Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Too Sick to Ride?

The last couple of days I've been feeling... icky. I can't quite describe my symptoms. I'm just nauseous enough to keep me on a Coke and crackers diet. My head aches just enough so that I'm constantly rubbing my forehead like I'm polishing a pair of boots. But it's nothing serious. For it to be serious-- worthy of me calling my doctor-- I'd have to be feeling too sick to ride. That would warrant a Level 4 Alert on my "How Does Cindy Feel Today?" chart. If such a chart actually existed, it would look something like this:

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Level 1: "I feel great! After I ride Wally I'll call Sue and see if she has any horses that need to be exercised. Maybe I'll even jump one of the show horses around a little course!"
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Level 2: "Ouch! Was that my neck that just cracked? Okay, I admit it. I'm not a kid anymore. I have the battle scars to prove it. But I'll feel better after breakfast and then I'm going to ride Wally all the way down to the river and back."
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Level 3: "Oh geez. It's 11:00 a.m. and I'm still in my pajamas! Focus Cindy, focus! Ignore the sore throat. Shake off the head ache, splash some cold water on your face and get moving. Get dressed and make yourself ride Wally in the arena, even if it's only for a few minutes."
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Level 4: "Thank God my husband has already fed Wally and cleaned the paddock, because I feel terrible. I thought The Plague was eradicated. Not only am I too sick to ride, I'm placing myself under voluntary quarantine and not leaving the house. What time does Oprah come on?"
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Fortunately, whether I'm too sick to ride due to actual illness or a flare-up of pain, it never lasts too long. The best cure for any ailment, it seems, is climbing on the back of a good horse!
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As always, I enjoy reading your comments. You can contribute your thoughts by clicking on "comments" below. You'll notice that now you'll have to type in a few letters to gain access to the comments section. That's just the typical anti-spam device because unfortunately my blog-- like much of the Internet-- is prone to spamming. And I'd hate for some software program to post links to unworthy sites on my blog.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I know the feeling, Cindy. No matter how sick you are, you always seem to feel better once you're on your horse's back. Even if you don't feel up to more than just walking around the arena/pasture.

Janine said...

Hi Cindy~
love your blog...always makes me smile - even when *I'm* not feeling like riding due to an icky headache!
Hoping to find us both back in the saddle again!

Anonymous said...

Hi Cindy,
I know that riding horses always makes me feel better, emotionally and physically. Thanks for sharing! Your blog always makes me smile.

Anonymous said...

I DEFINATLEY know how you feel........ i've been sick since Christmas day! ack... have Larengitis and then a sinus infection too. I havnt been able to ride in 2 weeks!:( i would have riden sooner but the darn weather! we had flooding..... hopefully saturday i'll get to ride for sure! i need a horsey fix! does level 5 exist on your scale? lol i think i'd be there!

Jessica said...

Hope you feel better Cindy!! There's nothing worse than being sick and not being able to ride. It never fails that when I get sick, the weather MAGICALLY gets perfect for riding. :) I think it's a rider's curse.
Hope you're back on Wally soon!

Anonymous said...

I know how you feel... I had my tonsils out on New Years Eve and have spent the past 10 days in bed- ack.

Cindy Hale said...

Oh gosh, sore throats and sinus infections... Ick! Those would rate a Level 5! I am feeling better now, thanks. However, first we had an earthquake ("only" a 4.5 though) and then the winds began to blow up to 70 mph. So I haven't been able to ride, anyway!