Lesson Was a Fail, But Life Is Okay

God bless Alabama. It never fails that the first hot-hot day I lesson, I die. I had a migraine Thursday night, and thought I was out of the "migraine hangover" by Friday afternoon, but I was wrong. I was so excited to ride Charlie again. I made sure I hydrated really well during the day, even broke my own personal rules and wore a tank top to ride in, and still, I got queasy, almost fainted, and had to hop off and throw up 20 minutes into our lesson. I may be a delicate flower, but I do not like hot houses; I am an arctic flower. I blame it 50% on heat/humidity (Charlie and I were dripping before we even rode) and 50% on still having a migraine hangover (felt spacey, had the munchies). Oh well, better luck next week.

Good news is that everyone (trainer-H, assistant barn manager-A) were super sweet. A let me go home early, and re-wrapped and hand-walked the Candy Man for me, and H was super kind about me being a total weenie in the heat (I hate heat... I will lesson in cold weather as long as the ground isn't frozen, in the wind, in the rain, but I'll be damned if I have to lesson in 90 degrees).

On the Candy front, he is (hopefully) on his last week of stall rest. He has been nailing these hand walks like a (spooky, feisty) boss; he's up to 30 minutes now, and only gets sore if he does something stupid (rears, spooks, bolts, etc.) and even then, the soreness only lasts for a few minutes. I've started to incorporate belly lifts and carrot stretches to start prepping him for light under saddle work as soon as he is cleared. I also have been trying to grow out some Andalusian status mane and tail, and the hunter in me was dying; so Candy got a haircut- mane was trimmed (he's retired- I'm not gonna pull it) and tail was banged just above his fetlocks.

And oh my goodness, y'all, I am obsessed with the BoT no bows; yes, I think they're gimmicky voodoo, but his legs have both been so tight, and his funk is healing quickly that there must be something workng. (Thanks to Hilary from Equestrian at Hart for recommending baby powder- what a life saver!)

"Mom- I don't know if you know this, but there are horses. HORSES OUT IN FIELDS."

I let Candy roll for the first time in 6 weeks. He's an expert at rolling on one side at a time.

Only bummer in Candy Land is that SmartPak either double charged me or shipped me 2 months worth of Candy's supplements so I can't start him on his new rehab SmartPak (SmartFlex III Resilience, Bute-less, and a hoof supplement) until July. I'll need to see how many supplements he has when I go out to the barn tonight. He's been feeling and looking great, so I can't wait to see how far into the rehab process he gets.

It was Wilbur's first adopt-iversary this weekend! I've officially had this weird, slightly slow creature for one year; in a year, he's discovered his favorite sleeping spot is on my shoulder, he's stopped peeing on me in his sleep (still farts all. the. time.), got a costume and went trick or treating, lost his new best friend (RIP Dudz), got a new best friend (hello, Lila Bear), and finally discovered his vocal cords. He had a rough start: thrown over the fence at the Atlanta Humane Society, was severely underweight, lost his new cage mate after 1 month, and then got neutered a week later, went through some GI problems, but now he is happy (and healthy) as a clam (as evidenced by his popcorning and daily zooms around my room). I didn't think I would grow to love this creature, but he's found a spot in my heart.

Fave sleeping spot: my shoulder (that one leg sticking out kills me every time and I'm assuming we were having a gassy day in the bottom L). His Halloween costume. And a lil cuddle sack photo shoot.

In other news, I am scraping funds together for a new horse, and this whole broke ass bitch schtick is getting really old, really fast; it doesn't help that Father's Day and Phil's birthday are this month and presents are in order. Money is super tight lately, especially since I am trying to tuck away paychecks from tech work, and my student loan reserve is dwindling. All aboard the struggle bus!

-K & C