A Brief Note on Humility

I have been thinking a lot the last few days about how there is nothing in life more humbling than learning to ride.  It is a never-ending rollercoaster of ups and downs, and it can be so tough to enjoy the journey; yet I think that is the most crucial lesson we can learn as riders.  I had a dressage lesson on April this weekend, and it was really frustrating.  We had more or less regressed to where we were weeks ago - it was almost as if all of our progress had completely vanished.  She was overreacting to the leg again, and I have apparently reverted to a lot of old bad habits.  ***Sigh***  It's hard to see your hard work look like it has gone down the drain - but I'm hoping to get it back quickly. 

A part of me hopes it is the saddle situation.  The chiropractor "banned" my dressage saddle due to a pretty bad fit, so I am trying a possible exchange tonight that I am hoping will help.  One of my boarders very generously loaned hers to us for the last week or two, and it fits April beautifully, but has a much too wide twist and seat for my short little legs.  I'm almost hoping that riding in that is a part of our serious dressage regression...anything to have an excuse other than my own idiocy, right?  :-)

April had a vet day yesterday.  She was eating noticeably less hay in a pretty short period of time, so I had the vet out to check her teeth.  Sure enough, she was due to a float, so we accomplished that.  Being the redheaded mare that she is, she required the extra dose of sedation - thanks a LOT for the extra charge MARE!  It can be a four-letter word some days, can't it??!!  She also had a bizarre growth on the inside of her flank, so Smokey used suture thread to more or less tie off the circulation so that it will drop off.  Thankfully it isn't anything of concern since it is completely surface level.

It has been a BIG two weeks of fundraising, and my most exciting news is the fact that I am now 70% of the way to Samson's Tildren goal!!!!!!!!!  I was also very excited to find out that my local vet has another navicular case in the area, and the owner is going to try treating with Tildren as well!  They should be pursuing their treatment in the next 4-5 weeks, so he is going to get me pricing information to do it locally instead of travelling to Southern Pines - which is a nice option to have!

So, here's to the remaining 30%!  If you're still considering helping to reach the goal, don't forget to check out my Ebay fundraiser!  And your laugh for the day - April's drunken-looking post-dental stance....