Me and my shadow

-
I had a narrow window of opportunity to get to the barn, have a quick ride, and get back downtown in time for my meetings. The surprise of new snow made the roads greasy and I saw lots of tractor-trailers and jeeps hanging off medians and into ditches. I slowed down, took my time, and used lots of windshield washer fluid.

The weather was pleasant, mild and sunny. But the wind was blowing erratic gusts that always spook me. Sure enough, as soon as my thighs clenched when the wind started to blow and the trees started to sway and release their snow, Q would get tense. Sorry buddy, Ill try to stay calm.

As we made it down our familiar trails and basked in the sunlight, I decided to take a picture of us with our shadows. Afterwards, when I reviewed the pics, I realized that one of these gifs capture us perfectly. Here we are, alone together, on the buckle with Q waiting patiently as I try and find the perfect shot and he keeps talking to me with his right ear.


We are in a happy space right now. I do a quick groom and tack up, go out for a nice trail without any schooling, come back and eat lots of treats. Q is a perfect shadow to me and somehow always manages to strike a pose when I am taking pictures.



With the fresh snow the winter wonderland of our trails does not disappoint!



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sailing

-
Image
A proper vacation for me means good sleeps, multiple novels, fresh produce and maybe an occasional adventure. So this summer its sailing from London to Amsterdam to the fjords of Norway and then around Iceland. But the weather turned sour this week and so we got quite the jostling in the North Seas with twenty foot swells tossing us around for 30+ hours. Temperatures are now in the low teens (Celsius), cloudy and ready to rain at any minute. But Ive been getting lots of sleeps, lots of reading time, lots of sauna/steam room time, and my skin is softer than ever. 🤷‍♀️ 
Read more

Sunshine makes me happy

-
Image
Annual Trail Rides: 6/200 I had so many topics I thought I might cover in this blogpost: the craziness of this week, our sudden plunge into lockdown and curfew, limitations on barn access, the start of another online term at school, the craziness of my unleashed dragon on trails ... but honestly ... Life Is Good! Had some spectacular rides today and yesterday in amazing footing with my wonderful buddy Q. He was hot yesterday and cantering was not safe as we were just barely on the edge of control. So we trotted and did lots of collected/lengthening trot transitions on trail until we got to some version of normalcy. We went back out again today and cantered and trotted to our hearts content. Even after 2 hours at speed, my horse was still GO-GO-GO. I just love this horse! And right now he is just incredibly fit and strong. And we saw an owl at sunset yesterday, which is my self-declared spirit animal and one which I spot at major life transitions. So, what transition is in store for 202
Read more

The Professor

-
Image
Annual Trail Rides: 158/200 (Bareback: 16/12) It is back to school season, and Im preparing for my first class in person in 18 months this week! I do hope it sticks, as cases are on the rise and we are ever watchful despite a huge (85%) double vaccination rate in adults in our province. We now have vaccine passports which give us access to restaurants, gyms, and non essential services. But this is about the other professor in my life: Q. He is so gentle in his teachings, like the Zen master that waits for the student to empty his cup before adding knowledge. He does poke and prod me to go faster and release my controlling anxiety-prone ways. He does laugh and sigh at me, as he shows me how easily he accomplishes my requests. And he takes care of me, rebalancing my body when I start to fall off. We have achieved good success bareback this week, especially at the faster trot. I even started dropping the rein contract (hello control!) in the trot, and Q continues down the path steady and
Read more

Los fugitivos

-
Image
« Lets bring her back. » We took off to herd the pregnant mare that had lost her herd on the wrong side of the fence line. Juan galloped off the long way to circle around her and push her back towards the fallen doorway she had sneaked into. I blocked her way as she tried to avoid the water. On the other side the herd with six foals and several mares were nervous and the black stallion was pacing the fence line eventually galloping alongside the mare as we chased her. She got to the stream crossings and balked in the mud. Juan and his horse cut her off a dozen times, yelling and whistling until she tentatively started to cross, then galloped through. Past the opening, the black horse ran to her and towards the lagoon where they stopped and he stayed with her. The herd was set back looking but on the other side of some more muddy streams. The black stallion pushed the mare towards the streams and the herd but she refused. They stood waiting, as the mare calmed down. I watched on as Juan
Read more

Expansion of normal

-
Image
Our five-week European escapade is now coming to a close and I look forward to the return to normal that is my bed, my kitchen, my routine. As I reflect on all that we experienced on this trip, it is clear that even I, a self-proclaimed expert in change management, struggle with disruption in my life. Each new destination would have me grumpy and fussy for the first 24 hours as I shifted to a new living situation almost every five days. This guard and horse stood immobile at the Royal Horse Guards in London for at least an hour. It stretches my imagination of patience. The grand 4 ton Gold Carriage at the Royal Mews. Requires a brakeman walking alongside and 27 meters to stop. Apparently this might be the most uncomfortable thing to travel in, and was very seldom used. Gorgeous Cottage and English Garden in the middle of Hyde Park. This park really had me question my definition of high-density urban territory. Hyde Park with all of its variations on a garden theme
Read more