Even a bad day of riding beats a good day at work
It was definitely a triumph of the will to excavate myself from warm jammies and get out in the cold-cold (not mere cold, it's cold-cold). It didn't seem too bad at first, but as soon as I took a mitt off to adjust Clover's borrowed bridle, the blood drained right out of my hands and the left hand in particular was a block of ice.
I had to borrow tack, because I completely forgot I'd packed all mine in the cab of my truck. I bundled myself up carefully in layers, and blithely drove my car over to Christine's. Like an idiot, I asked her where my tack was, so she gently reminded me I'd stowed it in my truck. Fortunately, she had a spare all purpose saddle that fit Clover (for one ride, that I knew wasn't going to be too long, I wasn't going to worry about it), and had a french link snaffle I could borrow as well.
Ok, so we're off to a not so spectacular start, but we congratulated ourselves on having the fortitude to get up and at ‘em on such a frigid day. Being all bundled up, I had a fleece earwarmer on my head, so when I actually got on and started riding, I thought I had my helmet on! I rode an entire session helmetless! I didn't even notice til I got off and saw the helmet, resting on the crank of the trailer jack. I wondered why I was getting such odd looks from the resident DQ—safety helmets are mandatory there. Of course, I'm usually militant about wearing a helmet, but this time I thought I already had it on. Massive brain fart.
The ride itself was nothing brilliant. We got out there, my left hand was frozen, Clover lugged against it—it was just too cold, I was too stiff, overbundled, nothing major was going to happen. We did some walk-trot warm up, and that was about it. I wasn't up for anything beyond that. It's supposed to warm up tomorrow, so we're going to make another attempt after work. Single digit temps, still too cold for me. I've gotten soft.
One good thing I've noticed is that Clover's attitide has improved, since moving her and also even more so from starting her on the E/Selenium. Hopefully it's making her more comfortable, and I'm not just throwing moola down the drain.
I had to borrow tack, because I completely forgot I'd packed all mine in the cab of my truck. I bundled myself up carefully in layers, and blithely drove my car over to Christine's. Like an idiot, I asked her where my tack was, so she gently reminded me I'd stowed it in my truck. Fortunately, she had a spare all purpose saddle that fit Clover (for one ride, that I knew wasn't going to be too long, I wasn't going to worry about it), and had a french link snaffle I could borrow as well.
Ok, so we're off to a not so spectacular start, but we congratulated ourselves on having the fortitude to get up and at ‘em on such a frigid day. Being all bundled up, I had a fleece earwarmer on my head, so when I actually got on and started riding, I thought I had my helmet on! I rode an entire session helmetless! I didn't even notice til I got off and saw the helmet, resting on the crank of the trailer jack. I wondered why I was getting such odd looks from the resident DQ—safety helmets are mandatory there. Of course, I'm usually militant about wearing a helmet, but this time I thought I already had it on. Massive brain fart.
The ride itself was nothing brilliant. We got out there, my left hand was frozen, Clover lugged against it—it was just too cold, I was too stiff, overbundled, nothing major was going to happen. We did some walk-trot warm up, and that was about it. I wasn't up for anything beyond that. It's supposed to warm up tomorrow, so we're going to make another attempt after work. Single digit temps, still too cold for me. I've gotten soft.
One good thing I've noticed is that Clover's attitide has improved, since moving her and also even more so from starting her on the E/Selenium. Hopefully it's making her more comfortable, and I'm not just throwing moola down the drain.
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