Back in the saddle again

     Our last riding lesson was in early February.  Right after it, we went skiing in Colorado for a week, then a local trip to West Virginia with hubby's sister for another day of skiing.  This was done with no injuries, though I did take a head whacking spill in West Virginia, but with no real lingering effects.  Shortly after the skiing, we had a string of beautiful almost spring like days and Ranger would still get in the car, so we started doing doggie walks on the Huckleberry Trail or at Pandapas Pond.  The last time we did, hubby complained toward the end of the walk that his knee was hurting, though he hadn't stumbled or twisted it, just dealing with the 180+ pound dog.  His knee continued to bother him and after a week or two, we made a trip to our GP who diagnosed a meniscus tear, gave him a steroid shot and told him to see a specialist if it didn't feel better in a couple of weeks.  It didn't, the specialist ordered X-rays which showed no damage, injected another steroid shot in a different place, prescribed anti-inflammatory meds and said an MRI was next if that didn't help.  It didn't.  The MRI was Thursday, showed no meniscus tear and another appointment is scheduled with the doc in a week and a half.  This put a halt to riding.
     In the midst of not being able to ride, we joined a Horse Master's Club, an adult offshoot of the US Pony Club.  The local chapter, the Sinking Creek Pony Club operates out of the stable at which we rode.  The first two meeting of the Sinking Creek Horse Master's Club were organizational and informational and today was the first mounted meeting.  Hubby was a bit concerned as weight bearing on his knee equals pain, but he wanted to try and I wanted to ride too, so we signed up for the riding meeting.  As this was our first mounted meeting and as many of us had not been on a horse in months or even years, we did only flat work.  This was the first time I have been in the ring with more than just hubby, we had 6 of us riding, a new challenge.  It was mostly an assessment ride, but for the first time, we were taught to canter.  I wasn't sure about doing this, it was voluntary and I am still a bit unsure at a fast trot, but when Doc broke into the canter, it was so much smoother, like a rocking horse instead of a spring loaded bouncy horse.  What an awesome feeling!  As it turned out, using the higher ramp for mounting worked for hubby, riding didn't bother his knee and even dismounting was ok, so maybe we are "Back in the saddle again..."