The Lucy Conundrum

What to do about Lucy?  My attention loving demanding, ambitious, talented, hyper mare needs a job.  I had hoped that when I retired my back issues would improve.  No more 2 hour commute (each way) and no more long days of sitting behind a desk or in meetings.  I figured my routine of daily yoga strengthening and more physical movement would help my back.  And it has, in general.  But not enough to ride Lucy.

Lucy is a blast to ride.  She is trained to third level and one of her nicknames is Gumby.  She’s super supple and things like shoulder-in and half-pass are easy for her.  I’ve had horses before that were talented, but they didn’t like to work (Auke and Winston).  I’ve also had horses that weren’t talented at all but would try their hearts out for you (Jackson).  Lucy has both those pieces and that’s what makes her so much fun.  I think her trot is the most comfortable I have ever ridden — she floats.  She tends to get anxious at canter but when she is in a settled state of mind, her canter is lovely too.

The trouble is my back can’t handle trot and canter anymore.  And Lucy is happiest working in those gaits.  When I rode Tex for a 15 minute leisurely walk around the ranch, I spent the evening on the couch with my friends the heating pad and ibuprofen.

And there are the trolls to consider, of course.  Lucy spooks at the most unexpected times at imaginary things.  She doesn’t bolt or anything; she dips and jumps sideways.  I’ve never felt like I was going to come off, but it does jolt me a bit and that would definitely cause my back to go into major meltdown.

So, what to do.  Lucy gets a lot of attention.  We give each other back rubs when I muck her pasture twice a day.  She has Pistol to boss around and space to run.  But she wants to work.  She needs to work.  But, I can’t ride her and she requires a very balanced, confident and quiet rider.

I’m thinking about leasing her.  I’d love her to be ridden by one of Sandy’s students because Sandy knows Lucy and I’m confident she would be both ridden well and well cared for at Sandy’s barn.  It would take some work to get her back in shape — she needs joint injections and then some time in the Pessoa building back her fitness and top line.  But she could get there easily.  So, we’ll see.  Fingers crossed I can find a solution to the Lucy conundrum.