Tuesday, March 2, 2021 – Nice Ride on Flash

Hi Sweetie,
Well, I decided that I had better get at least one more ride in on Flash before my knee surgery on Thursday, and I was hoping to start at Riverbend and ride home, with a little trailering help from Jeff, but he had a full day planned, so I decided to just go park at Riverbend and do some sort of loop. Of course, that meant I had a lot of prep work to do to get the little trailer ready. First I had to pull it out of the rather tight space it was in, then I had to blow up the tires (of course I had trouble finding the right end fitting for the compressor), then I realized the stall divider was in the wrong place, and was stuck, so I had to get out my 2 lb. sledge and knock it into place. Then I had to move the feed bins and the hay up into the front stall, then I noticed Flash was starting to get a split in one of his front hooves again because I had let them get too long, so I trimmed both of those nice and short, then I saddled him up before loading him into the trailer. It took about two hours just to get everything ready. That’s the penalty you pay when you let things go for too long, they just all add up to a bunch of problems that all need solving at once instead of being spread out over time. Anyway, I finally got on the road to Riverbend, thank goodness it’s less than ten minutes away, parked and unloaded Flash, though he gave me a little trouble backing out, he’s gotten so used to coming out face first in the big trailer. FINALLY got in the saddle, well after 12:30. I switched the right stirrup around, ever since I changed it out a few months back it’s felt like it’s been twisting too much, and I was hoping it would be better if I flipped it, and it turned out to be MUCH better, a lot less strain on my knee. I decided to do the regular trail loop there, but instead of coming back through the park, I went under the underpass and over to the Cypress Creek parking lot, then crossed at the traffic light (always an eye-catcher!), then instead of going down Jupiter Farms road like I usually do, I followed the trail that paralleled Indiantown Road on the south side, which I don’t think I’ve ever done before, at least not the whole thing. That’s the road that comes out along the Sunoco, which we did once before to that point, just not beyond. Anyway, it was a lovely ride, Flash was super well-behaved, we had a beautiful canter all along the golf course side, except for quick moment when three out of four deer that were practically on the trail suddenly decided to leap away and he shied a tiny bit, understandably, and lots of largo-ing along the way. No trouble crossing the road, no trouble anywhere at all, it was just perfect! Got back to the trailer a bit after 2:00, packed him up and got him back home in no time. Apollo was waiting at the gate for us, and when I opened the gate he walked out and down the driveway a bit, but then Flash whinnied in the trailer and he came running back into the yard, fortunately! Got the little trailer parked next to the big trailer again, though not quite as tight as it was before, unsaddled and washed him down before letting him run free. Got everything put away, took a little break, then got into my bathing suit and took a quick swim and sat by the pool reading and throwing the ball for Lola, since she couldn’t come with us today and needed exercise. Did my PT exercises, and not long after, Jeff and James got home. We all chatted for a bit, then fed the critters, then I finally got to settle in again for the evening. A very nice day, though it was very hot again, mid-80’s, and it’s supposed to be even hotter tomorrow! But rain is forecast overnight, so maybe it won’t be so bad. Can’t believe it’s barely March and it’s already getting too hot to ride. I hate to see what it’s going to be like by April, when I trust I’ll finally be able to get back on the road again! Probably going to have to make a beeline pretty straight northward to get back into the 70’s, which is always what we’ve been chasing over the years! Anyway, enough said, heading to shower and bed. Good night, baby. Love you!

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