I know the world is literally on fire and the many injustices folks face are being hammered into us this week, and there’s a vicious mix of fear, despair, depression, uncertainty, and unfairness to unpack…but I’m lucky and privileged enough that I can retreat to the barn while I process what’s going on, where I stand, what I “should” do and how I support my family, friends and community through all this. So that’s what I did tonight.

Being now almost 34 weeks pregnant (and feeling very preggo lately!) my time spent working with Flash has…well, kinda tanked. Oh, I see him pretty much every day, groom him and feed him his supplements and fill his “bad roommate ball”, but some days that’s all I have mental and physical energy for. I would feel a tad bit guiltier that sometimes all I do is feed and run back home (to sleep), but our new barn and barn owner are simply awesome and I know he’s living a good life here even with my occasional in attentiveness.

However, as a friend kindly pointed out to me, there’s still tons I can do and not every session has to be a long, involved process to gain some net positives.

Tonight, since Kade is preoccupied with his cousins camping on our back porch and it was a long and stormy day, I spent 20 minutes grooming, stretching and playing soccer with Flash. Another friend, who is kind enough to help me by working him once a week under saddle, pointed out he has some muscle to build, so we worked on a few simple lunges and stretches to get him to start stepping under himself. Every moment I can spare now sets him up to carry me safely and be more prepared for the unbalanced, unfit rider he’ll have to put up with come July (or August, hopefully I’ll be back asaddle by then!) Plus, Flash digs soccer just like the kid does!

Also, a quick update on his supplements (since he’s shiny, rock solid barefoot and not chewing himself to death this time of year):

• Handful of alfalfa pellets
• 2 scoops CalTrace powder
• 1 scoop SmartPak ItchEase (jeezum it’s pricy but it’s working!!! Usually he’s in full fly sheet, belly band and anti-bite himself muzzle but all he’s in now is a fly mask!)
• 1 scoop iodized salt
• 1 scoop Magnesium
• 1 scoop Selenium/Vitamin E
• 1 scoop Biotin
• 2-3 carrots, wet and stir 🙂