DefinitelyDressage.com

I'll contribute to the request to post more on DDBB.

I'm finally back to riding after losing both my horses within months of each other four years ago. In 2013 searched for, and purchased a new young horse, a 3yo Morgan mare. Unfortunately months after she arrived, she suffered a shoulder injury that required a year off. When she was finally ready to get back to work I began getting sick with what took a year to be diagnosed as pancreatitis/gallstones. Finally this year we're both back and healthy enough to get back to work. With the help of a new (and wonderful) instructor, we restarted Retta from the beginning as she was so green to begin with and had two years off. After a spring and summer of longeing and ground driving, we were finally ready for me to ride. I got in the saddle in September after a 4 year hiatus. I was grinning for days afterwards.

Fabulous. I hope all your interruptions are over and done with!

Congrats on getting back in the saddle! Fingers crossed that neither of you have another set-back.

Please keep us posted on how your training and rides are going

Hayburner wrote:Congrats on getting back in the saddle! Fingers crossed that neither of you have another set-back.

Please keep us posted on how your training and rides are going

Thanks! I will.

I'm thinking of keeping a training journal, do others do that? Just a few sentences at the end of each ride should help me keep focused and track progress. Anyone else do this?

Join the goals and progress thread. It's useful for keeping track and for a bit of inspiration when you aren't feeling so inclined!

Glad to see you riding again! That's really good.

We also need pictures

Moutaineer wrote:Join the goals and progress thread. It's useful for keeping track and for a bit of inspiration when you aren't feeling so inclined!

Glad to see you riding again! That's really good.

We also need pictures

Here you go, second ride:

Hubba Hubba! What a super-looking horse!

Moutaineer wrote:Hubba Hubba! What a super-looking horse!

thank you, I adore her. She's quiet and steady and a real love.

Nice horse and I am looking forward to your progress. I am a sucker for bay mares!! (she's a black bay, right?)

demi wrote:Nice horse and I am looking forward to your progress. I am a sucker for bay mares!! (she's a black bay, right?)

Yes, she's a black bay. Looks like molasses in the summer time.

She's adorable and looks well put together..

I keep a calendar in my tack locker that I just jot down when my mare is good, semi-good or a BiTC#. This really is to help me track of when she goes into season. She is no one to reckon with when she's in season...ugh.... I also try to list how long during the ride that she was good. Sure I'd like to keep more info like what I worked on with my trainer - but, I rarely do that.

Hayburner wrote:She's adorable and looks well put together..

I keep a calendar in my tack locker that I just jot down when my mare is good, semi-good or a BiTC#. This really is to help me track of when she goes into season. She is no one to reckon with when she's in season...ugh.... I also try to list how long during the ride that she was good. Sure I'd like to keep more info like what I worked on with my trainer - but, I rarely do that.

RettaMae doesn't show heats, she's the same girl everyday. I'm so lucky. I'll move a journal out to my tackroom and that way I can quickly write in it when we're done working. Thanks for the idea.

So happy to hear you are back in the saddle. RettaMae is beautiful, and wow has she grown up. I hope you join us on the goals/progress thread though too. It will help you in your journey as we sometimes bounce ideas off each other in a great way.

Isn't it wonderful to be back in the saddle, I started up again two years ago after about 5 yrs off with a short summer riding stint in the middle of that and it's amazing what it does for my life in general. Hope I never have to take too much time off again!

Your mare is just gorgeous, and it sounds like she's a good girl too so looking forward to hearing about your journey together!

Congrats on getting back in the saddle! As a fellow Morgan lover, I am excited to see more from the two or you. She is an EMR mare, right?

quinta wrote:Congrats on getting back in the saddle! As a fellow Morgan lover, I am excited to see more from the two or you. She is an EMR mare, right?

Thanks! Yes, she's from EMR Morgans, she's by Iron Forge Starman and out of Cadeuceus Sonata.

So exciting - she is gorgeous!

What a lovely pair you make, congratulations on the starting/restarting process. Yes, I keep a training journal of sorts : both a simple calendar where I note how long we rode, and what we did ('lunge + ride, 40 mins", "hack out, 1 hr"), but I also have a book where I write a bit more, but more sporadically, mostly when we have a small breakthrough, or a particularly difficult ride. Looking forward to your updates!

Congratulations. She looks gorgeous. Best of luck with your journey.

Oh - she is pretty! Love the black bay color. Enjoy! She sounds like a lovely temperament and mind.

How exciting! Yay for both of you!

As for a journal, keep one here. I had one for my Tuddy, which I will update next week, and I love the contributions that other members here have added to my DDBB journal. Super helpful.

Can't wait to hear more of your adventures!

Off topic alert!

Hey Tuddy, was just thinking about you the other day. How are things going with your fun-nicknamed-Canadians?

She's lovely!! Great that you can be back riding.

Ponichiwa wrote:Off topic alert!

Hey Tuddy, was just thinking about you the other day. How are things going with your fun-nicknamed-Canadians?

Lol!

Absolutely horrible if you really wanna know the truth, but I am not going to jump this thread, so I will update my Tuddy thread probably after the weekend.

Fatcat - I am a sucker for all things bay!, you look like a great pair!