Not One, But Two Per Week

Happy Friday! Yes, Friday, not Monday. After trying out the new once per week schedule of blogging, I found it lacking. I wanted to give Tweed’s journey time to breathe, but found there wasn’t much to report. He’s doing very well, making great progress, and hasn’t had another tummy ache. Managing his weight on pasture is probably the biggest issue right now, but that is a day-to-day assessment. 

I literally hand off the reins once per week to Katie after I ride T for the first hour and she spends her time on him leading Epona through the trails. Epona doesn’t like to lead, she prefers to follow, and she takes her cues from T. If he’s okay, she’s okay. Which leads Katie to think Epona needs some solo time in the future. As it is now, Katie rides Epona for the first 45 minutes, warming up, then grabs T and allows my daughter to take Epona for the trail ride portion.

I was bragging up Epona to a friend yesterday at the park, which I knew was inviting BAD KARMA, and sure enough it did. When I rode Tweed out of her sight she did some crow hopping and Katie had to ride it and then bring her back to work. She had not shown signs of buddy sour before that, but there it was.

My sights are shifting back to trail riding with friends, but the busyness of the last few years has left those relationships undernourished. 

It is a process finding trail riding buddies and learning to ride well with each other and still respect each other’s boundaries and unique journeys. 

Some of my old friends no longer have horses. Some are riding horses that are seniors now. And everyone’s lives seem very busy and complicated.

I have a ride planned for this afternoon with one of my oldies but goodies. She even accompanied me on a trip to Canada to visit Baby Tumbleweed. Her horse is in his 20’s now, but still able to do light trails. She lost her heart horse last fall to old age issues. 

As I reach out to former trail partners, I also hope to find new ones. That is my next “goal.” I see new people all the time at the equestrian area and I try to meet and introduce myself and my horses. So many nice people are in the horse world if you are willing to make those connections. I was hesitant to expand my circle before, but I think Tweed and I are ready now.

The weather has shifted here to summer. There’s nothing but blue skies and sun in our 10 day forecast. 

We will be entertaining a very special family member next week who is coming in to celebrate her 90th birthday with us. I take that honor quite seriously and will dedicate every second I can to making her trip extra special. 

After that, my riding schedule will open up quite a bit.

I had surprise guests in the pasture this morning. Such a beautiful sight.

Happy Friday trails, everyone!