Winterized

I have never before been as sick as I was over this past month. Sure, I've dislocated my kneecap, sprained my pelvic bone, and had pneumonia, but I've never been kept out of the saddle or away from the barn for more than a few days. After dislocating my knee, I rode a 50 mile endurance race less than two weeks later. Give me a case of bronchitis, and I am out for a month.

Desert Gold Pioneer 50 Miler, November 2009. We finished 30th out of 55 starters with a time of 9 hours and 9 minutes.

When I got to the barn on Saturday afternoon, no one even looked at me. Speedy's head remained buried in his feed tub, and Izzy stood with a hind leg cocked, resting in the sun. For a moment, my feelings were hurt, but then the happiness of finally being at the barn won me over, and I smiled.

I puttered around doing chores that at first felt foreign, but then the familiarity of the routine took over. As I glanced at my calendar, the empty squares stared at me accusingly. I uncapped my Sharpie marker and slowly began crossing off the missed days of December.

November has 9 slashes at the end of the month.

After filling feed buckets and sweeping out the tack room, I grabbed Speedy's halter and my grooming bag. While not as vocal as usual, he still came up to the fence to greet me. It was like seeing a long lost friend. He nosed my hair and face and then rubbed his head up and down my hip like he always does.

I reached out a bit tentatively and stroked his face in greeting and then ran my hands over his body. To my astonishment, Speedy had his full winter coat. Even though I had ridden him for a few minutes the weekend before, I hadn't noticed his annual polar bear coat. It felt so strange that even without me there to keep things rolling along, Speedy had winterized without me.

Polar Bear Speedy

I tacked him up slowly, giving him extra pats to remind him of how much I had missed him. As we walked towards the arena, I smiled wistfully when I realized that his December Gotcha Day had slipped by me unnoticed. Ten years ago this month, Speedy joined our family. It's been a decade. He's been with me nearly half of my adult life.

Not that he cared about any of that. He was just happy to get to work, and we had a good ride. While we aren't exactly where we were three months ago before his hoof injury, it won't take us long to get there. We actually cantered for the first time in 3 months. And even though he was a little sassy, I know that he enjoyed himself.

As of Friday, I get two weeks off for Christmas. Hopefully I'll stay healthy so that I can enjoy them!