The many and various ways I pass the time now has a new addition. Usually it involves drinking coffee whilst sitting at a computer keeping in touch with chums, or sipping wine sitting on our tiny terrace catching the sun, and wondering what else I can do to avoid any cleaning or tidying or putting away of stuff and things that aren't even MINE. And now I am going to type this blog. Provided that doesn't become a chore as well, in which case...


Wednesday 5 September 2012

Giddy-up, Girl!

I was asked for a progress report on my riding lessons a while ago, and I suppose I have some progress to report, but only just. Such equestrian skills as I have acquired I have picked up very slowly, by infinitesimally gradual increments.  No-one learns new stuff fast at my sort of age, I guess. 

Until April this year I hadn't been in the saddle since a touristy hour-long ride over the semi-flooded plains of the Camargue in a string of white ponies led and herded by a proper Camargue cowboy, through rice paddies, and along the cicada-echoing sandy tracks between them. This will have been in about 1992, as the Infant Phenomenon who was The Daughter as a child was also riding that long distant summer's day. She'd only been having lessons about a year, but managed to stay on despite having a wayward and wilful pony who detected a lightweight on his back and played up a lot.  She had been nervous at not being given a hat, which was very British of her, and mighty relieved to dismount at the end.  As was I. I would have been 35 in 1992. Which makes me exceedingly old, wise and creaky now.

I am very pleased to say I can now get on and off without getting stuck halfway. My legs and pelvis are relaxing and some muscles are strengthening, my teacher tells me, but you'd never know it to look at them. Apparently my core strength has improved. I am just starting to learn how to steer with my legs as well as with by opening the rein. Last week I learnt how to get the horse to step backwards and turn moving hind legs only, though I can't remember the technical term for this. I can also do a rising trot with my feet out of the stirrups, though when this concept was first put to me my mind could not fathom it. Computer says NO! But hey! it can be done.

I am not terrified all the time any more and this has helped my muscles to relax. Some lessons I enjoy all the way through. I have yet to be allowed to trot without the bridle being held by the teacher running alongside, and cantering seems aeons off, although I used to hack with the village "riding school" as a pre-teen and canter and even gallop when riding out. I use the term "riding school" loosely and ironically as until this year no-one properly taught me anything and I had no technical ability beyond being able to stay on most of the time and not immediately giving up if I fell off.

So that's how far I have come after 30 minutes' tuition a week for four months. I have ridden three different geldings in that time, most recently two Welsh Cobs of about 15 hands. It feels a long way down to the ground still, though perhaps it always should feel like that. After all, it IS. So one doesn't want to make the journey by the quickest route, ideally...





9 comments:

  1. I am unashamedly petrified of horses - huge beasts, scary teeth and even scarier hooves - so you have my admiration.

    Now is it just me or is there an weird smudge on that photo under the horse's.. erm, well... tackle (so to speak) - what's going on there? You see, another reason to be suspicious of horses....

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    1. The weird smudge is a mark on the window my husband took the photo through, from the visitors' gallery of the indoor school. It does look like misty ectoplasm, but it is nothing supernatural.

      I have already had a foot trodden on briefly. Fortunately I have invested in proper thick leather riding boots, and it was only a glancing blow and a light bruise. It isn't at all unusual to break toes or have toenails go black and drop off if one is around horses a lot. So I have much more to look forward to in future!

      Thanks for dropping by, BTW. I am Perpetua (of Perpetually in Transit)'s Baby Sis. I spotted your blog in amongst the ones she follows and liked what I r4ead.

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  3. You may not think your progress is very fast, Baby Sis, but it's far more than I would ever have achieved even if I weren't allergic to horsehair. Like Mark I find horses scary, though beautiful to watch at a distance, and far too big. I understand that riding is considered very good exercise, so well done for persevering. :-)

    PS You STILL haven't taken the word verification off. Sobs brokenly....

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    1. You have mentioned to me more than once, Big Sis, that you believe you "don't really do physical courage" and I think Polka Dot is much the same, as she tells me she had one riding lesson as a kid at Golden Soney Farm, fell off, burst into tears and refused to get back on again (they weren't as thorough about tightening girths partway into a lesson as they should have been - I first fell off because the whole saddle slid under the pony so there was nowhere to go but DOWN!). I guess wanting to do a thing enough to overcome fear is crucial (such as when one learns to drive). Some discomfort along the way is inevitable with riding, as with much physical exercise. No pain, no gain, girlfriend!

      The Husband will have nothing to do with hay-burners "cos they don't come with handbrakes", even though he's played club rugby, learned karate, and been in the army in the past, none of which is exactly a walk in the park.

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    2. Sorry, word verication is staying for the moment to avoid infuriating spamming. If you want to by-pass it you can join Facebook and access my blogs via my page on there. Yeah, I didn't think you'd agree to that...LOL!

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    3. I hate heights, so no, I don't do that kind of physical courage - never have and I doubt I'll start at my age.:-)

      As for the spamming, do you really get enough spam for it to be a problem? Blogger's spam filter is excellent and I've just caught the first spam message that has actually made it onto my blog for months. I dropped word verification in January because it made it so hard for WordPress bloggers to comment and I find the current word verification pattern particularly difficult to decipher. It often takes me 4 or 5 refreshes to find a readable combination. Sigh... The great majority of the blogs I follow, even ones with lots of followers and views, no longer use it and just rely on the spam filter.

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  4. Well done with the riding. You are definitely NOT OLD - by my reckoning 55 this year - I will be 70 next year (68 at present) and still do not consider myself old - I don't feel old therefore I can't be old!!!!

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  5. well done.... I used to love riding as a kid now I think I'm a bit scared!!

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