What's Up Wednesday

 

You know how some weeks feel like nothing happened, but others feel like a whole lifetime happened in seven days? It was one of those lifetime weeks for sure. 

So Wednesday, the horses got shod/trimmed, then I rode them all, and somehow got finished in time for my niece's school chorus/band concert. Al was a nitwit but I didn't have time to argue about it, and thankfully it didn't carry over to the next day. Thursday was a nice normal day with just horses to ride and no other random commitments. (I could use a few more of these days!) I did have some extra barn tasks to do that haven't been getting done and I needed to have finished before the vet came. So I was still out there very late doing that. You know what they say. If you want something done, you gotta do it yourself! So I did. 

Not the thing I was referring to...
But always something that needs fixing around here.

Friday wound up going really well. I was the first appointment for my vet (he comes from a few hours away though, so it was around 11 AM). It was perfect because he came just after the horses were back in from turnout so they weren't shorted any outside time. Doc was pretty happy with how everyone came out of winter. They all needed some maintenance, but nothing crazy. He was particularly happy with Eros' front end which was better than he's been in awhile. 

I'm really interested to see how Al feels after his visit. He was pretty stuck in his neck so we addressed that and also his stifles. I'm curious to see if when those things feel better maybe his emotions will too. One can hope right? Eros had his hocks and stifles done. He was a little back sore, but we're thinking it's secondary to what we decided to inject. For Shiny we opted for just hocks and then a shockwave on her neck. I'm going to ride everyone for a few weeks to a month and then see if we need to address anything else. Since the vet was out so early, I actually got done a little early which was lovely! I had a very long day ahead for Saturday so it was much appreciated. The timing of this vet appointment was so perfect because the horses all would have the weekend off, allowing me to feel less guilt not being able to ride Saturday anyway. 

Speaking of Saturday... THAT was a long day. I got up at 5 to get the barn done. The horses weren't allowed turnout that day, which was actually really helpful to get me out the door on time. I had a Bar Mitzvah to attend in NewJersey at 4:30. I managed to get stalls done, buckets scrubbed, and everyone hand walked for 15 minutes each before 11. Which gave me enough time to shower, do hair and makeup, and feed lunch before I left. 

When you're dressed half fancy but need to feed horses... 
I promise I wore nice shoes to the party.

In fact, I got on the road a half hour ahead of schedule! Which thank goodness. Because the 3 hour 40 minute estimated time turned into 4 hours 15 minutes. I made it there with just enough time to use the ladies room before things got started. PHEW!

The Bar Mitzvah boy did a great job, and the party was tons of fun. I got to see a very good friend that I haven't seen in person in probably 15 years. Much too long! And I of course got to see the mom of the Bar Mitzvah boy who was my very first friend in college. I haven't seen her in 12 years either. The party wrapped up at 10pm, and I was back on the road! The return trip was only about 3 hours, so that was nice. Got me home just a little after 1AM. I still had to do night check and soak hay for Shiny for the morning. But I was snuggled in my bed by 2 am. And so grateful that I had the horse sitter coming to feed in the morning! 21 hour days are harder at 46 than they were when I was 20! That is for sure. (In case you're worried, I had our former weekend helper stop in to feed dinner and let Rita out on Saturday.)

Sunday the horses were still enjoying some time off from their vet work, but they were allowed turnout. I pitched in with the morning chores once I got my tired bum out of bed, and then spent the day giving everyone a good grooming and some hand grazing too. It was actually a really nice day. The horses were happy and relaxed which in turn made me that way too!

Monday was their last vacation day. I spent the morning cleaning the house and walking the dog. Then the afternoon was dedicated to dragging the ring and changing the jump course. I wanted to pull all the fill back out too, but I ran out of time for that. I got done right at dinner time for the horses, so I fed them, then went in to feed myself and Rita before settling down in front of the lap top to do some work for my paying job. 

I almost never see her napping. But caught her this time!

Tuesday was back to normal! It randomly was summer out, mid to high 80's all day, so they had short rides. We're not used to that heat just yet! But they wouldn't have had hard rides regardless for the first day back. Everyone was good. Al was, of course, a little skeptical about life because the jumps were in new places, but he kept his poo together for the most part. The other two just seemed a little disappointed that they hadn't in fact retired like they thought. 

Then it was off to another concert that my niece was a part of. These kids have a lot of performances! They are both very talented though, and I love that I get to see them do what they enjoy so regularly. 

My worker has a four day weekend this weekend, so I'll be super busy in the barn the next several days. Next week looks to be less hectic though, so I am looking forward to that! Hopefully get these horses back to jumping! And get the fill out too!

Hope you all had a great week/weekend!