meanwhile....

Life continues to chug right on along lately, bringing us to the official one week mark since Charlie's surgery. I'm not sure whether that's a meaningful benchmark or whatever, but it's reassuring that he's just continued to get on with getting on throughout the past couple days.

pictured: charlie enjoying some sun + grass filled bliss

It's hard not to feel like the horse is somewhat neglected while on stall rest, ya know? Like I can take him out to groom and graze him. But no purposeful walking allowed.

didn't bother him that the ground was so dry and dusty either

And I can throw all the hay in the world at him, and keep adding extra water buckets just in case he gets extra thirsty.

we're not technically hand walking... but there's a little exploration going on

Plus naturally there are always the occasional extra meals when I need to slip some medication or another into him.

this little pony stallion was SUPER interested in meeting charlie lol

But it still makes me feel so guilty knowing he's all cooped up. Especially on days when I'm not able to get him out at all, or can only get him out for a few minutes.

this one too

Worst are the days when I can't get to the barn at all. Idk why it makes me feel so guilty -- in some ways I know the horse tends to be a little quieter when I'm not around. As opposed to when I'm there and he gets a little frantic and unsettled, trying to tell me all about his current plight and convince me to somehow fix it.

these studly little dudes have the BEST hair

But.... Only time will do that. So hopefully time will just keep chugging along until we can get him back into at least a little bit of hand walking and then turnout. And in the meantime I'm trying to not let myself feel too guilty by keeping my schedule full of fun distractions.

scribing at a dressage show!

Like volunteering as a scribe for a dressage fix-a-test clinic at our barn. We saw almost exclusively Intro level tests during my afternoon shift, and it was a little monotonous. Except it was pretty clear that for most pairs this was either the rider's first show or the horse's, and everyone tackled the experience with their own combination of nerves and excitement. That alone made it a cool atmosphere.

I like scribing too, tho it might be more of a challenge at higher levels. At least at this event, bc of the fix-a-test structure, it was pretty slow going work. We'd score the test as it was ridden, then the judge spent ~20min working one on one with the rider in a lesson type format, then they'd ride the test a second time. It was cool to see the riders improve so quickly too!

stewarding cross country warm up!

I kept the volunteer train rolling by signing up to be the cross country warm up steward at Loch Moy's recent recognized event. Usually I just go straight for the easy job of jump judging - esp if I'm doing it with Brita since we just sit around and chat all day. But trying out a new volunteer job was actually pretty fun!

it's another pony(ish) stallion, Lion!!!!

I actually REALLY enjoyed being able to see everyone get into the zone for their rounds - from the nervous just-moved-up riders to the pros on their 4th or 5th rides of the day.

i liked the look and feel of these boots a lot. but then i impulse purchased a different set on ebay so.... yea lol

Luckily there wasn't really any drama either. A couple trainers who were a little bit entitled and rude when it came to getting their clients into the starting box. And a couple horses who struggled a little with the hard ground and greasy top layer of grass from a morning of steady drizzle.

sugar loaf mountain + loch moy's stadium ring. pretty sad i won't be riding in that arena at all this year. sigh.

One poor horse didn't land straight from a jump and slammed the rider down hard as they both lost balance and toppled over. Luckily both were ok and were able to continue through to run their course. But it was scary to see!

also disappointed to miss out on leaving this start box too. womp. volunteering at the warm up was AWESOME tho!

Mostly tho it was a great way to spend the day, and I actually really liked the warm up volunteer position. Plus the folks at Loch Moy know how to treat their volunteers - we got a lot of swag (including a very nice long sleeved shirt and an xc schooling pass!) and TONS of good food and snacks. If you're local-ish to Loch Moy, I highly recommend volunteering at their events!

oh look, another leedle pony!

Tho obviously it must be stated that seeing so much fun action had me feeling a little blue about my own horse's current status. Luckily Velvet has been more than happy to fill the void!

i make her go scary places, poor thing

I've been getting in pretty regular rides on the pony over the past week and feel like we've reached a pretty good understanding. Yes, she's probably going to spook at some invisible monster on the walk up the driveway.... but No, she's not going to nap about leaving the barn any more (thanks spurs!).

including riding past strange critters

Her work under saddle hasn't necessarily gotten meaningfully better yet. There's still a fair bit of jigging and trantering. Tho the better I get to know her, the quicker I can be to keep her in trot even if it becomes a very fast trot.

and she has to wait patiently while friends finish getting ready

For her part tho, she's learning to trust the process and relax a little bit. The trees lining one edge of the arena aren't always as spooky any more, and she's not always totally distracted by what other horses in the vicinity are doing. She's also had to cope with taking long breaks to chat with folks, and then go back to work again (the horror!).

she's great with dogs tho!

But I like her. She's a good girl. The parallels with Isabel are so strong, too. Like someone clearly started this horse - taught her some stuff. Laid a foundation. Then.... through circumstances that all too often befall horses, she ended up passing from place to place, either being left entirely alone or only ever getting irregular work. So she's just.... rusty at a very fundamental level.

and itsy bitsy jumps!!

And this has led to the erosion of her own confidence at the same time it taught her how to scare people into not making her work. A nasty combination. Luckily tho, she's not actually naughty. She's no Krimpet.

wheee go velvet!

And actually she seems to like and enjoy the work when we can get a few breakthrough good moments. And the more good moments she has, the easier it seems to be to find them again and again, and make them last longer and longer. Long story short, Velvet is figuring it out.

nice and relaxing, just as it ought to be

So I'm starting to push the envelope with her a little bit. Making her hack around unusual areas of the farm. Walk alone down different paths. Daring her to feel curious about exploring instead of worried and nervous about the unknown.

This approach seems to be working too - for our latest ride we just hacked out through the fields with Brita and Bella. And Velvet was immediately the absolute most relaxed she's ever been for me. So relaxed that we actually played around a little bit with some of the elementary jumps in the field - our first time jumping together! And she was pretty darn good!

if only we could all be as happy and carefree as this pup!

So we'll see where that goes. She's a neat mare and I'm glad to have the ride on her while Charlie recovers. But.... she's no Charlie. And the jumps definitely do not look the same from the back of a skittery spooky pocket rocket as they do from the back of my giant solid steady behemoth.

Still tho, it's fun to play :) We gotta keep ourselves busy somehow, right? How do you handle time away from your #1? Do you try to find other rides? Or stay involved in the action one way or another, whether by volunteering or just hanging out? Or do you go in the other direction - taking the opportunity to get in a little bit of a breather from the whole routine?