Mother Nature, lameness, and brownies

How is that for a mixed up mess of a title?

Mother Nature needs an assistant. She either needs an assistant or she is getting senile or is on drugs. She seems overwhelmed and can't get back on track with the normal seasons. It is the middle of March and it was 42 degrees on my way to work. I live in California for goodness sakes, what IS she thinking? Not only it is cold, it is raining and everything is a muddy mess. I hate mud. I know I have bored you before with my mud loathing but really... the stuff is just gross.

I haven't gotten to ride much the last couple of weeks. Partly because of the weather and partly because I have been hit with a couple of lameness issues. First Lily has some swelling in her front legs. I had the vet look at her and she thinks that it may be stress related and some time off should do the trick. So she is off and at rest for at least 30 days. She was never lame or off or even acted like it bothered her. The swelling is going down and she is feeling pretty feisty. Wonderful.

Saturday the weather was the best that it had been all week, the sun was coming out intermittently so I decided to give Mr. Semper some time outside. Huge mistake. He went out and then really got his groove on. Bucked and ran around like a fool. I put him up and lo and behold, Sunday morning his right hind fetlock joint is swollen and hot. Not a mark, scrap or scratch anywhere. Just swollen. He was putting weight on it and moving fine so I am thinking that he just stressed it. I am going to give it a few days and see if it doesn't resolve itself. All this just before I have a cow horse clinic to go to. Great. Just fricking great.

Wow... I sound like Negative Nancy. Or Polly Pissy Pants. Or Debbie Downer.

I have been on a brownie baking jag lately. Last week I made "Slutty Brownies". For me...they are a waste of a perfectly good Oreo, but Mr. Wonderful and the boys at work thought they were the best brownie they had ever eaten. On Friday, I got the new Pioneer Woman's cookbook. I made the "Knock You Naked Brownies". They didn't knock any ones clothes off.. thank goodness... but they were sweet and chocolaty. I then made my favorite brownies because I needed to compare them. Had to. My favorites are still "Salted Carmel Brownies". The KYN's didn't hold a candle to them. Mr. Wonderful liked the KYN best. So I brought the KYN brownies and my favs to work for the boys to try. Of course they like the KYN's. Do men have taste buds or is it all about perception. If I had called my favs something equally as ridiculous as slutty or naked - would it have changed the outcome?

I guess I should add a disclaimer here....if you have read my blog for any length of time you know I am a weight loss surgery patient and posting recipes about brownies and eating is probably not proper etiquette. I want to clarify a few things...I do eat sweets once in a while. I don't eat candy ever. I don't drink soda pop (diet or regular). When I bake, I do taste what I bake. I don't eat the entire pan. I leave that to Mr. Wonderful, my kids and the boys at work. I had surgery almost 3 years ago and I have maintained my goal weight for the last two years. It is always on my mind. Food is always going to be a struggle for me. I am learning how to eat all things in moderation. It is a process. Making good food choices and trying to find a balance is what I work on daily.

Thinking to much, again.

I have been thinking about the first show a lot. On Saturday during a lesson I said to TL that Semper had done well even without been ridden the week before, without a proper warm up, etc. She responded "yeah, they do get to that point". I hadn't ever really thought about that. That he would get to the point where he didn't need to be schooled or trained on a lot. That he would get to the point he just knew what I wanted and did it. I mean, I know he knows his job and he wants to please me so why didn't I think we would get to the point where we could just get it done without all the schooling and ass kicking? Later that day I heard her say to another rider... "raise you expectations". Well there you go.

As someone that is not a trainer it is hard to know when to raise your expectations. How do I know when it is time to make those changes? I think, I think to much. my head is going to explode. I should ride more and think less. Definitely. Da,da,da definitely.

You know... I am pretty sure that I was supposed to be born independently wealthy. How can you be born with the HORSE GENE and be born poor. Is that someones idea of a really cruel joke? Am I being punked? This has been going on for far to long for it do be a reality show. Although, it might make for a very entertaining reality show. "Horsaii Women" It would be like Saddle Club on steriods.

First Horse Show of the Season

Saturday was my first horse show of the season.

Here are the facts:
I didn't ride all week. Mr. Semper was off for 6 days pulled out of the pasture, bathed and expected to go to work.

He hadn't been stopped hard or done any serious turnarounds since Oct. Yes-October.

The warm up arena was a sloppy mess and not usable.

We got about 7 - 10 minutes in the indoor to warm up before we had to go show. No time or space to stop. Got in a few turnarounds.

Had to run two different patterns. 6 and 8. They are very similar. And that can be deadly for a pattern challenged rider (like me).

We got through both - the non pro class with a 68 and the rookie class with a 69.

Not to bad for the odds.

I was truly elated that we just got through them both without schooling. Mr. Semper listened and was relaxed. His stops were better than they had been all last show season. Maybe the time off was just what he needed.