Gettin' old sucks

I feel like an old worn out mule with a bum knee and a bad hoof. My back aches (Auntie Flo is visiting and she loves to make me re-live back labor as much as she can), my knee that I stretched out a month ago is aching. One heel feels like I'm walking on spikes driving them into my bones. Yes, I have done this to myself. I've been at the barn a lot this week.


Those are mom's horses, Reefer aka Reefie and Goliath. Goliath is the little guy. Being at the barn isn't all play either.


You're right it does look like play. (Reefie doesn't look too thrilled in that pic.) Truth, I'd rather work hard and get filthy at the barn than fold one small load of laundry. :-D At present, grass needs cut or "ripped" and gathered for a few horses that aren't allowed to pasture right now. It's hot out so everyone needs water buckets topped off or cleaned out and refilled quite often, at least daily. The owner cleans stalls on Fridays with a Bobcat so we didn't have to muck any by hand, though I really don't mind that job. A clean, fresh stall always looks much better after you've sweat your ass off and thrown out your back removing a couple hundred pounds of poo. A few trips up the side of the very rocky steep hill/mountain to fetch horses and back the last couple days have taken their toll on my knee (slipped playing ball with kids). Riding a bit yesterday finished it off. Walking Miss B around and around through the thick sand/fine dirt of the arena...
and around some more while she rode just worked the back and knee pain into the numb stage. Numb at least until I got back to the house and had to deal with kids for showers, dinner, wrangle them to bed, and OMG am I sore this morning. If we lived closer and got to the barn every day, every week, I probably wouldn't hurt this bad, but it puts a bit of a crimp in the daily schedule getting to the barn regularly from four hours away. Unless I win the lottery...which would be difficult because I don't play...I won't have a horse of my own to keep nearby and worry about getting to a barn! So I guess I will just settle for pain on an every-few-month basis when I make the trek to mom's.

The part that stinks is pain doesn't disappear the next morning anymore or even the next DAY. It hangs around, sometimes for a week, just aching, reminding me "you're not getting any younger!" Mom said it just gets worse.

Oh joy.