Well, there goes my riding tomorrow!

[MrFibble]

I've not managed to ride at all yet this year and tomorrow I was going to do a gentle plod round the block with my lovely mare but poor old DS has a tummy bug and now I won't be able to go!!!!! I feel sooo sorry for DS but couldn't he have waited until tomorrow evening to fall ill???? I now smell of puke and have mountains of washing and a sick baby to look after tomorrow. Woe is me! Am I evil for being so disappointed about my riding? Poor DS - he is so miserable. I'll be sleeping in with him tonight.... Of course I doubt I will actually sleep much. Wish me luck.

aww, poor you (and poor DS!), what rotten luck

hope you do get some sleep at least

thanks.... more puking though. I'm running out of clean sheets!

So, instead of my ride out I have done 4 loads of washing.

Still, at least DS has perked up and is nearly back to his normal self. It's also snowing out there and looks absolutely miserable (desperately tries to convince self ride out would have been pants anyway).

How do you manage to combine children and horses? My horses are seriously losing out here - I just don't have time! When do those of you with 2yos manage to ride?

Don't know about combining horses and children (haven't ridden since pg with DD1 6 yeard ago) but was wondering re your washing - have you tried putting an old bath sheet under your DS in the bed? I can sometimes save you having to change all the sheets if you can get it off the bed before anything soaks through.

Sorry if I'm stating the bleedin' obvious here.

Yep, I put bath towels down (after the first 4 pukes) but he's been managing some real projectile stuff! Fingers crossed it's over now.

I am really wondering if I should just retire my mares since I hardly get to ride. They're both over 20 with some health problems anyway so I can't and won't sell them and can't really loan them out. What to do?

Ah that would be a shame if they don't need to retire yet. Old horses do much better if they are kept ticking over don't they and your ds will surely be going to playgroups and things by next year?

If they are sound for light work have you thought about the RDA? The branch ds goes to are looking for some ponies/cobs on loan and they prefer the older, steadier ones. Also, they only want them in term-time which could be ideal for some owners who still want to ride occasionally, after all they would have them back for most of the summer as well as Easter etc. The ponies love it, my friend lent them her elderly mare while she was pregnant and the horse was so happy and so popular with the children that she ended up signing her over!

DS is better!

But I had it all last night..... Too weak to even think about riding this morning and it is minus 9...

Pixel - that is a really good idea, thanks! We're not in the UK but my yard does do RDA and have recently lost a pony so my older mare might do. She is suited to only very light work and might be a bit big but I can ask. Other mare would not be suitable at all - she's a bunch of nerves who needs a very confident, calm, still and balanced rider who weighs less that 65 kilos. As you can imagine this makes finding a loan or a sharer for her hard. The girls I find tend to fall in love with her, stick around for a couple of years and then poke off to Uni or discover boys. Ah well.

I hate the idea of retiring them and if I didn't work I could ride but then I wouldn't be earning the money I need to keep them and pay for DS's creche 9-12 a day so I wouldn't be able to ride. A viscious circle.

Sorry you've got it too, MrFibble, but look on the bright side - at least there's less laundry when it's you who's poorly rather than the DCs.......

fab sunshine!

cannot wait to go hell for leather have a lovely long, steady canter on hack tomorrow morning

hope you have recovered, by the way, MrFibble?

argh what about my hand though

would it be bad to put the brown one in a gag, just so have vaguely increased chance of some brakes?

I have finally stopped puking but it was a nasty bug - lingered for bloody days. It has also been chucking down with snow here for 4 days and now it's raining on top of it so my planned ride tomorrow might end up just being lunging! Big mare nearly slipped over when I took her out of her box yesterday - it's just vile.

Pixel - I spoke to my YO and unfortunately my big mare is too big for the RDA so back to the drawing board.

Hell, it's only in winter that I get all miserable and think about giving up. Perhaps I should move somewhere with less crappy winters!

SeaTheStars - brakes are important . If you have a dodgy hand it's better to have the big guns to back you up IMVHO. Good luck!