Seeing the Light

After a loooong winter off, and a lot of waivering and waffling. And fretting and indecisiveness and basically hiding my head in the sand... I scheduled a lesson with a local trainer. I chose to have a lesson with her because, while she is relatively new to the world of eventing, she is an accomplished adult ammy hunter/jumper rider, and is a "student of the sport" of eventing. She had some very respectable scores at USEA recognized horse trials at BN, and her other students do well. I also had a glimpse into her teaching style at a clinic she hosted at her farm last year when she took me aside when Alfie was having a "TB Moment" and acting up a little. And I liked what she said and how she handled us.

Well the lesson was fantastic. And while we spent a lot of time just walking (I'd say about 60 of the 90 minutes of my ride), we accomplished so, SO much. Alfie's issue with the big scary corner melted away. He ceased cow-kicking when I pushed him towards the corner. He understood that "Yes, I want you to be over there, and no, I won't let that terrible, pony-eating chair/pole/cinderblock/random object hurt you". This new instructor gave me a handful of incredibly useful tools to put in my tool chest to deal with Alfie when he does have his little fits. She also gave me some stretches to do with Alfie before each ride since he is very, very stiff and inflexible. My new accessories shall be a dressage whip and/or little round nubby ball spurs each time I ride. My leg is soooo weak from lack of riding all winter that I can barely push Alfie over, so instructor suggested the new "accessories" to pursuede my noble steed OOOVEERRRRR to where he needs to be. I am master & commander... so, listen up, Alfie!

We also discussed Alfie's overall situation... his feed, his turn out, his history. And my goals. Short term and long term (very... very long term). And I can't really recall having those discussions with a trainer in my "previous life" before my very first lesson with them. I'm so thrilled. Really... so incredibly happy with the way my lesson went and the confidence I gained from it. I will make progress this summer. I will.

In a slightly different, but still related to light, topic... my garden is just chugging along. Spring is such an amazing time of year for me. I love my garden. I love starting it each spring, even if I whine a bit about moving all that dirt every year. I love watching the plants grow--or this year sprout, since I started several things from seed. I admit that I have been giving all the little seedlings a pep talk just about every night. Now, I don't know if it helps or not... but they are looking good! I was thrilled to see a total of 5 green bean seedlings pushing up out of the ground just the other day. I have never, ever grown them before so I'm a little wary (wouldn't you be if the seed packet suggested you "inoculate" your plants?) but encouraged since they seem to be doing just fine at the moment.

I purchased ... well, too much really, but SO CHEAP! About 45 cents a plant from a small, local nursery... Tomatoes (better boy), zucchini, yellow squash (straight neck), egg plant, and I think 4 different kinds of peppers. 3 bell pepper varieties (yellow,orange and an exotic-looking purple!) and banana peppers. 24 plants in all, and I spent less than $12 at the little nursery. They didn't have any unusual varieties of veggies, but I think thats the least we've spent on plants in a long time. I still have to find one of my favorite tomatoes... a variety of grape tomato that looks almost like a cross between a Roma and a grape tomato, they're so big. Its called "Juliet" and its the most delicious little thing. Sweet and a little tangy. I oven-dried some last year and thought I had gone to heaven. We've bought a Juliet for the past three years, so I'll be picking one up soon.

When the plants go in... thats when I know its summer.

Oh, and Lilly Shar Pei is doing GREAT in her new home. Its been... three weeks already I think, and I get an almost daily report from her mom since she works just across the hall from me. Lilly's hair is growing back on her neck where her skin infection was most severe, and she's had all her shots now and tested negative for heartworms. I am without words to express just how happy and grateful I am that Meryl and her husband opened their hearts and home to this little dog. She's a little gem, worthy of a fabulous home.

Don't ask about my gym plans.. since there aren't really any. But happy to report I hover right around 168. I really need to get off my fat behind. That lesson (all 90 minutes of it) really showed me how completely and utterly out of shape I am... and I mostly rode at a walk! Pathetic!

Not much else to report on here... Hank and Gus had their annual today and check out very well overall. Hank was a little... onery... when blood was drawn for his heartworm test, but he tends to get pissy at the vet (he hasn't been the same since his very bad GI issue last summer... when the vet had to... uhm... have a feel in there to make sure everything seemed ok). Gus got different meds for his ear infection that I have been battling on and off for about 3 months. Hopefully the stuff he got today will kick it to the curb!

And that is all... for now. More on gardening, walking your dogs (dammit!) and a really great book next time.