A visit with my pony



It has been an exhausting week. I want to say I’m not sure why, but I am trying to be more introspective. So:

  • new job, with new colleagues (hard work for an introvert)
  • lingering anger and loss about the fact that I had to change jobs (goes with the territory, but still not fun)
  • no IT for most of the week, which made it really hard to read into the new job, or finish tasks left from the last one
  • lack of sleep (averaging no more than about 4 hours a night, despite getting myself into bed at a reasonable hour)
  • the lack of sleep was definitely related to muscle pain from tension - mostly in my neck and jaw, but sometimes my back and even into my legs. And the tension was largely from the work issues, so vicious spiral was happening.

    • Yesterday I arranged to go for a walk with a friend. We usually try to walk together every Wednesday, but she had been out of town. She had the brilliant suggestion of visiting my horse, since she has never met Fancy, and the farm is relatively near her house. It was a beautiful evening and we were gleefully welcomed by Meadow (the fleabitten grey) and Charm (the dapple grey). Rainbow (the chestnut) was busy elsewhere but looked majestic in her corner. Fancy didn’t greet us, but neither did she run away, which is good for her. 
I haven’t been out to see Fancy in months. When COVID hit, access to the farm where she lives got extremely limited. When it opened up again, the priority was getting my daughter out to ride.

Charm, with Meadow in the background.

Fancy


Afterwards, we explored a bit of Petrie Island, a nearby conservation area. Neither of us had been in years. It was nice, but too dark to wander the longer trails safely. We will definitely go back.

The upshot is that I slept for a long time last night. I’m still not fully tested, but I definitely feel better. There really is something to the stories about the healing powers of horses.

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