quick catch up

Rode Shade thursday saturday and yesterday. I am liking the saddle alterations pretty well. Shade felt so strong on saturday, like she could have trotted and cantered forever. YAY! She was not as energetic yesterday, but she always takes a while to warm up and we didn't go real far. I need to get hold of the neighbors that have been doing some feeding while mom is sick. I told them to stop, but dad countered that yesterday. Today I want them to feed Sadie, Cindy and RazzMo although they will all live if they don't get fed. I just feel bad. They only got 60% normal morning hay, Razz's rider was out and I was going to have dad throw them a flake when she left and have him tell neighbors to feed just them the flakes that I left set out. But dad must have had to leave out, I never got hold of him. I set my next chiro appt to be 4 weeks off. The doc gave me a sheet of stretches that are helping a fair bit and I am also going to get the P/T made. (someday when I remember)

Trying to decide if I want to go ride in the 25 at Kenlyn on saturday. I would rather just take a really good training ride with 1 or 2 other people this weekend, especially if its going to be raining saturday, which someone told me was the forecast. Guess I should at least look up the forecast, lol.

Rode Grey today, and Shade yesterday

I am riding and having fun. I just don't have the fire in my belly to really ramp up the riding. Maybe getting my saddle back on wednesday will help. I hope its comfy for me as well as Sadie with the modification I had the tack repair guy do. It was hard to tear them away from the green grass in the ditch and get the rides started. Next weekend I think I'll let them graze in the 'pasture' It is greening up after our lovely Apr showers we've had. I also took Sadie for a walk sunday. She got excited when some horses went by. Nothing too extreme, similar stuff as when I ponied her last, but I don't mind just pulling her around in a circle when I'm on the ground. And it was easier to adjust her slack and keep her from repeating on the ground. She's a pretty good 'kid' in spite of me not doing much training on her.

Well Chiro helped

But I still need more I think. I've got to get with the program and call my HMO for a P/T referral. I'd have done it already but you have to see your primary care physician to get the referral and I don't have one. ---The one I had moved a few years ago so I just had the OB/GYN. Silly excuses. I just hate dealing with life details, especially the ones that take ph calls. If I didn't have a masters in engineering and a decent job I'd probably be in a rubber room or I guess these days more likely a cardboard box LOL. Well I made the physician appt. Got a late morning slot on tuesday. Whew, good think it wasn't wednesday I would have forgotten about leaving the morning open to run mom to the airport. I sure hope the mayo clinic is the silver bullet she has been searching for.

Skipped riding wednesday so I would not get flung around with any spooking and undo the visit, Yesterday it was a cold wind and starting to drizzle in the morning and today its snowing, supposed to continue till midday tomorrow. I think I'm in withdrawal already. I am not any happier with the crazy politics we have, but at least the tea parties were well attended. I missed the semi-local one. I was thinking about taking PTO and checking it out but there was a seminar I wanted to attend at work, plus I don't do crowds well. I sent tea bag wrappers to my federal politicians and even put in a letter for the congress folks, and joined the NRA yesterday. They have a good lobby going for 2nd amendment rights, and general values I like. I need to find a good trails access group too. I hope I am not too little too late with getting involved somewhat and at the same time curses on the DNC and heck also the RNC for creating this situation where I cannot just keep being apolitical like I want.

I think I need my chiro appt tomorrow.

Maybe I'll have to go mattress shopping on saturday. Its supposed to still be wet, probably sloppy for riding. If its actually raining I guess I could ask if the mattresses are well wrapped. I really don't want to spend much time on it. But having a touchy back is not so great either. If I could know with certainty -- A better mattress will be helpful it would be useful. Oh well, I have reason to think it would be helpful because the air mattress fills saggy. It seems like it shouldn't be but I think I better trust my impression rather than 'how can an air mattress in a wooden box be sagging'

I had a nice ride saturday. Not very far but some fun canter work. Shade felt so strong, I was wondering if she was a bit uneven but I now think it was me. I rode again today also. Razz had his second lease ride and I think that gal is going to come out weekly, maybe some weekends as well. CJ also has a leasor, I have to get that check deposited. She was really skilled with him so I'm very pleased she wanted to come and ride him regularly. I rode Grey friday while she tried him. Actually I had her on Grey first because I took CJ down the road on the 9th and he was being kind of a jerk. Squealed and kicked (felt like just 1 leg) and tried to turn around and go home a few times -- darned horse couldn't stay broke 16 months with no riding? /sarc off. and I don't know how many years ago or how often he was ever taken out by himself. But just in case I wanted to make sure CJ didn't feel wild in the riding area as well, and also that the gal definitely knew how to ride, not just sit and look purdy before I had her get on him. CJ was pretty good for her and she really does know how to ride a horse, asking for direction changes, backing up, getting their mind in a working groove so I think they'll do well this summer. NOW I just have to get myself riding more.

mixed weekend

Saturday it was snowing a little bit and the wind was blowing HARD. I read my Atlas Shrugged book by Ayn Rand all day. I'm still not finished with the book, had to tear myself away to ride Shade sunday on a much calmer sunny sky and do just a bit of cleaning on Dukes pen --my back was barely up for that. Sitting and reading all day saturday was not good for it.

I should have rode Shade earlier, the wind was picking up some when I got out. Took Mia for a short spin and got a heavier balaclava back at the house, started out, realized I had not put my helmet back on. Decided I should grab one, left Shade grazing in the ditch tied to the paddock fence for a few minutes while I ran back and grabbed one. We ended up not going very far but had a couple of FUN quarter mile SPRINTS up the hill on road 35 and doing a short loop. It spit some sleet on us and I decided I would cut the ride short in case Shade would get wet and chill rather than cooling out gradually.

I haven't finished the book yet, but it got pretty interesting. The book was written before the Marshall plan and assumes communism having crept over all of Europe, but it makes excellent arguments about how envy of the very successful can lead to the destructive desire not to improve ones own situation but to claim a share of their wealth and even to want laws to prevent them from being able to do better than oneself. Also had a chilling but accurate vision of the destructive spirit of "from each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs" I cant believe in denying anyone their needs, but the book shows what happens when 'needs' are defined by how effectively one whines to the wealth distributor rather than as a bare survival standard and when abilities are used to demand more of the talented without giving them the reward for their extra production.

I bought the book because I kept reading so many references to it in blogs about our current situation, and sadly it seems that we are perilously close to the faux philosophers preaching that success must be due to climbing on other's backs rather the hard work + talent that it almost always is, our country is too arrogant, is not sensitive enough to the feelings of others and we must make amends .........