MARCH 2008

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March 24

Happy Easter. Have been busy as usual and haven’t had time to jot down all that I’ve been up to.  Honestly, I don’t remember everything (isn’t that sad?) but I can hit on the highlights. 

Bob had to row early on Saturday so I headed out to Blue Ridge.  On my way out, it started to sleet and rain and was coming down quite steadily.  By this time, I was nearly to the barn so I kept going, hoping it would pass. 

Vic was on his way and when I called him, I was sitting in my car and it was sleeting sideways.  We both were optimistic that it would pass.  As soon as I hung the phone up with Vic, it started to clear.  Soon, he showed up and we started to get our horses ready.  And I’ll be darned if it didn’t start up again.  Now, mind you, it wasn’t coming down very hard but as vain as it sounds, I was concerned about my saddle, which spots very easily if it is raining.  Determined to get a ride in out in the countryside, I tacked Forrest up and threw a wool cooler over him and my saddle and off we went.  The sleet came and went a few more times while we were out and my wool cooler did its job of keeping my saddle pristine.

It was so nice to get out for a ride around Blue Ridge.  I sincerely need one of our 2 hour tour dealies because I’ve been riding indoors a lot lately.  Which, don’t get me wrong, an indoor is a godsend but when you’ve been sitting at a desk all week, if you are outdoorsy at all, you really need that fresh air.  We only managed to get an hour in before I had to rush off to Aldie to try to keep my day on track.  As always, I had a lot packed in.

My first ride of the day was little Spots.  I really must get a picture of him because he is adorable and is such a good-natured pony.  He’s only a medium and as I adjusted my stirrups, I was glad I punched those extra holes in my leathers.  For Spots, I wear them all the way up on the first hole. 

Carol Lynn set up some little jumps for us to work over, starting with a stack of poles.  Spots doesn’t have a lot of experience over jumps so we started by walking back and forth over them until he was bored with that.  I continued sometimes on a circle, walking over another pole nearby.  Then, I trotted over those same poles.  Next, we walked back and forth over an X and did the same over a little vertical.  Basically, if he could step over it first, that’s what I did.  And when he was comfortable with that, we trotted.  At the end of the ride, I was cantering him over an 18” course and he did it like he’d been doing it his whole life.  I even rode it like a little kid – letting go of the reins and grabbing mane.  What’s great about him is that he lands and doesn’t run through the turns.  It’s hard enough for little kids to get it all together to jump a jump – to have to slow a pony through the turn later is just tough.  He’s precious and I look forward to riding him again.

Next I rode Mowgli – my little buddy.  He was his usual superstar self.  I always enjoy my rides on him.  Jumped a few of the little jumps we’d set up for Spots and lo and behold, people, I swear I saw one of my distances about 4 strides out!  Woo-hoo!  I think I’m actually getting my eye back!  That was pretty cool and actually kind of weird because it was literally like I saw it and locked in on it like it was in crosshairs on a sight. 

Time had really slipped away and I had one more to ride!  I was supposed to ride Gracie but I was also supposed to be walking out of the barn to get home to get ready for a dinner in MD with Bob.  Luckily, Sara was nice enough to pick up my ride on Gracie and I whizzed out of the barn, getting home in just enough time to transform myself into a person whose fingers have never touched the likes of a muddy pony (even though being a person whose fingers touch muddy ponies is way cooler).

The next day, which was Easter, I took off from riding and spent the whole day with Bob, which was bliss.  We had our usual yummy breakfast, ran some errands, watched a movie I rented from Netflix, took a very, very long nap, then went to dinner at Cheesecake Factory.  Such a nice, relaxing day.

Nifty news is that Patricia called me saying she’s arranged for me to go on a trail ride with a certain Olympic gold medalist.  I’ll leave the person nameless because it’s more of a private thing.  Should I end up doing some lessons with the person down the road, then I’ll go all public with it but for now, it’s a secret!  Anyway, I’m very excited about the ride, which will take place next month.  The person is someone who I grew up respecting and actually met in person years ago when I lived in Middleburg but I doubt they will remember the meeting.  Forrest, however, will not be impressed because no one impresses him more than himself. 

I should add that he was such a good boy on our last trail ride.  I am going to flip flop my schedule on the weekend so that I start at Stonegate and finish at Blue Ridge.  Now that the daylight has changed, that’ll allow me to, once at Blue Ridge, meander a little longer out on the trails.  I love a nice leisurely ride cross country and that way, I wouldn’t have to time things so perfectly to get to my next destination.  Ahhhh….the joys of juggling!

Headed out to the barn again this evening and as always am really looking forward to it.

March 16

Whoo-hoo!  There it is gang!  Thanks to Jessie, full-fledged picture of me jumping!!!  Whoo-hooo!!!  I seriously have NO pictures of me jumping since college (that would be 20+ years ago).  What you don't see, thanks to the help of PhotoShop, is the SHEER TERROR in my eyes.  Actually, I had red eyes of sheer terror at first and I got rid of the red which actually conveniently also gave me a much more confident look.  I'm saving the copy of the look of sheer terror for closest of friends.  It has been a source of a few giggles.  Tinker mare (that's her there -- isn't she adorable?!) had a lovely glowing eye and I gave her a brown one back.  But you cannot improve on perfection and the eye I gave her isn't nearly as pretty as her real eye.  But at least she no longer looks like a demon from hell carrying the Queen of Sheer Terror on her back. 

Yes, I've fully analyzed the picture.  First, the positive stuff.  I love my back (as we all know, good posture is not my forte), I love my release, I love the angle of my hip and the depth in my heel but I am (here's the bad part) pinching with my knee and my toe has rotated out, causing me to grip more with the back of my calf than I'd like).  I don't think my toe is as far back as the angle makes it appear, but clearly, it could be a bit more forward.

Since I have watched and watched my video over and over, I have made a certain correction in my jumping position that I think is going to do the trick and put my leg where I want it. 

What this also shows is that yes, that back rail is 3'6" (which as we know by now equals about 4'6" in Jana Land).  And, let's face it, Tinker is jumping her adorable little heart out and yes, I'm hanging on like a bug on a windshield, relieved that I never bothered to have children because otherwise, their chances of losing a mother would have been very high at that moment.  But, alas, as luck would have it, I prevailed and live to tell the tale. 

I have so much more to share from this weekend but Bob is on his way home from the airport and he's bringing me my #2 with no onions (if you're a McDonald's fan, you'll know I'm not sharing bathroom talk with you) and a sweet tea.  Afterwards, we are going to take a nap because the damn dogs have kept me awake for days and I just really, really need to lie down and sleep for several hours.  ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz......

And sleep we did!  Augh!  It was so good to get a nap.  I think I clocked like 3 hours.  Who knows.  OK, so, back to the weekend adventures....  Bob went to NY to visit his brother, which meant I made plans to catch up with all my peeps.  Well, not all of them but as many as I could pack in.  So, Friday, me, Carol Lynn, Jim and Jessie went to Blackthorn for drinks.  Karin was supposed to come but some important horse-related responsibilities kept her away.  I cashed in early -- around 9:30 and apparently, the party continued long after I left.  Sylvio and a friend showed up after I left and it sounds like the rest of the town did too so everyone had a great time.  Me, I was threatening to kill my dogs who were on high alert looking out for Bob.  Sassy was just certain that he'd walk through the door at any moment.  She eventually was relegated to her kennel with her bark collar on.  I think in all, I got about 4 hours of sleep.  If not, it felt like it. 

Saturday, I woke up just minutes before 8.  Actually, I SPRUNG out of bed minutes before 8, thinking I was about to be late for breakfast with Liz.  In my sleep deprived confusion, I didn't realize until I got all the way to Bob Evans, that our breakfast wasn't until Sunday.  How messed up is that?  Instead, I had plans to meet Sam at Daily Grind at 9:30.  With time to kill, I got a yummy McSkillet Burrito for breakfast, then went back home, let the dogs out for a bit and waited it out until it was time for me to leave to meet Sam. 

Once together, Sam and I headed out to see Forrest.  But not without some stops along the way.  First stop was The Tack Box.  I was on another mission for more gloves.  I'm a glove junkie. The last pair I bought were pretty expensive but honestly, too short.  No likey.  I ended up getting a pair of Heritage show gloves -- the one without the obnoxious logo on them (so tacky!).  The ones I really want, oddly, are the Ariat Pro Grip or Tek Grip -- can't remember which, but they are synthetic.  Yes, I'm old school and typically don't do synthetic.  But what I have discovered about synthetic gloves is that they don't leave gunk under and around your nails.  So, when I can get ahold of a pair in size 7, they are going home w/me. 

Next stop was the Tack Exchange.  Sam bought a pair of irons.  I put my blinders on so as not to be tempted by more stuff I really didn't need.  I did well.  We moved on and made our way to Blue Ridge.  Sam's never been there so I wanted to show her where Justin had been buried.  When we pulled in, here's what we saw:

That dirt patch is where Justin is buried.  It was nice to see everyone napping nearby, keeping Justin company.

There were five horses in total, lying down on the ridge near Justin's grave.  Clearly, a favorite napping spot where all the horses feel safest.  Makes me feel so good that Justin is buried there.  Truly, a good resting place.

Forrest was also out sunning himself when we got to the barn.  We brought him in and fussed all over him while tacking up.  He loves the attention.  He's such a pretty horse.  Forrest felt much, much better when I rode him.  The past few times, he started out a little short but this day, he started out just a little lazy but was moving very nicely and long.  He even seemed to have a little spring in his step. 

Sam is going to start coming out during the week to ride him because between the rain we've had and my also riding at Stonegate, it is hard to get out.  Right now, his rides need to be kept short and built up slowly.  Having Sam also riding him, along with Carlos who comes out and does him a few times a week, will help speed his rehab along.  I'm pushing hard to keep going full steam ahead with my riding goals which only leaves one day during the week for me to get out there, which isn't enough. 

What a gorgeous day it was.  Nice enough for Sam and I to sit outside at Dank's for lunch later.  Haven't been there in so long.  Had me a big ol' cheeseburger.  YUM.  That place is the best.  I subject Sam to my overly loud tunes all the way to Stonegate (everyone must experience this when riding with me). 

At Stonegate, we both rode several horses.  I rode Mowgli, Spotz and Tinker and Sam rode Jazz, Stitch and Deuce.  Long day!  Since we got such a late start, we didn't leave the barn until nearly 6!  Great day though -- had a blast.

That night, I had plans to meet with Dave for dinner.  Normally, I drive up his way but this time, he came my way and we went to my favorite Mexican place.  Yummy!  Then, we watched the video from my lesson.  Dave always give me a good critique on my riding so it was good to hear all the stuff he had to say, laced with his usual razzing.  Actually, the best part of him coming to visit was seeing him drive straight into the neighbor's driveway, get out of his car and me yelling across the street, "Wrong house!"  Awesome.

Saturday night was pretty much a repeat of Friday night in terms of sleep.  I wanted to strangle Sassy, but since Bob likes her so much, I spared her life, put her bark collar on, and stuffed her back into her box.  That was around 12:30 a.m....that meant I got yet another night of crappy sleep.

Breakfast plans with Liz finally rolled around.  We did our traditional deal at Bob Evans.  Haven't been there in forever.  It's not a favorite of Bob's (ironically, we call it Bob's) but it is a sentimental favorite for me because we all used to go there to and from horse shows.  The Anyplace Farm gang spent many a meal there either gearing up for the day or going back over rides and wins for the day at whatever horse show we attended.  Good times....  Liz and I caught each other up with each other's lives top to bottom.  It was great to see her.  Honestly, a big part of what I miss about showing is just that -- sitting down to a meal afterwards and laughing and talking and looking forward to the next show.  The wins were great.  And we had many, but it is the camaraderie that I miss.  Sometimes I think I miss chatting with the moms more than the kids!

Yeesh -- that was just this morning and quite frankly, it feels like it was last week.  I headed out to the barn after that and had four horses to ride.  I hopped on Tinker first -- she was a good girl, just like the day before, so I kept her ride simple.  To me, when they are going well, keep it simple and leave them alone.  She was very relaxed during our ride.  I took her for a nice long walk around the farm afterwards and got to watch a big showdown between some goose couples around the pond.  Too bad I didn't have my camera. 

Back at the barn, Mowgli was going to be my next but it turned out, he was headed into a lesson.  Good thing I didn't ride him first, because I normally do!  He seemed to be doing just great for his little rider.  Mowgli's for sale so I won't get to play on him for much longer, I suspect.  He's been a great little ride for me.  Anyway, the torture from my dogs left me just exhausted and I knew Bob was due home soon.  I called Carol Lynn and asked her if she'd hate me if I didn't ride Spotz and Stitch.  Thankfully, she was fine with it so I just cleaned my tack, packed my car and headed home to wait for Bob so we could have our nice long nap.

And on that note, my prince awaits....

March 12

OK -- ummm...way, way off on the measuring.  Went back tonight to ride and when I was done, I measured the holes that I saw in the video on the actual jump.  Um...I was off by 3" everywhere!  So, whatever I said below, just reduce by 3"!  Regardless, when you haven't jumped in forever, I think jumps are kind of like how you measure dog years to people years.  So, to me, 3' is like 3'6", 3'3" is like 3'9" and so on.  Actually, they look even MORE huge than that to me.  I'm sure that'll go away with time.  So sad.

I rode Deuce tonight.  He is really coming along.  You know those really easy looking exercises that are actually really hard to do?  Well, I did a few of those tonight.  Toughest thing with Deuce is, he's SO quiet, getting a real lively trot with some impulsion is HARD.  So, I carried a dressage whip.  That helped.  But phew!  As soon as he gets the jump in sight, he gets sooooooooooo quiet.  Whereas most horses rush to the fence.  He gets soooooooooo quiet and then ker-flops over the jump and I swear, he wants to let out a huge yawn while he's at it.

I also kept in mind what I saw in my video and worked on some of that.  I cantered a stack of poles and some single poles and worked on holding my leg where I wanted it.  I also did a series of simple changes and when he landed after the jump on the wrong lead, I made sure to catch him for the downward to do the simple before the turn.  So, an easy ride, all in all.

It was warm late this afternoon but the cold is slipping back through.  So nice to have the sunlight on our side again.  Can't wait till it stays light much longer.

March 9

Big, big weekend.  Great weekend.  RAINY weekend.  Well, Friday and yesterday were rainy. Yesterday, I got a lesson with Silvio!!  Woo-hoo!!  I took the lesson on Tinker-mare.  I've only jumped her a few times over an X or a small vertical so yesterday was a bit of a shock to my system but a good kick in my ass to say, "You don't suck as bad as you think you do."  Like most people, I'm my own worst critic -- which can be a good thing and a bad thing.  It's a good thing because I strive to be very good, very correct, very precise in execution of EVERYTHING.  It can be bad because if you aren't careful, you never allow yourself to realize your accomplishments and any headway you've made.  Which is why I keep this blog, actually.  Yes, believe it or not, I don't keep it to entertain people or to feed their voyeurism.  I keep it so I can look back later and say, "See there!  You did that!!"  I also keep a separate training diary where I really get into the nitty gritty of every ride and I read it before lessons or before I ride a horse so that I remember what we worked on last and so that I remember what 'track' we were on with that horse.  Might sound kind of goofy but at this point, I'm riding about eight different horses and yes, it is easy to forget what you did with each and to maintain continuity.

So, getting the lesson was really cool but the super coolest part of all -- my friend, Karin came out and video taped me!!!!  How freaking cool is that?!!  Now, Patricia has videoed me on Forrest before but they were fairly short clips of say, a gymnastic or cantering a small jump on a circle.  But this -- THIS was me doing a course!!  When is the last time you heard me say I jumped a COURSE??  NEVER.  Well, probably because I didn't tell you.  Actually, the last time I think I did a course was when I was schooling the ponies for one of the twins.  That'd be 2, almost three years ago.  And prior to that?  Umm...maybe two years prior to that when I'd school Piper's ponies for her at the shows.  And prior to that, just smatterings of jumping here and there to get something around for one of the girls.  But seriously, it has been forever and it has not been consistent.  Needless to say it's been a long time and I have no eye.  And oddly, a woman at the barn thinks I have what she called a 'dead eye'.  Which meant, a good eye -- dead on.  I wanted to say, "Dead eye?  Damn straight!  It died over 20 years ago!"  But she's seen me ride Mowgli, who I dig and oddly, don't miss on him often. 

The lesson went like this:  first, we did a gymnastic.  Which I loved because it was a real confidence builder for me -- you don't have to find the distance -- it's there for you.  So, ground pole to X to oxer.  Oxer started out at 2' and ended at 3'6" at the front pole and 3'9" on the back.  I'm fine with a big jump (hey, that's big to me!) as long as I know I've got 'stick' in the tack.  And being that I ride anywhere from 10-12 times a week (multiple horses in one day), I can tell you with confidence that yes, I got stick!  So, first time through, I'm cool...mare felt good, I felt solid, life was grand.  I get to the other end to come back through and, HEY NOW! the jump suddenly got much bigger (mind you, it's like 2'6" at this point).  Anyway, it continues to get bigger and that all went pretty well.  I did have a stop in the middle of it one time -- which is always a little disconcerting.  But, it was my fault.  Silvio told me to be softer -- that I was a little stiff coming through (that was me trying to keep perfect shoulders), and I took that to an extreme and kinda did nothing so the mare was like, "Umm...you don't feel like you're with me."

That was over with and voila! it was time to jump a course.  I don't think Silvio realized how long it has been since I've jumped.  Quite frankly, I don't think anyone realizes it.  'Cause I ride a big game otherwise.  So, he tells me this course -- an abbreviated one of what I eventually do, whose first jump, counting holes in the video, started at 3'3" and ended at 3'6".  So, I motor along to that and at some point -- I'm not sure if it was my first time thru or one or so after that but I try to push to this long spot and poor Tinker was like, "You're an idiot, I am not jumping from there."  So, we stopped.  It was funny to see me berate myself after that.  Silvio is so calm and laid back while he explains in such a nice way what an idiot I was (he didn't say that, mind you).  He asks me if I want him to put the jump down and I was all brave and said, "NO!"  Because I know I'm an idiot for what I just did and then I was kicking myself in the butt to ride like I knew what I was doing.  So, I did that and that jump was excellent.  I actually looked like I knew what I was doing. 

Silvio helped me get better changes out of Tinker.  I'd always held her too much and he told me a better way to do it.  So, the first time through, all my corners just sucked, everything was rough and by the seat of my pants and finally, after two more stops to that same oxer (one each direction), I'd figured out what I was doing wrong and put it all together and actually didn't look half bad at the end.  YAY!!!  I was on Cloud Nine!!!  I learned some new stuff, I got smarter about some stuff on the fly and Karin got it all on tape (well, DVD)!  Woo hoo!!  Now, Jessie, Silvio's wife, was also taking pictures so I am hoping to get some pix really soon to put on the site so I can be all proud of myself and share!

After I put Tinker away, we headed over to a nearby Irish pub to have coffee.  Well, I actually had a spiked coffee and Karin had a very innocent iced tea.  The rain was just torrential that day and it was so gloomy, I just wanted to spice things up!  So, we sat at the bar and looked at the vid.  I saw something I was doing that really annoyed me and Karin pegged its source.  I was riding with my lower leg just a hair farther back than it should be.  The next day, I make a conscious effort to ride with my lower leg a bit more forward and it made a big difference not only in terms of quieting my lower leg down even more (it wasn’t horrible to begin with but this little ‘tweak’ will make it rock solid) but making my position even more solid in the tack.

I’m getting ahead of myself – back to Saturday…  After Karin and I watched the video and sipped our respective warm drinks, she headed on to get ready for a wedding (which I’m certain I made her late for) and I headed back to the barn to ride another.  I rode Mowgli, who I just adore.  Mowgli is normally a delight for me to ride but this particular day, he was a bit of a crank.  And after my somewhat successful ride of finding distances fairly decently, given my condition of distance blindness, I really stunk on Mowgli.

I had one more to ride, Stitch, but it was pouring rain (he was outside) and the day had just gotten away from me, so I had to postpone my ride on him to the following day. 

Which brings me to Sunday.  Sunday, I was slated to ride four.  The day started out as usual – a big breakfast with Bob.  And when I say big, here’s what I get:  French Toast, two eggs over medium, two sausage links, wheat toast (to sop up the egg yolk).  Here’s what Bob gets:  French Toast.  Then, two hours later, I’m starving and am eating lunch (a sandwich I’ve ordered in the morning from Sheetz) and when I get home around 5, Bob has not eaten lunch, because he wasn’t hungry from the ‘big breakfast’ that he ate.  And its funny, when we order, if a different person, other than who took our order, brings the food out to us, they always think the big breakfast is for him.  Nope.  Hey, a girl needs a lotta food to burn to ride all those horses!

Anyway, since Mowgli didn’t rock my world like he normally does, I decided I was getting on him first.  I rode him a looooong time.  He acted up a little for his flying lead changes so my plan was to drill him on doing simples.   He got in trouble with me a few times for acting up on the simples!  But once he figured out I was making this as easy as possible for him, he lightened up and we both enjoyed the ride.  I jumped him a few times – missed like a dork on the first jump, jumped out well on the second, then did the whole line again and nailed it.  That was a good way to start my day. 

Next on my list was Stitch.  He’s only 3 and is such a good boy.  He lives out and was dirty, dirty, dirty, as ponies will get.  Trotted and cantered him around and he was just a very good boy.  Little Spotz was next.  He’s just a little guy – I guess a medium pony.  And is just the sweetest.  He has the kindest eye.  Everyone giggled at me being on him and kinda giggled at poor little Spotz (he was a mud ball too) and now I feel bad for the little guy and want to put him in my backyard.  He’s a doll.  I jumped him over a stack of poles and the first time through, he jumped like it was 4ft.  I was completely caught off guard.  It was HILARIOUS!  We jogged over it a few times back and forth and I even cantered it a few times and we ended there. 

Next on the list was Deuce!  Deuce is growing up to be such a gorgeous boy.  I remember him when he first came to the barn.  He was a little skinny and didn’t have much muscle.  Now, he’s getting very round and he’s moving out better.  He moves longer and covers more ground.  I do think I’m going to start riding him with a dressage whip, though.  Occasionally, I will pop him behind my leg if he doesn’t listen to my asking him to move forward.  I think the dressage whip will be a much more civilized way of doing things and it will allow me to keep more continuity from hand to mouth.  Jumped him over a little X a few times and that was my day!  Phew!  Afterwards, I set about cleaning all the bridles I used and my girth and saddle.  I left at 5 and headed on home.  As always, another big weekend! 

Since then, I got a chance to look at the video at home and critique myself.  There were some things that were good -- for instance, if you know me, you know I have poopy shoulders, well, my upper back just sucks.  But I really was doing my best and I held better posture the whole ride -- I've been practicing that on the flat for a long time.  My turns were good, my hands were very even through the turns which means the turns are coming mostly from my legs.  I actually made a few smart decisions which helped some lines work out.  The part that just makes me gag is when my lower leg gets behind me!  Bleh!!!  You know these rides you see from a lot of hunter riders where they land in a heap on the other side?  Well, they are doing what looks like a praying mantis -- elbows bent and way up for the release, leg way out behind them, then, when they land, the force of the horse hitting the ground causes them to get dumped even more forward.  Anyway, that's what I'm doing and I am going to fix that crap.  There were a few jumps where I didn't do it but too many where I did. 

Now, on the stops I put on the mare -- I was made to feel a little better about that later.  Not to have this sound wrong, but, I saw another rider, not associated with our barn, who I know has waaaay more jumping experience in the past 20 years than I have, quit twice at the very same jump I did!  So, it was good to see I wasn't the only one who made a mistake to that distance.  Again, I don't want to take joy in someone else's misstep but rather, it made me feel a little less stupid that a more experienced rider made the same mistake. 

My poopy leg is now indelible in my mind....

March 6

Haven’t written in awhile.  I think I’m starting to see a pattern with my saying that.  For me, that typically means good stuff, because, if I’m too busy to write, that means I’m spending a lot of time on a horse’s back.  Then, that means that I have limited time to get all of my other stuff like waiting for the furniture guys, hanging with the new furnace/AC/hot water heater dudes, grocery shopping, dinner cooking, house tidying (I say ‘tidying’ because it is rare I full-on clean it), friend meeting and so on done.  I actually manage to get it all done which is why I’m a happy camper pretty much at all times because I have ‘balance’ in my life.  I’m a Libra and balance either comes to us naturally or we are constantly striving to obtain it.  Personally, I think I do a bang up job of keeping balance.

Spring is trying to gracefully step in behind nasty old winter.  Thanks to global warming (so says Al Gore – which by the way, you do know we can also thank him for the internet, right?) winter was quite mild.  We were supposed to be blaming the drought on global warming (and President Bush) as well but lately, we’ve had rain out the wazzoo.  This past summer proved to be quite stressful for those with livestock, as finding hay was tough and expensive and I know people that went as far as Canada to get theirs. 

Anyway, back to spring – being the optimist that I am, I never lost sight over the winter of the prospect that spring would be back soon.  As soon as I noticed that sunset was happening a minute later every day (I know this because McDonald’s sponsors a little advertisement EVERY morning telling us what time the sun will set – there’s a little picture of a cup of coffee next to it with a shorter version of the McDonald’s jingle in the background), I knew spring was doing her best to edge ol’ man winter out of the picture.  And who can blame her?  Winter SUCKS!  Even if it is mild! 

Lately, I have seen the tips of the branches on trees sprouting their buds.  And like the bulbs did in my mother’s garden every year, the ones in mine are already up.  I always worry about them when they start early like that because I fear a random frost will come and kill them.  But, they seem to know what they are doing because no matter what, they come up every year long before we’re prepared to stroll around in our shirt sleeves.

McDonald’s was on to something way earlier than anyone expected and so were the horses.  Animals don’t lie, especially not horses, and the horses started shedding last month.  Some horse gals reported theirs shedding in late January but I didn’t catch what part of the country they were from. 

I was grooming Forrest last weekend and having been around horses for EONS, I noticed that Forrest had an itch.  He was on cross ties and suddenly shifted his haunches to the right, then started to stand on one toe, then, started to try to turn his head --- well, basically, at the point of his shifting his haunches, I knew he had an itch and so I undid the ties in an effort to let him scratch where it itched but he was so amazed that I undid him that he lost all inclination to scratch.  So, I went on a search to find the itch for him and get it.  Given how he’d contorted his body, I figured he was going to go at his barrel with his teeth so I started there.  Thanks to the gals at Emerald Nail, my medium length nails are such that they offer quite a good scratch.  And according to Forrest upper lip, I hit the spot perfectly.  He had such a look of bliss on his face, I felt bad stopping.  But we had work to do so I moved on with getting him tacked up but did so with the promise that I’d give him an extra special currying afterwards.

When we were done with our ride, which is very short these days since Forrest is basically in physical therapy right now, as promised, I hooked Forrest up with some good scratchin’s.  Blue Ridge is about a 300 or so acre farm and no horse in his right mind is going to bother leaving it so I always bring Forrest out into the sunshine and take his lead off and let him graze in the barn area.  He likes this and enjoys leaving whatever spot I put him in to find what he considers to be optimum.  When I come back, it always takes me a second to figure out where he has parked himself. 

This particular day, he re-parked himself behind the horse trailers and went about his business while I walked up with my grooming bag slung over my shoulder.  This bag has all kinds of goodies in it.  I set about currying Forrest, starting with the itchy spot, and moved all over his body, pausing periodically to dig the downy-most part of his coat out of the teeth of the curry to make room for more hair.  Between the sunshine, the grass and my currying, I think Forrest enjoyed himself.  And yes, like McDonald’s, Forrest’s coat made it clear that spring was coming.

As always, I enjoyed the drive to and from Blue Ridge.  I’m always on the watch for something unique that nature might offer me to enjoy seeing.  On my way to the barn, I noticed, loping along in a field to the right, a red fox.  The fox did not look harried or worried.  He was just casually cruising along with nary a car in the world.  I got a big kick out of this because it was Saturday, which is hunting day for Middleburg, although Middleburg does not hunt that part of Upperville, and the property that he was cutting through was the Mellon’s property which is off limits for hunting.  So, there he was, enjoying a carefree day in the country on the side of 50 that Middleburg does not hunt and that made me smile.

Sometimes I think my life is like that day for the fox. Trust me, he knows there are hounds and a field of horses and riders that are looking for him.  He’d have no other reason to get himself in the open and be on the move like he was.  I often think about how good my life is now and I know exactly why it is like it is.  Because I make a specific point of staying away from harmful or useless, time-wasting things and only surround myself with great things like good friends, horses and beautiful countryside and most importantly, I had just enough dumb luck left to happen upon Bob who really clinched it for me in the ‘fabulously happy life’ category.

Now, with all that said, keep your eyes peeled, spring is just around the corner.