Thursday, February 23, 2017

My Three

I arrive, grab three halters, three peppermints, and venture to the field.

Q and Griffin both greet me with their respective whicker and whinny before walking to me, Q initiating the forward motion for once.



I then venture to grab Stan who has watched the events up to this point. He whickers his greeting, too, before giving his typical walk-around bossing Griffin and earning my chiding before he'll acquiesce to being haltered.

We venture to the barnyard. Cranky faces are swapped between Q and Stan while Griffin skirts to the front, nervous about being around Stan who is still The Bossy New Guy.

20170222_162740-01
Leading three horses at once is harder than it seems; Stan is definitely the problem child!

All three receive grain and grooming while I casually sip on the beer I had the foresight to bring. These quiet after-work moments with the horses are all the better with a cold brew in hand!

As I putz about doing this and that, as three sets of ears and eyes follow my every move. Each horse stands square with a hind leg resting.

I finally can't resist and begin a gratuitous photoshoot for a few minutes. They're just too cute.

IMG_20170222_171350
Varying degrees of filth and varying degrees of successful clip jobs.
Clipper batteries died hard by the time I got to Stan, sorry buddy!
I can say with certainty that all horses are very appreciative of their clips though;
they're much more perky and active in the field in the days following! It's so nice to see.
2017-02-23_08-11-52
Can't wait for more time and warmer days to get this guy out on the trails to build fitness back for
the first time since...2007!
20170222_171642-01
She doesn't look as awful as I'd worried after 6 months off!

IMG_20170221_181722_115
Okay, this is actually not from last night, but Griffin was in a dark spot last night that made photos poorer.


Finally, I decide to toss on my helmet and clip reins to Q's rope halter. I vault onto her bareback and we walk in slow, meandering circles around the barnyard for five to ten minutes. I revel in the pleasure of sitting astride my little 100-mile mare after so much time off. It's been 6 months since she began showing symptoms and 5 months since we diagnosed her suspensory injury.

20170222_165618-01
On Wednesdays we wear pink.
20170222_165222-01
Smiles and floppy relaxed ears <3
20170222_165023-01
This mare is the queen of getting mud on her poll. Cakes it in there like a boss.
20170222_165743-01
I couldn't help myself and gave her a vanity plate/tramp stamp.

We're not rushing into anything, but it is so nice to have these quiet moments riding her again, even if they are infrequent for now, the briefest of brief, and the slowest of slow. I'm grateful for the time.

After our short jaunt, I cuddle more with each horse before Lauren and her mom show up for lessons. Spring is imminent and I think I'm ready.

19 comments:

  1. All three are looking fabulous! :) I admire you for leading three at once! I finally am able to lead Henry and Apollo together (they decided they're buddies). Before I felt like the meat between two pieces of angry bread... in the worst sandwich ever. Now we manage! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Q looks so happy to be working with you again!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. She definitely seems to be enjoying it these days. She even lingers at the gate when I let her out like Griffin does. It's the most bizarre and wonderful thing. I hope the trend increases =)

      Delete
  3. I am declaring Q Her Majestic Highness, Queen of the Fat Cats. Lol! She looks phenomenal! And so chill. Makes me happy. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. SO chill. I think she needed this vacation. Wish she could have told me without, you know, tearing her suspensory lol

      Delete
  4. Longer days are creeping ever closer. Seeing daylight after work is such a luxury now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Isn't it, though?! As much as my horses benefit from vacation, I think I may implement permanent winter vacations in their future. Random weekend rides, but screw doing anything structured during the work weeks during DST/winter.

      Delete
  5. I've been obsessed with Q since Austen got to ride her endurance! And you sparked my interest in endurance, and I finally found your blog again!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha, I'll tell Q, her majesty, that she has yet another fan. ;-) Endurance is a blast for sure!

      Delete
  6. So very happy to see you astride Qmare again! <3

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm really happy to get to toodle around on her, too.

      Delete
  7. I can't believe it's been six months already (but I bet you feel very differently!) I'm glad you can mosey around with her again. Her fetlock doesn't look like it dropped at all because of her injury! Huzzah! Also, your mult-horse walking reminds me of my polo barn days... eight horses in hand and a gap between the barns only wide enough for two and a half. Good times...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It actually flew by for me, too! Winter is a busy time. Weird to not be conditioning for endurance, but Griffin is definitely keeping me busy.

      EIGHT HORSES?! Dear god. That sounds crazy intense and nerve wracking... Though if they were anything like mine, even if they did run off it wouldn't be too far.

      Delete
  8. Yay for riding Q!!! Also that pic of you leading all three almost looks like you have horse antennae lol

    ReplyDelete
  9. They are so freaking cute!! Gotta love those quiet horse moments.

    ReplyDelete
  10. They are all adorable! It's impossible to keep mud off this time of year!

    ReplyDelete