Rock S Ranch Performance Horses

17 weeks already! 💛

Everyone says pregnancy flies by, and they definitely aren’t kidding. It’s honestly crazy how fast the time is going. I’m trying to do a better job of taking pictures throughout this pregnancy because I realized yesterday that I’ve been terrible about documenting it so far. 😂

One reason I’ve kept a lot of my pregnancy journey a little more private is because I know there are so many women who have struggled to get pregnant or are still waiting for their miracle. While I am incredibly grateful and thankful for this blessing, I’ve always wanted to be mindful of that.

I also just don’t feel the need to constantly post about how I’m feeling every day. Sometimes it feels a little like bragging, and that’s just not really my style. Don’t get me wrong, I am beyond thankful to be pregnant, but every day is still different. There are certain foods that, if I eat them, I’ll end up on the couch feeling sick for the rest of the day. Even at 17 weeks, I’ve learned that I need to eat by certain times or I’ll start feeling sick. Thankfully, I feel like I’ve finally gotten a pretty good handle on what works for me.

Compared to my first trimester, I am feeling so much better, and for that I’m incredibly thankful. I’ve also started working out because I was having trouble sleeping, and I’m hoping it helps prepare my body for labor and birth.

Feeling thankful, excited, and trying to soak up every moment because this little one will be here before we know it. 🤍

Forgot to give y’all another update on Lady 🐴💗

We are officially back to riding again! I rode her Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday this week, but I took today off because I was feeling pretty nauseous.

When I did ride, it was super light work—just a little trot and about 15 minutes of walking to keep things easy and consistent. We did have a little bit of swelling on her back leg, but I put Epsom salt and her Back on Track on her, and it’s completely gone now. No heat at all, which is such a blessing.

I’m so grateful for how she’s doing and the progress she’s making. For now, I’m going to pause lunging for a bit and just stick to light 15-minute walk/trot rides to help strengthen her stifle and her back end. I’ll also start adding in some backing up work and slowly build up to about 30 minutes of riding time.

I can also take her out on some trail rides, and there are some hills I can go up and down to help strengthen her back end as well, which I’m really excited about.

Other than that, she’s feeling so good—I can definitely tell she’s happy to be getting ridden again. She’s taking care of me and doing everything she’s asked of her. I know on Monday when I was walking her around, a big branch randomly fell from a tree and she spooked, which made her a little hot for a minute, but she settled back down quickly. It scared both of us because it just came out of nowhere, and it wasn’t a small branch either.

And I also know when it comes time for me to step back for a bit, she’s going to come back feeling really strong and ready when we start back up to racing again. I’ve been super consistent with her recovery work—ice boots, magnetic boots, and her magnetic blanket about four days a week since January—so I really feel like all of that is going to pay off in the long run.

My goal is to keep riding her until I’m about six months pregnant, and then when I get too big to safely ride, I’ll switch back to just lunging her again 🫶

MVP XLR8 Equine Back on Track USA