For this months Haynet Horse Bloggers challenge ‘5 photos 1 day’, I wanted to give you guys a bit of insight into what a typical day looks like for me.
Saturday – 5am
I love nothing more than starting my day in the saddle. Because we are in the middle of summer over here in Australia this meant a very early start. As we all know though its much easier to wake up early for horses than work. At 5am my alarm blasted through the glorious chill of the air-conditioner I may have hit the snooze button. Only once though!
With a bit of extra time to remember why I was getting up so early I was ready to roll out of bed and get to the paddock. I was there by 5.40 and was rewarded with the most gorgeous sunrise. There is something truly special about watching the sun rise with your horse, the still and quietness gives you the sense that there is a little bit of magic stored in the changing light.
Nonie was none to pleased at being torn away from her breakfast, like most horses she thinks she is one missed meal away from malnutrition. But being the good girl that she is obligingly come along with me. While we have had some brilliant rides recently, you know the ones that leave you feeling on top of the world for the rest of the day? Today wasn’t one of those days. It wasn’t a bad ride, it was just nice. We worked our way through some lateral work, and then played with the medium trot and even a little bit of the short steps. All in all I was happy with how Nonie tried for me.
We are exceptionally lucky where I agist to be able to roam around perimeter, this makes for the perfect warm up and cool down. It also makes for a great gallop strip to let off some steam and give them a good stretch. A bit of rain over summer has greened the grass up and softened the ground nicely.
After a bit of paddock maintenance it was home to do some of the unfortunate by necessary tasks aka house cleaning.
Lunch
After putting the house into some sort of order it was time for lunch and poodle cuddles. Well when I say poodle cuddles what I mean is that Sailor slept on the top of the couch and I relaxed on the part where most people sit. One of Sailor’s favourite toy’s at present is her purple unicorn, aptly named Unicorn. Unicorn was a toy from my childhood gifted to Sailor following a closet clean out on a recent trip home.
With my energy levels somewhat restored it was time to tackle some blogging. I’m currently going through one of those fazes where the ideas are flowing but the ability to pull them together into a cohesive piece is sadly lacking. On the plus side, our recent spring clean at home means that at the very least my desk is looking rather pretty.
After a hot and humid day, neither Steve or I felt like cooking, instead we decided to hit our favorite bar in town. I love this bar not because they do great drinks (although they do), but instead because they make the most delicious American style burgers and onion rings that could pass for doughnuts. So it was with much sadness that I learnt that these burgers would shortly be off the menu. To add salt to the wound Steve refused to take a picture of me with my burger. I thought that a shot of a burger that stands ~20cm tall, would have made the perfect addition to the 5 photos 1 day challenge, but apparently food is for eating not photographing! And yes, despite being a dietitian I love eating foods like burgers, onions rings and doughnuts. Eating much like riding is all about balance.
