Guys, I'm moving... I wish I had more time to post, but unless you want to read about packing countless boxes of books, numerous adress changes, booking movers and other similarly fascinating stuff, you'll have to cope (she says, humbly) with another few weeks of reading something else than my horsey ramblings.
Are you going to be ok??? (Again, you've got to notice the modesty here...) ;-)
I'd loooooove to hear about you though.
A note to Dea: Are you on Facebook Dea? I see you come by but, poor thing, you have nothing more to read. When are you going to have YOUR horsey blog so that I can read about you once in a while? (Thus the Facebook question...)
Anyhow, I need to get going. Hopefully my next post will not be so far along and will include SOME new riding insights.
Ok, first of all, the BF is gone. That's it for that. Back to square one!
Then, Angie, the mare I had a half lease on, has been put on foal duty and inconspicuously moved from the barn before I could even say goodbye (and before the end of my half lease term...dammit!). And since I had gained a tremendous amount of confidence riding her, I'm a bit anxious (being the queen of anxiety and all...) that my next ride won't make me feel as bold and confident as she used to. So here again, back to square one!
So today, I was introduced to Lexie. My first reaction: gorgeous!!! She was very sweet while I saddled her and I thought we would make a great team. Well, not so much...
First of all, a few minutes after my lesson started it started raining very hard, and a barn being a barn, full of creaks and squeeks and wistles when it's windy, Lexie started spooking. Real bad! I must admit, I'm just not used to that. I managed to stay in the saddle (my only achievement in today's lesson) but did not enjoy the feeling one bit. So I became nervous...
And from there downhill. The canter was awful, I held her way too tight because I wanted to be in control of the NEXT spook, and when Cynthia told be to let go of her mouth, I lenghtened the reins which made me feel even less "in control" but she just meant to keep a soft hand in contact, to stabilize my hands. And there I was, trying my best (as Lexie was doing probably) but making her more and more frustrated with me, which in turn made me more and more nervous. We were spiralling downwards uncontrollably... End of lesson, by coach decreet. And was it ok with me!!!
So to reconnect with the equine species, I spent a few minutes in awe, looking at a 6 days old Halflinger foal that was born last Monday. Soooo cute! She's in the video as well, right after a few seconds of how I look when my confidence has been shaken and when I ride a horse that doesn't appreciate my "technique" so much...
Well, Cynthia told me we were not a match made in heaven anyway, and next week, I'm going to have to try another horse on the school roster. I do miss Angie already, and Meeka too. But I'm going to keep my hear open for another horse, and see what he or she has to teach me.
Lexie? She taught me horses aren't all equals, which is also true of men or women for that matter, and that you can't force some relationships if they're just not meant to be.
Did I tell you the BF was gone? Well then, I rest my case.
If "X"es and slightly elevated poles count as obstacles, then today I cantered my first course. 2 weeks ago, I hadn't even accepted the idea that maybe one day I would jump, 3 weeks ago I was scared of flying changes and found them very unsettling, plus the infamous canter issue everybody knows about...and voilà! All in the same minute or so, over and over and over. Woot Woot!!!
Thanks to Cynthia for pushing me, even when I'm scared, because she obviously believes in me more than I do (plus I could not dream of a better coach), to my devoted 10 years old camera crew, my son Guillaume, for his love and patience... And thanks to the lovely chestnut Angie, Queen of flying changes, for having a brain when I don't.
I took up horse riding a little over a year ago, at a very low point in my life. When I first sat on that huge gelding, I thought: "I'm gonna kill myself!" But was I wrong: it just about saved my life.
