Rain go away!

I have an issue with the fact it is raining, in the end of December. Does that seem right to you?

Especially since we had some snow and cold weather which makes the footing terrible, so no riding for me. Without having an indoor arena I usually trail ride during the winter and with the footing so craptastic I am not willing to go out and risk Joy falling with me. She is very surefooted but even a careful horse can go down on ice and I'm wary of that.

I have lots of things I need to do but embarrassingly enough I only find it easy to do something if it directly relates to baby. Trimming bunnies is hard and I can put that off but hand sewing big quilt squares into a baby blanket is easy, I can do that all night. So I have to make myself do things like vacuum when what I want is to stay in my little dreamy world.

I am also really good at eating and sleeping. Sometimes I get all guilty feeling like I am inadequately feeding the baby or something, but then I have to feel okay about because I am actually eating and it's usually decent stuff. Maybe if we had a live in chef it would be perfectly balanced, organic meals instead of a can of soup, but I could be doing worse. I feel huge but according to people who have seen pregnant people before I am not that big.

In other news we go 12 eggs so far today! Well done ladies. Wondering if it has to do with the fact I didn't let them out until noon, hopefully they haven't been trying to save babies by laying them in random places in the barn. But it is good news since I want to make a Pavlova for tomorrow and Joe wanted me to make deviled eggs. So having a surplus of eggs is nice. I need to decide on the rest of the menu for tomorrow, Joe is not being any help and feeding people is hard.

looks like i get my indian summer after all

The weather is glorious and I have a cold. Not awful enough to spend the day in bed but bad enough to put the damper on my enthusiasm to do things.

The weather last week was terrible and since HiT was here I had to trail ride in the pouring rain a couple times. HiT has gone home, I got her owner out on some confidence building rides, got the mare much fitter and got her trailer loading nicely. Then I got paid, overall it was very good. I had some interesting conversations with the owner about horses and training since I am not a fan of most natural horsemanship gimmicks.She was surprised that I could start a young horse in a safe and compassionate way without following any natural horsemanship gurus. To be honest good horse trainers have been around for centuries and most of the techniques these people are selling have been in use for generations.

I've decided not to compete again this year, since I am not entirely sure of how I will be feeling and would hate to pay a lot and then not feel comfortable jumping. I am going to put the money towards lessons instead. Will try and get some jumping lessons in soon before I switch to flatwork in a couple weeks. Joy will definitely benefit from lots of dressage and lunging so I am not feeling at all restricted.  Took Joy out on a fast ride last night since whenever I rode her last week it was as a guide for HiT's owner and we had to mostly walk, it was good for Joy to stretch out over the hills and be able to enjoy some speed. The weather is supposed to be glorious for a bit so I plan on taking her to the river one more time before Fall kicks in again.

Sadie has been having some peeing issues, think she might have a slight UTI, so I've been dosing her with apple cider vinegar and yogurt, which must be terrible because the poor dog won't touch it without a generous amount of cat food mixed in. It seems to be helping. She has been getting large amounts of people food recently due to our roommate's toddler and it seems to be adversely affecting her, she is also all dandruffy and itchy.

Had Joe take some belly pics last night, I think I just look a little chubby instead of preggo.

baby belly at 14 weeks

stupid grin, lol

so going to ride, do a little lunging, deburr ponehs again (dunno where they are finding the beastly things), and clean bunny cages.

baby and me

I've been thinking a lot about riding and pregnancy lately, it is a somewhat controversial topic but I have decided to keep riding until I start getting uncomfortable or unbalanced. Planning to stick to just Joy, no jumping just  flat work and walking trail rides soon, although I would love to get miss Joy to one last mini horse trail in the second weekend of October but I am going to wait and see closer to the date. I feel comfortable with my decision to keep riding as long as I can since I am a secure rider and will be riding a horse I am comfortable on.

I am currently12 weeks barely showing (looks like a food baby!). My balance isn't changed and my energy levels are better then early in the first trimester, although not as high as pre-baby. The biggest risk of handling horses while preggo is getting kicked so I am sticking to handling my horses who I know their behavoir quirks and feel comfortable handling.

I think it is a really personal decision and a lot depends on your skill level, awareness of your animals and comfort level.