I MISS HIM!

 So.... I'm so grateful to God for pulling it all together. It is through His strength and ONLY his strength, that I survived stall rest. Literally. I almost died twice the other day driving to and from work. I almost got squished between a chicken truck and a cement wall blockade because I was so tired I didn't see the yield sign. Then I fell asleep at the wheel and veered into the left lane and almost hit a lady while driving 70 mph on the interstate (The speed limit is 70 there, so I wasn't actually even speeding). I was just so exhausted. I prayed consistently that He would give me strength to get through. And I know... you're laughing at me. It's just stall rest Holly. But, I was getting up at 6 am, spending 2 hours cleaning stalls, feeding animals and doing a 30 minute graze. Then I would drive to work and spend anywhere from 8-12 hours working on my feet in the heat all day. Then I'd come home and spend another 2 hours doing stalls and feeding and spreading manure. And then I'd graze Dan for an hour. Then I'd cook dinner, eat dinner at 9 or 10 pm, shower, then go do stalls again, then bed. And I wasn't sleeping. Not well or much because Dan was making noise. Or Funny was. And I can't sleep anyways. And that was every day for a month. Even on days I wasn't working I was still doing non-stop stuff. So I was exhausted and relied heavily on God. Especially because you add in the mental stress and emotional stress. And I was cranky and I knew it and took it out on my pets, which made me feel worse. And I was so frustrated with my friends... I wanted to fire them all. Well, most of them. 

Anyways, I digress. God... put it all together so nicely. Dan was allowed "small paddock" turn out June 12th. I was so stressed about it but then remembered Aubrey and so Dan got to go to camp while we went to the beach. Thank God for the beach. I sooooo needed this. I think I've slept more this three days in to our beach trip than I did all last month! I might have slept 11 hours the first two days, plus napping on the beach all day. :) Ahhhhh. And I've done nothing but sleep, nap, eat and take a short little beach walk. I'm not doing the athletic rider work out of the day. I just gave up on that. I don't have it in me. I'm done. But I'm enjoying the beach immensely. And looking forward to 3 more full days of it. God is so good!

And Dan is enjoying himself too it seems. Aubrey said that he goes out at night and stays in during the day. She said she "really liked my critter" and that every morning she had two thoughts. 1: I'm so glad he's where I left him. And 2: Where are his damn fly boots? ha ha. And today Cindy sent me photos of him and I said that I hoped he missed me. She replied with "He does, He told me. He came up, nickered. Hey! I know you! Tell mom I miss her". :) Hee hee... Awwww... I have awesome friends! And then Ash sent me a photo of him saying she thought she recognized that spotted butt. :) She also gave him a hug and took a selfie and he looks less than thrilled. Ha ha. Awwww, I miss him so much! But I'm glad he's having fun. Apparently he's been really good and hasn't been running around. So that's good. Aubrey said his leg looked much better although she thought he might end up popping a splint. I can deal with that I guess. :) Better than the alternatives. 

And... I've been listening to some podcasts and doing a little research. And I know I'm choosing to find research which supports my ...wishes, but... I currently have a plan. :) 1st month we stall rested. This second month, we'll do small paddock turn out at night, stall during the day (just cause of the heat) and work on our pillar work. This way we can get his thoracic sling strong and sturdy. We'll also do stretches and body work and acupuncture and chiro and bemer and massage. Then, the first month of turn out, I'll take him to Rana's and do some lunge lessons. Not the typical lunging, but... lunging while upright! Working on keeping all four legs square underneath him. So he's on the correct "lead" while lunging. We'll probably stick to walking the first month. Maybe a little bit of trotting, but no cantering. On purpose anyways. Then the fourth month, while still on full turn out, I'll add in walk lessons with Rana. We can work on straightness and using his thoracic sling and keeping his energy ball in his core, not his poll. All at the walk. That way... we're putting the basics back on. We're still rehabbing, not training. I'll have to keep reminding myself that. He's HEALING! We're not training yet. We're HEALING! BUT... also, this way we're fixing holes and strengthening and getting him prepared to start training. Then from there... I'll decide how long til we canter. I'm not sure I can wait 8 months. I'm guessing I will have to pray really hard on it and ask God for guidance. And base it on how Dan feels and how he is clinically. Maybe even with some ultrasound evaluations. But mostly, trust in God to guide me. He's not let me down yet. 

Hee hee.... I love him!