outside because it's a sunny day and a break from the rain. We were out alone, though there were people on the trail everywhere and Gwyn got overstimulated (my theory) and lost it. She bolted for home and was uncontrollable. I could steer, barely, and we topped out at 19 mph (I had my gps running) I had visions of us hitting muddy patches and her breaking a leg or of us crossing an upcoming road and just getting killed by a car.   
I finally got her under control and slowed down, but not after flying by people on bikes, walkers and baby strollers, shouting that I had no control. We crossed the road safely, thank FSM, but then she spooked again at the top of a steep hill. I got off at that point and just lost it, yelling and crying at her. I sent her backwards and everytime she got 'up' I sent her backwards again. I kept yelling, "I AM SCARIER THAN ANYTHING ELSE OUT HERE." 
I didn't ride alone while pregnant after that again. I would not get on unless there was someone else on the ground who knew I was riding. Ever since then I have major anxiety about even cantering in open areas. It takes a lot for me, though Gwyn has improved significantly and we haven't had a repeat, but it's stayed with me.
11. Share one of your riding goals. 
I mentioned it above, but I want to get back into eventing.  I don't care about competition level, I just want to get back into it, even if I never go bigger than Beginner Novice. Just like I'm pretty content to stick doing LDs in endurance!