What a health day can do.

While I am the first to admit I need help, I am NOT the first to say I need a vacation!
But I have been pushed with the weather, and the needs of the season to say I NEED A VACATION...

A mini vacation is all I can accommodate these days, and so a MINI VACA I gave myself yesterday.

While most women would choose to go shopping, a spa day, or even a day of luxuries.  I choose to shovel, brush, ride and take pictures.

The sky was blue, the sun shown so bright I needed sunglasses...

It was an early start as I wanted to ride and allow the horses to be cooled off before the heat of the day.

 I can't stand to see a horse WET at dusk knowing it will be cold most of the night (in winter)

Sweet Pea was pleased to see me, loved on me and immediately calmed me down.  I enjoy the soft touch of her nose on my hands, my head and my face.  I got her brushed down and ready to go, only to test her back and see her flinch.

So I went on to repeat my work on Navarre who after checking him over was just fine.

We went up the mountain until he started to get warm and a little wet.

I then decided to take him home and allow them to play in the pasture.  Navarre not knowing I was going to let him play, and no way for me to express this to him; decided he wanted to RUN home.

This I was not about to allow!

Not even on a good day but especially not on a day with ice patches on the road, salt and sand making it slick for him. Poor thing had to work out MORE on the way down because he was not listening (reacting) to my signals.  We walked down the mountain in circles... as soon as I would come out of a circle, he would bolt, and I would have to calmly take him right back into another.    He was lathered by the time we got home.  He looked so bad, and I took the rest of my time, rubbing and brushing both horses to make myself feel better.

Every ride is a training ride...
Every day is a day to learn...
Too bad most people get content with their level of knowledge!

He is a good boy, he just wanted to RUN, and that we did through the woods just before I let him go.

Just the softness of Sweet Pea's nose breathing on my hair, neck and nose is enough to calm me down for a week....Thank goodness for passions... Thank goodness for my horses.