Thursday, July 18, 2013

Heaven on Four Legs



Harley's vacation is officially over!

Sort of...

I finally got to ride him again, and it was twenty minutes of pure bliss at 9:30 am on a Sunday morning in temperatures quickly approaching unacceptably hot.  So I am finally able to ride my horse again and a heat wave hits the east coast.  I made the most of this short ride, but now I am as eager as ever to get back in the saddle and start conditioning Harley (and myself) back to the wonderful level of fitness and dressage oneness we were enjoying last fall.  The flying changes have been put away since I found out that I was expecting, so I am/Harley is excited to take those out again.  Unfortunately, the weather is not cooperating with my fun and getting away to the barn is very difficult.

Please allow me to rephrase that...VERY, VERY, VERY difficult.

I am breastfeeding our daughter who demands sustenance about every two hours, even as we approach the two-month mark.  Of course, feeding is only one element among the myriad of activities that surround our daily lives at the moment.  Exhaustion has become a permanent resident at our house, but that has not made me want to see my horse or ride him any less.  It is the logistics that are a problem.  He lives a mere eight minutes away, but trying to fit anything horse-related into a two-hour window (which has to include me cleaning up when I get home) is next to impossible for me.  It doesn't help that the July climate absolutely requires that Harley have a shower after we work, even if all we do is walk in the shade and trot for five minutes and this leaves almost no time for hand-grazing, about which Harley has already expressed his displeasure.  The summer months usually afford him thirty minutes of grazing after a workout, something that he counts on as part of his "Val-time".

I also have to try and fit other horse-care requirements into my "Harley-time" like replenishing fly spray, detangling his beautiful tail and now-partially-rubbed-out-mane (HARLEY!?!), washing tree-sap out of my horse's coat (a very messy two-step process), and the most-time consuming of all: trimming his feet.  For the first time ever, I wish that I wasn't trimming his feet myself.  It is extremely time-consuming and when all I can think about is a few minutes in the saddle, an upcoming trim becomes a figurative killjoy.  BUT I have made a commitment to my horse's feet.  Just add it to the long list of commitments that I am trying to balance right now and I am not even back at work yet.

Have you ever noticed that every horse chore or activity takes at least ten steps?  What is up with that?

Let's just say that Harley's bridle will remain moldy for the near future.  Thank goodness my saddle has a cover!

In the meantime, I will be banking as much Harley-time as possible, but the deposits have been slow-going so far.  Once or twice a week just ain't cutting it! 

Our first ride in 93 days exactly!

28 comments:

  1. Love the smile on your face! Priceless!

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  2. Ah yay!! I'm sure Harley is happy for you to be back, too. :)

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  3. YAAAAY! So glad you are finally back in the saddle, even if only for a short while!

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  4. Ah yay!! I'm sure Harley is happy to have you back too. :)

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  5. Happy you're back out there~! I can't imagine how hard it is to get barn time with a little kiddo.

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  6. Yay for being back in the saddle!!!

    I bfed too (tho we were every 3 or so hours) and hubby would come to the barn with me if a feeding fell in the time I was going to ride and I would feed her at the barn, maybe that is something you can try? :) He also liked to make sure I was safe and didn't die lol!

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    1. I might try that when the heat dies down. Cleaning up is an issue. I always mange to get filthy and the barn lacks a real bathroom.

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    2. Ah yeah the heat and no bathroom can be hard.. I am sure you will get a routine that works for you guys :) In no time she will be 2 (like mine) and you will wonder where the time went!!

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  7. Your giggle right after you got on says it all. I was wondering if you were going to still do the upkeep on Harley's feet, you've done so well with that. Life is such a balancing act. Hoo ray for your first ride.

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  8. Glad you managed a ride - those babies do put a crimp in things, but that's part of their charm, I suppose!

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  9. WooHoo! Good for you and Harley. Happy for you both. Now if only the weather would start cooperating...

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  10. Must be my breasts don't store much because at two months my son wanted to eat every hour, now he wants to eat every 2 hours. If I want to ride I just hop on bareback and we go for a little walk. Just ambling around is better than no ride at all :)

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    1. I said two hours, but she takes 40 minutes or longer to eat so the feedings are often closer together than two hours. She also likes to cluster feed and comfort nurse. Let's just say I have been getting a lot of reading done, but I would much rather spend my summer outdoors.

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    2. 40 minutes! EEK! Fortunately she's going to get a lot more efficient any week now and your tatas can get a breather- and you'll be able to get out more :)

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    3. Dang 40 min feeding.. you are a good patient mama :)

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    4. PS they aren't all like that so when you have another, it may be totally different :) Mine was a great eater and super easy to bfeed... praying when we have more they follow those foot steps lol!

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    5. That is a relief to hear!

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  11. I wish somebody had warned me about cluster feedings, growth spurts and the fact that it takes forever for newborns to nurse. It's one of those "dirty little secrets" of BF. I can remember thinking "This was NOT in the brochure!" with my first. It does get better after 4 months, though, and then you get the 6mo growth spurt! But then you can start solids and it gets much easier. Unless you have one like my son, who refused all solids until he was 10 months old. ;P

    Glad to hear you're getting back into the swing of things! It does help bring a sense of normalcy back to life.

    I wore bikini tops and halter tops all summer when I was nursing. Much easier access for nursing on the go, plus bikini tops dry quickly and don't stain.

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    1. You are so right. BFing is not exactly convenient or easy right now, but we have come too far to give up. No one told me that I might have to pump for several weeks OR that my daughter would be early. ;-)

      Thank goodness she is healthy, but MAN is she working her Momma with this nursing business!

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  12. Good for you!!! I am sure it all takes 10 steps and 40 minutes longer than before!
    You have such a great man(loved the "Okay" signal from him to proceed getting on Harley!. Your attitude will be what floats time to a better schedule...it will be changing monthly, these routines..some for the harder and some for the better.

    YOU LOOK GREAT!
    So very happy for you both(three really)!!

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    1. Thank you so much! The video was hubby's idea. I was about to jump on my horse without ceremony. I could not stop myself!

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  13. HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY days :)
    Video documentation is great-special day!

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  14. You really look fantastic for having had a baby a few months prior to this video.

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