Back in the saddle!

As of yesterday I am 4 weeks postpartum.  Although the rule of thumb is that one shouldn't do anything for 6 weeks, I just couldn't cope with being a marshmallow any longer. I am madly in love with my little man, but I needed to get out of the house and do something without a baby attached to me. His dad was a bit excited to get to have boy time and to get to feed him. Anyhow, I've fully recovered from labor (as far as I can tell) so I figured that it wouldn't hurt to at least hop on Rose and go for a short and easy ride.

Upon arriving at the barn I found Rose huddled up in the run-in shed with the rest of her herd, hiding from the rain. I assume she'd been doing that for the past three days of foul weather, as she was high as a kite when I pulled her from the pasture. I decided that she was definitely getting longed before I got on. Once she blew off some steam and was focusing on me I hopped on her.

One very good mare, post-ride.

Can I tell you how much I love my mare? It was as if she'd had no time off at all. Don't get me wrong, there was a little bit of rust, but she got right down to business and worked really hard for me at the walk and trot for a nice 15-minute warm up. She didn't even pull any of the stunts that she was doing with HR, so that was nice to see. Clearly she knows that she can't get away with such foolishness with me. 15-minutes was the end of our ride though. Rose may have picked right up where we left off but I didn't. Immediately upon mounting it was apparent that I have absolutely no core, no leg stability, and no center of balance. I have a lot of muscle groups to get back into shape. Happily though, nothing hurt. I worked on a lot of two-point at the walk, and I'm certain that I will feel it this evening. Posting trot was comfortable, although I felt like I had no stability in my lower leg. I decided not to push it and left cantering for our next ride.  I'll probably wait a while on sitting trot.

It's so nice to be able to say that..."our next ride"! To be quite frank I've been unable to wipe the crazy "I rode my horse after six months" grin off my face since I arrived back home. Such a great feeling. Although I've already lost 22lbs I can't wait to loose the remaining 15lbs of baby weight so that I can fit back into my regular clothes again. I'm very happy to be able to exercise once again. It feels great. Oh, and I rode in my new-to-me saddle and decided that I'm quite pleased with it. So all in all, a satisfying afternoon for me.

Happy trails and swooshing tails!
•DS•

Happy 5th Birthday Rose!

I had grand plans to go ride Rose today, but woke up to a crazy wind and snow storm. At this rate I'm not even going to make it to the barn to give her birthday carrots. The weekend weather looks like it will be bad as well so I don't think I'll make it out there until early in the week. Hopefully she won't mind her birthday festivities being delayed a few days. Until then this virtual happy birthday will have to do.

Happy fifth birthday to my big grown up girl! I can't believe you finally turned 5!

Could it be?

I made it out to the barn again on Monday to groom Rose and drop off some supplements.  Rose was completely quiet and fell asleep in the cross ties. That is how she used to behave in the cross-ties, but she hasn't behaved that way since October. Monday's quietness and Friday's good behavior has got me thinking that her nervous behavior of late was indeed related to my pregnancy. Could it be that she's back to her old self now that my hormones are chilling out and I only have one slow heart beat again? Possibly. However, I think I need a few more consecutive days of good behavior to be convinced of that, but it is certainly intriguing to consider.

Happy trails and swooshing tails!
•DS•

Barn Time

It took me 12 days, but I finally recovered enough from labor and managed to get my act together to make it to the barn for an hour yesterday. The timing of Jr's arrival had left Rose two weeks over due for a trim. I like to be there when she gets her feet done, plus I was feeling utterly guilty about neglecting her.  So I unpacked my breast pump, figured out how it worked, and left Hubs alone for the first time with our peacefully sleeping little guy.

Enjoying the last week (hopefully) of her vacation.

Hubs took one look at this photo and asked me if Rose was pregnant
I guess we both need to get back in shape!.

Rose was a trooper for the farrier. Honestly it was the quietest and most cooperative she's ever been. She's also managed to completely shed out in the last two weeks! So nice to have my shiny "black" mare back.

Although it was tempting, I tried not to dilly dally at the barn and return home as quick as possible. I arrived home to find Hubs and Jr. in the same exact position as when I left. Jr. peacefully sleeping in Daddy's arms. They made such a sweet picture.


Happy trails and swooshing tails!
•DS•

So much for saddle pads

Right after my last post a funny thing happened...I had a baby! Little DS is absolutely perfect in every way and he was well worth the wait and riding hiatus. I'm going to be a bit busy with all things baby for a while, but I am looking forward to updating you all on postpartum equestrian conditioning in the upcoming weeks. In the mean time I've been enjoying all your blogs during midnight feedings so keep those posts coming!