December trail ride

I'm day 77 (ok, it's more like 10) into barn managing while my friend is on stall rest.  I have a new found appreciation for people who manage large barns full of boarders and I really understand why some of those barn managers are grumpy people who drink heavily.  Time is precious and should only be spent on people who appreciate that.

As a boarder think about what you HAVE to do and what you CAN do in an extreme situation and how much it pays off in the long run.

 I've introduced most of the volunteers to feeding/stall cleaning/and turning in and out and my friend is looking at getting more volunteer help and hiring someone to do some work as well.  Everything at the barn is labeled and I have a communication board to relay notes to people in the evening in case I have a day off.  I would say that things are going smoothly but I don't want to jinx myself.  Editing to add that I freaking jinxed myself.  Communication error and the horses were turned out on a day I had off.  Luckily my very fancy and well thought out name tags remained on despite the mud *HA!* and someone who had been out to the barn twice was able to navigate 17 horses into the right stalls.

It's a long road to recovery but we'll get there before we know it. 

I managed to catch a "pleasurable" trail ride with a friend at Whitewater State Park  yesterday.  Mental note, pleasurable for some people is a leisurely 4 miles with a beer in one hand.  For others, it's 8 miles at a brisk trot.  Observe the horses selected,  if your trail companion is on an arabian you will probably not have time for beer.

But seriously it was a ton of fun and I have not trail ridden like that in years.  It was nice to be on a dead broke trail horse.  If we'd gone slow enough to keep my beer from fizzling she would have been a perfect mount and I got a kick out of the seasoned endurance horse who spooked at the wet rock.  Horses.  Sheesh.  It was a lovely day in December for a trail ride and at least a dozen other people had the exact same plans.   

Back at the barn I got a short ride in on Annie, the first time I swung a leg over her since my friend's accident.  It felt almost sinful, I'm sure there was an empty water bucket that needed filling.  I also introduced Max to a very nice dressage rider without a horse and I hope it works out as it's a great match and a good opportunity to keep Max worked.  I'm looking forward to the barn returning to my peaceful sanctuary and eventually getting back to regular riding.