All Still Alive

Wow. Really? Almost a year since my last post. I'll be brief. It's all good. Shaveya has found a new owner, bonus is that she didn't even have to change barns. She's being bred and there should be a Paint foal skittering around the barn next Spring.

Cheerios is absolutely fine, and still my partner, though I've been lax with my studies. Not giving up on PNH, just not as active. Life is happening. Temp jobs, estate closing, dealing with life in general.

I did take Cheerios to a Carol Coppinger Level 2/3 clinic last summer, that was interesting (did I post about that?)... Carol is always awesome. Cheerios was quite the character, though. And it was hot. OMG was it hot. Blazing sun, humidity—I thought I was gonna die, and apparently Cheerios did too, because he decided to lay down while I was on him.

One thing I've learned, clinics are not to be taken lightly. If you are planning to attend one, make sure you AND your horse are in shape for it. Oh, if it's a Level One clinic and you haven't done much with your horse prior to it, you'll probably be all right. But for upper level clinics? Make sure you've been out there playing with your horse steadily and getting BOTH of you some form of moderate, consistent aerobic exercise for at least six weeks beforehand. Make sure YOU are in decent shape. You don't have to be skinny, just have endurance and be as fit as you can because it is WORK. It's fun, but it is hard, sweaty, physically-demanding work, even if you spend the day in the saddle rather than on your feet.

Think of it this way: would you dare to run the Boston Marathon if you'd only started jogging around the block last week? I think not.

Lesson learned.