Time Management

I'm hoping this week to start to get into some sort of pattern/rythm with trying to live life and fit everything in. I have been struggling during the weeks with trying to balance riding the horses, working out at the gym, shopping for groceries, cooking dinner, paying bills weekly, doing dishes/cleaning house, having some tv down time.. too many things to get done in one evening!

Derek & I got in a ride on Saturday at the Morgan Club with Barbara Woo, Chris Tornow, Jenny McCall & her neice Rochell. It was a nice ride, I rode Oakley 80% of the time. There was a brief period that Derek and I switched horses after lunch, but Oakley was tossing his head a lot, so it was easier for me to get on and work him on this ride. He has done great with creek crossings, as long the creeks are wide, he will walk right in with no problems, but we again came across a water crossing that was only about a foot or so wide and he had to jump it. There was no real battle this time with him, some hesitation, but I didnt "work" him on the crossing, just let him jump it and moved on. He was tossing his head for the 2nd half of the ride, I'm not sure if he was just being testy, if his back was sore, or if the saddle was hurting him. I'll have to watch him and see if he continues to do that and try to determine the cause. I'm a little worried about saddle fit on him, Derek's saddle doesnt seem to fit him perfectly and it would really be a tragedy if that is the case, it was an $800 saddle!!! Oakley should be gaining some weight now that he is out of training, so the saddle may fit better/worse as he fills out a little more.

Edgar is still a tiny bit stiff in his shoulder, so I'll be riding Oakley a little longer. Derek is going to back off of taking lessons for a while and just go back to riding horses... He's been pushed pretty hard in his lessons and unfortunately he is so concerned now thinking about what he is doing right/wrong, I think he's loosing out on the fun of just riding. So we are going to take a break and just let him ride. Derek is a good rider, I see it and so does the trainer. He'll only continue to get better with more hours in the saddle. BTW, we both are over 40 hours now for the year!!!