The Beginning of a New Road

So yesterday was my first day at my new job. Thats right! I got a new job! I hadnt posted anything until all things were absolutely official and I had worked my first day. I am a front end helper at Costco. The entry level pay is just as good as I was getting at my last job, and they are willing to give me overtime and additional hours (I was hired on Part Time). I know the Front End Manager through Sarah (her daughter's horse is in training and boarded with her), so she very much has been instrumental to not only landing the job, but helping me get full time hours. I gotta say, helping the cashiers and running carts is tiresome work, but Costco sure seems like a good company to be working for, and they promote from within.

My schedule is not concrete like I was used to for the last year, so I will have to figure out the best times to go see Milo, be that early morning before work, or late in the evening. Either way, it should work out in my favor around the peak lesson times, so thats a bonus.

Today I started early and got off at 2:30, so I was able to go and see Milo after work. I tacked him up and started a little groundwork in the indoor arena. The lesson was taken to the outdoor arena and I was glad for that because I wasnt sure how Mr Two-Weeks-Off would handle himself, but he did well. He looked solidly sound as I put him through his paces. He wasnt as eager to engage from the rear or lift his back, but hopefully those muscle memories will come back sooner rather than later.

With Milo looking pretty good, I decided to get on. Interestingly, I didnt feel as "home in the saddle", and its probably from cheating on Milo with Wesley for my last two rides and lessons. Milo was wiggly and needed a lot of basic schooling. We did work at the walk, trot, and canter, but in brief amounts and in episodes I felt he could handle. I was acutely aware of how uneven I was sitting in the saddle - most likely from my own muscle memory of how I had been sitting on my own horse. I very consciously had to try and find my left seat bone, keeping my core strong.

Milo had a lot of get-up-and-go, wanting to rather speed up from the spur instead of lift and engage his back. After some repetition on that, he then changed to trying to become a spur stop training horse, wanting to instantly stop when I applied my spur. It will come back with time, I hope. I'm just glad that he is remaining sound.

I only rode him for maybe fifteen minutes, and Mr Chub was tired and sweaty (although it was a bit muggy). All he has been doing is eating the yummy spring grass and getting fat - I had to drop his flank cinch by an entire hole! His belly has gotten bigger. I could tell from the sweat marks that he wasnt using himself properly, but I wasnt surprised based on how the ride went. It wasnt a terrible ride by any means, but we have to get our "neutral and engaged posture" back to the consistency we had two weeks prior. Again, it will just take time, and I need to remind myself to find my centered balance on my own horse now.

His blow-site looked more clean as well, but I still "scrubbed" it out and applied some Betadine - theres no way I want any infection creeping back in. Interestingly, it is in the same exact location as the abscess from January, and the blow site is nearly identical. I will have to remember to keep a sharp eye for it in the coming months, as he hoof grows out and the "sole cleft" comes to the end as did the January one, creating a nasty looking split flare.