Due to an accident with my phone, I have no photos of anything in this post, but pics will come one day!
Ringo has settled well into his new home. He's gone from not eating anything to eating meals of 10+ crickets every other day. It's so funny to watch him hunt the crickets; right before he strikes, his tail starts whipping in a frenzy. He's starting to learn that Philip and I aren't as scary as he thought, and he voluntarily walked into my hand the other night. It's been fun watching him get settled in and less stressed out.
In even more exciting news, Rosa and I jumped for the first time on Saturday, then did it again on Sunday! She seemed to enjoy it; I think it was a welcome change from our usual arena work. Since she's 4 years old, we only spent a couple minutes trotting and cantering over a small cross rail both days, but it was exhilarating for me – especially seeing how far she has come in both her training and her trust in me from when she was a yearling. The rest of both sessions we worked on her picking up the canter from my seat – no verbal commands – which she did really well at. She had gotten to where she anticipated the canter and exploded into it when I asked verbally, but she was much more relaxed with the subtle cue. Maybe I'll have a jumping horse (pony) yet!
In less exciting news, I was diagnosed with celiac disease a few weeks ago, which was absolutely DEVASTATING since I LOVE bread, cookies, cakes, all baked goods... But, I've been able to settle into a routine. I've gotten to where I read all labels, and I've getting over my anxiety about asking people if there is gluten in the food they make. Even better, I've had people send me recipes for gluten free cookies, cakes, pies, breads, tortillas...you name it. Pinterest has been a godsend for finding recipes, and I'm thankful for the gluten free diet craze, as I've been able to find almost anything that I crave in gluten free form (except Papa John's pizza).
So it has not been as bad as expected, although I do still think about certain favorite dishes at restaurants that I will never eat again with longing and despair at times. And then I go make myself a gluten free chocolate chip mug cookie, which takes a grand total of about 6 minutes from start to consumption. And all is a little better.
Ringo has settled well into his new home. He's gone from not eating anything to eating meals of 10+ crickets every other day. It's so funny to watch him hunt the crickets; right before he strikes, his tail starts whipping in a frenzy. He's starting to learn that Philip and I aren't as scary as he thought, and he voluntarily walked into my hand the other night. It's been fun watching him get settled in and less stressed out.
In even more exciting news, Rosa and I jumped for the first time on Saturday, then did it again on Sunday! She seemed to enjoy it; I think it was a welcome change from our usual arena work. Since she's 4 years old, we only spent a couple minutes trotting and cantering over a small cross rail both days, but it was exhilarating for me – especially seeing how far she has come in both her training and her trust in me from when she was a yearling. The rest of both sessions we worked on her picking up the canter from my seat – no verbal commands – which she did really well at. She had gotten to where she anticipated the canter and exploded into it when I asked verbally, but she was much more relaxed with the subtle cue. Maybe I'll have a jumping horse (pony) yet!
In less exciting news, I was diagnosed with celiac disease a few weeks ago, which was absolutely DEVASTATING since I LOVE bread, cookies, cakes, all baked goods... But, I've been able to settle into a routine. I've gotten to where I read all labels, and I've getting over my anxiety about asking people if there is gluten in the food they make. Even better, I've had people send me recipes for gluten free cookies, cakes, pies, breads, tortillas...you name it. Pinterest has been a godsend for finding recipes, and I'm thankful for the gluten free diet craze, as I've been able to find almost anything that I crave in gluten free form (except Papa John's pizza).
So it has not been as bad as expected, although I do still think about certain favorite dishes at restaurants that I will never eat again with longing and despair at times. And then I go make myself a gluten free chocolate chip mug cookie, which takes a grand total of about 6 minutes from start to consumption. And all is a little better.