Author: langlep

So 2020 was going to be my year. The year I got my life sorted after being served redundancy notice from my job in November 2019. The year I ticked off more things from my horsey bucket list. The year I got my mental health back under control and reduced stress in my life. I had a plan. And it was a good one. Then the plan changed dramatically on 2 January. I came off my horse at speed and broke my ankle. Badly. Like all good equestrians, I got back on and rode back to the yard, sorted Buddy out and then drove myself to A&E. That’s where this journey really began... I was sent home from A&E and told to crack on, only to receive a phone call later to say they’d missed a fracture (and a rather serious one at that). Whoops! So fracture clinic on 3 January, surgery on 5 January and home to recover. I started this blog as a way to chart my recover back to the saddle. As I cleared clinics and competitions out of my diary and wondered what the next few months would bring, it's been a safe space for me to say how I'm feeling. The new plan was to get a new job, to keep Buddy is kept ticking over and recover from my injury. Another good plan! I didn't expect a global pandemic, lockdown and all that happened in 2020. This blog has changed over time but it's continued to be my safe space to share the things going on in my life, with Buddy and the cats. Enjoy!

Heavy traffic

Lorries seem to be a bit of a theme this week. Today we came across 3 huge lorries out on our hack.

Faced with huge HGVs that rattle and clank (the empty ones make more noise than the full ones), even the best horses can have a wobble. Today, we had hacking rockstars. Helped by the drivers. They were exceptional.

They stopped when asked so we had time to get onto the bank and settle the horses. They drove past us as slowly as they could. They checked to make sure our horses were calm. Then drove away with care and consideration.

It doesn’t always happen, so I sent an email to the company to thank you.

As if that wasn’t enough, we then had to deal with a tractor cutting hedges on the way back. Jeez that made a racket. Even though Buddy wasn’t sure, he donned his brave pants and walked past.

Road to nowhere

So this wasn’t how my day was meant to go. The Buddymobile wouldn’t start this morning. We tried jumpstarting it, we tried banging it, we tried cleaning bits, all to no avail.

A lovely man from the local garage came out too. But he couldn’t get it to start either. His best guess, something electrical. So we’re grounded for now. Well until I can get it fixed.

Any advice or tame mechanics gratefully received. 🤞🏻

Pony cuddles

After a long day working, I popped to see Buddy for a quick cuddle. Even though he was more interested in his hay, he gave me a good sniff and lots of nuzzles.

He loves to groom my hair. So I brushed his mane in return. It’s such a special moment.

Go with it

Today has been one of those days where I’ve had to just go with it. A number of my plans for the day changed. So I made new plans. But I’ve not felt quite with it as a result.

I had to giggle when I turned up at yoga wearing odd shoes. In my defence they do look similar.

Got home and raided the freezer for dinner. Thought I was getting ratatouille. Ended up with pasta sauce. It wasn’t quite what I’d had in my with my pie. 🤦🏻‍♀️

Sums the day up really.

Suffolk fun

Headed to Suffolk today to meet a friend for lunch. Good job we weren’t meeting at the pub. My phone decided that you don’t need data while you’re on the phone so my Sat Nav thought I was still at home. 😱 Needless to say, I took the scenic route.

Still it was work it for a lovely day. Great food, great company and a TMJ release to boot.

Saw this sign in the pub. I’m such a child…. 😂

Yard time

Thought I’d head to the yard earlier today and take Buddy out for a hack. It seemed every man and his dog had the same idea. Rarely seen that many walkers or dogs out.

Buddy was slightly distracted by the kids screaming in a nearby garden so it gave us a chance to do some schooling on the field.

Even though I’d got there early, I still managed to lose 5 hours! Yard time really is different to normal time. Still it was very productive. Gave Buddy a hot towel wash after our hack. Cleaned my tack. And tidied my stuff up.

I call that a good Sunday.

Oven bottom

Popped to Co-op on my way back from the yard and they had these bad boys. I’m rather partial to an oven bottom muffin. But they don’t always have them. Bought two packs (one for the freezer).

Sometimes a little bit of what you fancy does you good.

Meatloaf

Another rock legend has gone to the stadium in the sky. I saw him in concert at Wembley Arena in the late 90s. It was epic! My ears were ringing for days afterwards.

Around that time, Bat out of Hell was played to death in my car. Literally as it was on cassette and got jammed (even the pencil trick didn’t work).

Brings back very happy memories of full volume, windows open, cigarette on the go and singing as loud as I could through the country roads of West Sussex. I might have to download it…

Marketing fail

This made me laugh today. As a marketeer I know about effective targeting of your message. It seems my close is in a certain demographic. People think I’m joking when I say I brought the average age down.

I know I’m in my 50s now, but not sure these are relevant to me.