Ten--almost eleven!--rides in February!

I rode Limerick ten times in February! I don't remember the last time I rode her this much in a month--possibly last May or June? But my gut tells me I didn't ride that much back then. I keep track of all my rides on a calendar, and the one I'm using right now is digital. Unfortunately it's not working well at the moment (kind of defeats the purpose, I suppose) so I can't flip back to the prior months to check.

I write short notes after each ride--sometimes just 'Good!' or 'A+'. Sometimes they say 'Spooky' or 'IN HEAT' and other not-so-glowing things. But every ride in February had a positive note. That tells me that Limerick is happy being ridden--she is a eager, pleasant equine partner. When she doesn't want to be ridden, she certainly lets me know.

So all in all, everything is going very well. Her bare feet are giving her zero issues, so props to my farrier for that.

If I had to note any downsides, it would be that Lim's arthritic left hock still bothers her at times, but this isn't obvious to me under saddle. Instead, I can see this by how much she 'rests' that leg during grooming and tacking up. Also, she sometimes overdoes it on the spookiness, particularly by that big closed arena door along the back wall. But after hearing about and seeing how badly other horses are reacting to that door then I've decided that Lim is not bad in comparison. (After telling a friend about this door and the fright it prompts in horses, she said "Maybe the Mothman is hanging out back there").

I nearly rode Lim yesterday, February 29th, but the winds were gusting at over 50mph and even I could hear the arena roof and doors banging around, so I decided it wouldn't be wise to ride, especially since I would be alone while doing so. Instead, my husband stopped by for a visit and we turned Lim loose in the arena to chase her. She had a blast! She flagged her tail, skipped, bounded, ran hard, and looked absolutely beautiful. I was also able to see that her dapples are emerging already!

I guess I'll just have to wait another four years to ride on February 29th. Knock on wood!