foot fetish

Happy Friday, y'all! I gotta say... First week of 2024 felt pretty good, all things considered. 

i can't even with these two

I honestly really love and am grateful for my annual habit of taking a #staycation in the week between Christmas and New Years. I started that habit during the Isabel days, and honestly I really enjoy it. 

hope you're not tired of this yet

Conditions are generally pretty mild still in Maryland this time of year (tho, not always!). Plus with the solstice and everything, it's a real treat to bask in so much daylight during the shortest days of the year. 

some days it just looks so damn good tho!

That's maybe the hardest adjustment in getting back to work this week LOL --- nighttime riding again.... Oh well. It was nice while it lasted! 

some days are a little muddier....

Tho... The return to work also meant I finally had a day where getting to the barn wasn't possible -- after three straight weeks of daily bandage changes for Charlie... 

legit accidentally whacked the wound with a direct hit trying to sweep away dirt, sorry bro!

He's healing so incredibly well, tho, that we figured it would be fine. Tho both vet and I thought it might be safest to keep him stalled for the day I couldn't make it. We figured, the boots always end up blowing out in the mud of his paddock, and we didn't want him standing in a wet muddy wrap for 24hrs. 

look at those edges!!! 

And ya know. Charlie was mad, but his foot looked great so.... Eh, compromises, right? He's back out again in the mud with his best buddy Royal now, tho, so all is well. 

seriously tho

We feel SO CLOSE to the end of this whole saga. Just... Ya know.... A little bit longer to go. Chugging along, as my vet says. 

then there are these two ladies, and art lol....
oh and stella (background) is back after a few weeks away! 

Doozy is just chuggin right on along too! We've been taking lessons with MP every 4-5 days since the end of November, but suddenly have a little bit of a gap right now (almost two weeks!), just due to scheduling conflicts. 

i swear she's sweet <3 <3

Sooooooo..... I may have made some irresponsible choices about how to fill that gap lol. Maybe. 

It miiiiiiiiight involve signing up for a clinic we have zero business doing. An away clinic. So ya know. Lots of variables lol. 

We'll see. You'll hear all about it one way or another after this weekend haha. Wish us luck??? Anybody else with slightly aspirational plans for the first weekend of 2024??