Follow up from the disaster ride.

I have not ridden again since.  His hooves are getting quite long and I thought I would be better off waiting until the farrier came out today before I rode again.  But in mulling over it all and also going back to my posts from last year about this time and reading about my rides they sound very similar.  Now I am not ruling out pain but I know the way I describe a situation and the way it feels on his back can really get misconstrued.  As Steady's Mama and his only rider my instincts say it is just who he is.  He is the kind of horse that cannot go 2 weeks without someone on his back.  He does not handle cold weather and little work well at all.  He is super athletic and I believe it is just the down side to that athletisism.  I feel like from now until late spring I am going to feel like I am just doing damage control any time I get on his back.  Just like I felt last year.  The biggest difference from this year to last year is that now I am demanding correct work and that is just adding fuel to his already hot fire.  And then you add to the fact that Steady when he is not in the best shape, his back causes him issues.  It is like a snowball effect and there is not alot I can do to control these circumstances.  I think my focus now needs to be more one how am I going to handle it. 

I do not have the entire answer right now.  Nor could I considering the weather has the biggest impact on the whole situation.  What I know I can do is take it one day at a time.  I need to come to grips with the fact that I may not be able to ride for weeks at a time and I cannot get down on myself for that.  I need to come up with a plan on how I handle coming back from the long breaks.  But I do feel I need to resign myself to the idea that no real training will happen until late spring.  That is the toughest for a overly driven person but it is part of it so I may as well accept it.

I hope to take those energies and focus them more on the mental side of riding and the physical fitness side of it for me.  I need to read.  I dislike reading but I do enjoy topics I love.  My problem is I hate to pay the money for books but I cannot find any of the books I want to read as ebooks or in libraries.  So if any of you know of any good books that are ebooks let me know.  I also plan to watch clinic videos.  I am thinking also maybe a lesson or two on a different horse.  Then I can work on myself and be a better rider come time that Steady is halfway sane again.  So this will most likely be an ongoing post about how I am learning to handle a horse like Steady through the winter months.