For once, I'm the lame one

Three things have kept me from riding - the cold weather, work, and my neck.

I know a lot of people who ride when it's below 20 degrees. I used to be one of them. But now when I try and ride when it's that cold I just can't breathe. It seems like 30 degrees is a good temperature for me. I might get a little tight in my chest but I don't get constricted and labored in my breathing. And I know that the arena usually is warmer than it is outside, but the problem is that I have to walk outside to get into the barn, and sometimes that's all it takes for me to have a problem. I have tried using a scarf but it's hard to groom horses and ride with a scarf.

Anyhow, the safest thing for me to do is just not go outside. So I don't, which means I don't ride.

Work has also been an issue. There have been times where it's warm enough to ride but I've had to work late, or work the weekend. When I work on the weekend we start an hour earlier than usual - 6:30 am - so I have to get up earlier. Which usually means what I want to do after work is go home and take a nap, or just laze around. Usually I force myself to go and ride, but sometimes I'm just a blob. It's not possible for me to get out of working some weekends, so that's not going to change.

Then there is my neck. I hurt it in September when I was bucked off of a horse. I thought I had healed it all up but then it started to bother me again. I saw my chiropractor and massotherapist twice and it just wasn't getting any better. Then I shoveled that sawdust. Probably not the smartest thing for me to do, but in order for me to ride it had to get done.

Turns out that I wasn't going to be riding anytime soon, thanks to the cold and work. So I further injured my neck for nothing. Yes, I realize how stupid that is. But I didn't know it was going to be that cold!

Yesterday my neck was so bad that I called the doctor. My chiropractor and massotherapist didn't help, icing didn't help, and I can't take ibuprofen for a long enough period of time for that to help either. Ibuprofen, naprosen, and other NSAID's just tear my stomach apart, to the point that I have to decide which is worse - the pain or feeling like I'm going to puke all the time. Which usually means I stop taking the pills and deal with the pain.

Anyhow, I asked my doc for a prescription for steroids. Yes, I know they aren't great for you, but neither is high doses of ibuprofen or any other NSAID. He had given me a Medrol pack (it's a corticosteroid used to treat inflammation) back in October and it did wonders for my neck. Yesterday he gave me another Medrol pack.

This morning I'm 90% better. It's such a relief! Unfortunately looking through a microscope is going to put additional strain on my neck, but since it's my job there is not much I can do about it. I'll just take my Medrol and hope it knocks down the inflammation enough that I can heal.

As for the horses? I'm going to the barn tonight. 32 degrees today, neck is better, and I won't have to work late. I'm not going to ride, but I want to get them on the lunge line. They've had enough of a break that I want to go slow with them at first. Remember that Kaswyn is 19 and Albert is 18, so I'm sure they will feel stiff and a little sore going back to work after a week and a half. Fortunately they have both been getting daily turnout, so they've been able to move around. That's good for their old joints.

And I really need to do some exercise. I hate getting back into shape so the best thing to do is not get out of shape. That's so easy to say and so hard to do. and I also don't want to lose all the headway I was making with my riding as far as my seat and legs go. I hope I can remember what it feels like to do it right!