planBE

Annual Trail Rides: 44/200 Im happy to report that my mild hamstring sprain does not prevent me from mounting, dismounting, trotting or cantering. Im not ready to throw myself into deep snow just yet, and if my horse spins and dumps me I might be in trouble. But if I can manage the risk and be a bit conservative, I do not need to wait 3 weeks to return to activity. While my range of motion is still a bit compromised, I gained a good six inches of flexibility bending down today and I can almost touch my toes. Walking is doing me a world of good, as well as the anti-inflammatories, rest and heating pad. When I can bend forward with palms on the ground I will be completely recovered. It was a beautiful day for a solo ride in the woods. My horse made me giggle with his mind reading today. We were heading back at a relaxed walk and I was thinking it would be best to switch from the narrow slippy path to the wider groomed trail so that we could trot back. So I cued with some neckrein and the...

Annual Trail Rides: 42/200 Spring weather wreaks havoc on the trails. On Monday it poured all day long. I didnt even bother going to the barn. It was mild but oh so dreary. Then the wind picked up significantly and within a few hours we were deep in an arctic freeze. From +5C to -20C in 3 hours.  Wonder what happened to those beautiful trails? By Tuesday, despite the deep freeze, I went to the barn without any intention of riding. Somehow (?) after a few days of mild sunny days my body no longer tolerated -20C. I wanted nothing to do with it. I instead played with Q and gave him an extra long grooming session with lots of bananas and carrots. My arms were tired after that! Wednesday was announcing a lovely spring day with sunshine and mild temperatures above freezing. Yeah! Unfortunately there had been a good dusting of 3-4 inches of fluffy snow that layer treacherously on top of hard packed ice in the parking lot, so it was worrying. Incoming trail riders assured me that the trail...