I didn’t feel great yesterday evening, so skipped the choir Zoom meeting and went to bed. And this morning….a migraine. Overnight clouds had moved in and a wind from the south. After a couple of hours trying to argue myself into wellness (waste of time and I know it, but often can’t act on it with a migraine), I gave in, took the meds, went back to bed, and covered my eyes with black cloth. Two hours later I was better, and a three hours after that I was able to get on Rags and ride a short calm ride in the north horse lot.
I worked on getting him to walk a straight line, make a small circle both ways, leg yield both ways (to the right, pretty easy; to the left, not so much), turn on the haunches (unsuccessful) and forehand (successful) both ways, “whoa” without hesitation, stand still after stopping, and then start promptly when cued, simple stuff like that. Pleased with myself for riding on a migraine day (trusting that the migraine really was gone) and happy with Rags’ response to the 4th day in a row under saddle. He would rather not, but he is easily food motivated and the carrot bits he gets have overcome his reluctance.
The odd: yesterday while walking the fence, R- saw a Northern Caracara (not that unusual anymore) and it vocalized. They croak. They’re a very handsome bird, impressive size and interesting coloring. I’ve seen them but never heard one; they’re usually silent. The odd today was not seeing *anything* of note (animal, bird, new plant) while walking the fence, he said.
His younger brother and wife both had Covid in late June/early July. Melissa died of it. They lived in the Houston area. Now his older brother and wife have Covid. They live in Kansas. They attend a church that doesn’t do virtual services. I don’t know if they’ve been good about wearing masks or not. I know R- talked to his older brother about Covid when the younger one was sick, but apparently it didn’t stick. Biting my tongue, here. Both brothers have engineering degrees from Texas A&M.
It’s sad when people who have the education to know that science matters…that experts may indeed be expert in something they aren’t…make potentially deadly decisions on the basis of politically motivated lies. It’s sad and infuriating when the leadership in groups choose to ignore the advice NOT to meet in person and ensure that their own members will get sick.
I had planned to do more editing on NewBook today, but the migraine ate my morning and the horses ate my afternoon. Tomorrow, while R- is grocery shopping, then. I’ve made some (still mental) changes in Chapter 2 that will fix the problems in C-3 and also some others down the line (where C-2-3 are recent history.)
Giving Rags a scritch on the withers for being good. 11/18/2020
Level feet! (Mine)
Rags startled, and I stiffened into “defensive seat”. He had spotted a fallen deer feeder. Notice his head is higher than his usual “poll at or below withers.” It’s clear horse and I are not in accord, which means the rider screwed up, this time over-reacting to a minor startle. I’ve been dumped when what I thought was going to be a minor startle turned into whirling, rearing, bolting (on a much larger horse) and I re-broke a rib I’d broken less than a decade before…and nearly dumped multiple times by horses with a really big “shy”…but that’s just an excuse.
Rides will alternate or at least vary between “schooling” rides (like today’s, emphasis on training) and “riding out” in the open, where exercise and experience are the goals.
Today, 11/19/2020. Walking relaxed on a very light contact, Rags’s neck is carried (not hanging, like a vulture’s neck) and slightly flexed at the poll, giving a slight curve. Progress!
Offering a carrot for some good work. He’s just spotted it.
“Yes, thank you, I would like a carrot!”
Hi. Good to see you on the horse. Glad you do not blame the horse – it is easy to put off responsibility on a “dumb” animal. Lady Cecelia Says quite clearly that it was not the horses fault when she rode in a race after being rejuvenated.
Let the editing slide, we can wait. Enjoying Rags is far more important.
Stay safe and sane
Jonathan up here in New Hampshire – and get back on Facebook when you can.
I love that photo of Rags reaching for the carrot. I really appreciate you talking about your writing process. I took pen and paper in hand a few days ago and started writing. It’s an idea I’ve had sort of squirming around in my head for a while and I haven’t really known what to do with it. With your encouragement, it’s actually becoming more than a few words on a page or two. I was amazed the other night when the words kept coming and coming as I wrote. A new character popped up and suddenly I think it’s happening, I actually have people talking, doing things, and going places! No one else may ever see this, but I’m having fun. Thank you for the encouragement.
Leslie, that’s wonderful! So glad your writing is developing what horse people call “impulsion”–the urge to go forward. New characters popping up…GREAT.
I rode every day this past week, Monday through Saturday. Next week, we’re expecting (hoping for) some badly needed rain, but it looks like a few days will be dry, and part of most days may be. I will spend more time in the Big Open this coming week; he’s now completely comfortable in the near meadow, and will need to become familiar with the main maintenance trails. He’s gone one way on Center Walk (not both ways) and both ways past the front of the Dry Woods, and halfway up the east side of it He’s gone halfway up the south fenceline, but has gone past Cloud (the rainbarn in the west grass) only once, coming back. But it’s deer season now so I have to be really careful about being out when people might be home from work, out hunting, etc. And I need to get him used to it in amounts that don’t arouse too much anxiety.
But he’s SUCH a good pony!
Elizabeth, I just read this and thought you might find it interesting. Words, history, and horses!
https://getpocket.com/explore/item/the-english-word-that-hasn-t-changed-in-sound-or-meaning-in-8-000-years
One of the Things-I’m-Thankful-For this year, as always, is the little miracle I’ve been enjoying for the last 20 years, of having access to some of the thoughts and experiences of my favorite writers via blogs, SFF.net, LJ, FB and all. It’s opened so many interesting doors that keep my mind sharp (horse lore, dog training, psychology, cooking, travel, on and on. And it’s been a particular blessing during these months of forced isolation during the COVID lockdowns. I was so glad when someone over on FB reminded me of this blog, as I’d been missing those FB glimpses of life in Florence (and your thoughts as a vet on current events over this recent election season.)
It helped to keep me going sanely through my own recent experience with COVID-19, which I suspect I caught during my 25 hour shift as a poll worker on Election Day even though we were all, volunteers and voters alike, masked and distanced and partially protected behind plexiglass partitions. Yesterday was my first official day out in public.
I pray that your younger b-i-l and his wife are having a mild course of it (as I did) and that they have a boring and thorough recovery.
Harriet: I’m glad you’re showing up here, too…but very sorry you had COVID….and MORE glad that you had a mild case of it. I hope it vanishes completely with no sequelae for you.