Custom blog header by Bre!
________________________________________

In Loving Memory...
~ Gogo Fatale ~


6/2/01 - 10/11/11
~ Forever the Marest of Them All ~
________________________________________


Sunday, June 6, 2010

Gogo Arenawalker


Walk. Walk. Walk. Walk, walk, walk. Waaaaaaalk. Waaaaaaaaaaaalllllllkkkkkkkkkkkk.

Such is our life right now. We tack up, we wander up to the outdoor, we get on. And we walk. We go round and round. And round again. We walk. Sometimes, we SPOOK! But mostly we just walk. Sometimes we walk realllllllllly slow. Sometimes I get fed up with that and give Gogo a boot in the ribs (a little bit of Ace seems to really slowwwww her down). As of late, we walk over some poles! But that's not too exciting. I have to wait a whoooooole half hour to pick up the reins and do a few leg yields, but it's worth it. But with no circles allowed, we're pretty limited as to what we can do. Mostly, we just walk around the arena perimeter. Walk over some poles. And then do some leg yields at the very end. Yep. Very exciting.

But it's all worth it. It will all pay off in the long run. I was able to leave her wraps off for two days in a row - a miracle! - and the legs stayed tight and down, despite the miserable humidity and heat we've had. I opted to put them back on last night, seeing as the footing in the outdoor was a little unstable from all the rain we've been randomly getting, but today they looked as good as ever. This morning was the first time we've actually had to go in the indoor since I've been back on, and let me tell you, it sucked! As per usual, the indoor arena door monsters were hiding around every corner, and Gogo's eyes were bugged out so far I thought they might actually pop out of her head. Somehow, by some miracle, she kept all four on the floor, despite the weather having dropped 30 degrees overnight, the horses outside all running and bucking, and the door monsters reaching out and grabbing her legs (or so she wanted me to believe). Very proud of her.... phew.

It's been nothing but heat and humidity here for the past five days. Every day, random enormous thunderstorms would come barreling through, bombarding us with a few minutes of lightning, wind and sideways rain, but the humidity refused to break. Temperatures soared into the 90's, and even though she was just walking, Gogo broke a sweat every single day. (And so did I... gross.) Finally, the mother of all random enormous storms showed up yesterday to bring a cold front and the end of the humidity, blasting through just as I was returning from lunch. It was a nightmare - a tree branch fell ON my truck while I was driving, and a gust of sideways rain knocked me to my knees as I got out of my car! Horses were still outside and running, refusing to be caught, so we all chased them around while the lightning flashed and the trees swayed. How long did this hellstorm last? Oh, about six minutes. Long enough to soak me to the bone and really annoy me. On the way home last night, there were trees down all over, downed powerlines sparking in the road, and a bunch of firemen bravely putting out a mystery item on the side of the road that was fully ablaze. Hmmmm. Thankfully, this morning it was a chilly 53 degrees when I left my house, and it's still in the mid-60's as we speak. Thank GOD.

Walk, graze, ice. Treadmill, graze, ice. Rinse, lather, repeat. But less than two weeks until we trot!

8 comments:

Amy B said...

Did you get hail where you were? Out Torrington way there was some serious hail accompanying all that lightning and sideways rain. Not fun, but it's much nicer riding weather, now! Glad Gogo's doing well, still!

Kate said...

If it's any consolation she looks beautiful....at the walk :D

Val said...

The future is now! Great work rehabbing!

Anonymous said...

I have a question...do you go through alot of wraps with all that wrapping? I only wrap after XC and have bought 3 sets in the past 6 years since they get worn out
AND, at least she looks beautiful while walking around!

Heather said...

Hey,
I'm in the process of starting my own business and I am hoping to spread the word a little through my blogging buddies. I am making De-Lyte Bites, and electrolyte replenishing horse cookie! They come in 4 cookie servings and contain a balanced sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium electrolyte designed for sport horses. Check out www.de-lytebites.com for more info on the cookies and shoot me an email at heather@de-lytebites.com if you would like to try a sample. I know you are just able to walk Gogo right now, but if it sweats, it needs replenishing! So, let me know if you would like to try some cookies for the little lady in exchange for a blog review!

Andrea said...

Kristen: we are the Walkie Walkersons for sure ;)

Amy: not so much hail thankfully, but death winds and lightning!!!

Checkmark115: Actually no, surprisingly I don't... I have and use some of the same old pillows and no-bows that I had for Metro! I have new Back on Track ones that I am using right now and they hold up beautifully to washing. All my old ones did too though.... dunno why, I always expect them to wear out. I do go through actually bandages though, but thankfully my barn has about 94894029458t904202 ones laying around so we're all right.

Heather: love to! I will send you an e-mail!

Anonymous said...

Sending you positive vibes in hopes that two weeks you'll be trotting! This walk-y, walking post was entertaining!

sally said...

Andrea even at a walk Gogo is looking great. Here in NZ we are getting lots of lightning, thunder and rain too. It makes it pretty disgusting when dealing with horses I agree. I hope you car didn't get damaged with the fallen branch