Time flies when you have the flu!
Already we're just two weeks away from the Owyhee Canyonlands ride in Oreana, which will be Aaruba's and my last for the year. After a ten-day rest following our first 50-mile race at Old Selam, which coincided most convinently with my flu-induced down time, Aaruba is back on the conditioning trail. Now that his gastric ulcers have resolved, he's gained both weight and energy. Yesterday, he covered 14 hilly miles with such exuberence that I was quite glad to have worked him for 20 minutes in the round corral before saddling up!
I've returned to under saddle work with Consolation as well. Truth be told, I'm a bit alarmed by the amount of work I have yet to do with her this year, and already her coat is thickening for chilly autumn nights. One thing after another has delayed her training so that I'm not much further along now than I was a month ago. On the other hand, Aaruba was at a similar stage this time last year. We'll just keep at it...
Meanwhile, I'm ground driving Acey to build her confidence before getting serious about riding her. Sandstorm and Tuetano await further gentling. Insider could use some handling, if for nothing more than to engage his mind. The two year olds' primary job at the moment is to simply eat and grow up, but they too require periodic tune-ups. It's a bit overwhelming, truth be told.
And, on top of it all, another of my passions has surfaced. I try not to think about writing fiction during horse training season because writing, like training, is time consuming and mentally exhausting. But as others who are compelled to write will understand, a novel sometimes demands to be written. It grabs an author by the shoulders and shakes him senseless. He must comply.
I'm going to start a petition for the establishment of 36-hour days. Would you care to sign?
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3 comments:
Sorry to read that you were ill!
You do have an amazing energy level to keep up with all your duties! Maybe you need to start creating an apprentice to help with some of the tasks. I stole a picture of you from the Old selam ride to post a blurb on the Stonewall saddle. I linked to your blog. Hope you don't mind.
I hope you are back to 100% soon.
Good luck with the next ride.
Fiction, eh? I knew your skill with the pen (er, keyboard?) was too good to waste. Please keep us in the loop as far as what you're writing.
No problem, ell. :-)
EH -- Yes, fiction. It's my first love. And what of YOUR skill, which should not be wasted, either?
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