A Mopey Day

I'm kind of down in the dumps today.  I had a lot of realizations about Walker and related things that made me slightly mopey.

Weather: For one thing, it snowed today.  Yes.  That's right.  I live in Hell.

In other news, I dug up Walker's baby picture
(which was on the back of his registration certificate).
That cute little face definitely belongs to my boy!

Genetic Test: I went out to the clinic today to bring the hairs for Walker's genetic test, but it turns out that I didn't end up getting enough.  So now I'll have to go back tomorrow, except I only have a window of about an hour and a half over lunch, and the last time I went to the clinic at that time, they were closed.  Which means I probably won't get there until Thursday, and that will simply delay the test results.

Time: I don't have any of it.

Stress: I've got way too much of this.

Walker's condition: Today, he wasn't too good.  He decided that he wouldn't eat anything, and his legs were starting to swell up again.  By this point, the anti-swelling meds would be well out of his system, so this doesn't surprise me.  However, if he won't eat all his good food, he will simply go downhill again.  I spent the afternoon cleaning out his feed tub trying to convince him to eat his grain at least.  The vet says that because he doesn't like his supplement, we'll simply work on getting him to eat at all, since obviously he is wary now of whatever goes in his feed tub.

Our ride: This left a lot to be desired.  I was so thrilled with our rides on the weekend, but because he was all mopey in his stall, he was really lazy.  And of course, we had to ride in the indoor arena which also makes him lazier.  I could have forgiven him his laziness (although, to be honest, I had to literally squeeze squeeze squeeze just to get him to walk and not halt!), but once he got himself going, he then started acting contrary.  When I would ask him to halt, he would not stand still.  He would try to back up or else sidepass, and when I was asking him to canter, he would just fast trot.  I mean, I could forgive the fast trot since he never does that and I know he's not 100%, but backing up?  Not cool.  A lot of Western horses are disciplined that way.  They will back them up around the entire arena, and that's what we ended up doing today - except on his own accord.  Other than his bad attitude, I really felt all over the place.  Like I couldn't keep my upper body calm and like I really wasn't driving well with my seat.  It makes me slightly cranky because I was having rockin' rides on the other horses, but Walker requires so much more work that I look that much worse when I ride.

Our summer: I have finally given in to the idea that I will not have an ideal summer.  For one thing, we are moving to our new barn so that I can start articling at my law firm.  This means that I will have barely any time to do anything, and I really wanted to take advantage of the summer (especially since our Atlantic Canadian summers are very short).  As if that weren't bad enough, I am pretty sure I am going to get to NO shows.  I know I have said a billion times that I don't enjoy showing, but I was getting myself pretty excited to try Walker in a crossrail class.  I mean, we're no dream team, and jumping isn't exactly our forte, but I was trying to convince myself that we could simply have fun and chalk it all up to a learning experience.  To be frank, I read so many blogs and everyone seems to have so much fun showing, that I want to do it too!  The first show at my current barn is on June 8th.  I was going to keep Walker there until the week of the show, and that way I'd get to keep training with my instructor.  However, now I think I will have to start work earlier than I originally planned (probably early to mid May).  With Walker still on the mend, I seriously doubt that we can be prepared by early June (since not only his form, but my form could use some work).  I don't know anyone in my new city and I don't think my new barn is the type where they trailer out to shows much.  Even if it were, my new barn owner/trainer/instructor is Western, and without the consistent help by a competent English instructor, we simply won't be prepared for a crossrail class.  My current instructor knows a good English instructor down there, but I don't know if my new barn owner allows outside trainers.  The situation in my new city is a little different, and I can't afford to get off on a bad foot with the new barn owner.  Most of the barns are full down there, and my new barn owner has a 70 horse stall barn (and a lot of money), but he only ever keeps 20 - 25 horses at his barn at one time.  He turns people away regularly, and I only got this spot because my current barn owner put in a good word for me.  It's really not worth it to try and bring in another instructor if it means sacrificing that relationship because Walker and I will just get kicked out on the street.  So in summary: no time, no money, probably no lessons, and no shows.

The pity party is this way.