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17 December 2004 22:42![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
enismirdalGot to ride a horse I'd never tried before, called Holly. Holly is a darling, except she is a typical mare (i.e. a complete grump!) and kicks and bites things she doesn't like. She is not a young horse, but acts like one because her first owner never bothered training her properly.
We seemed to get on reasonably, by which I meant I didn't ride her wonderfully, but I was OK and we had fun. We were both slightly tired by the end. The instructor was a friend of mine and she hadn't taught an adult intermediate class before, so it was a bit scary for her. I told her to nag me as much as she wanted, and have a good bitch at the stupid guy. (The stupid guy rides like a sack of potatoes and joyrides the horses. It almost hurt to watch him on poor Dillon today; I know I can get so much more from the horse than that; Dillon just kind of lolloped lazily. And stupid guy is so heavy in the saddle, and Dillon's back has already been abused enough. Oh, and he never listens to any of the advice the instructor gives). So I worked very hard on getting Holly to work like a nice little horse, and we got...somewhere. Not terribly far, but I managed to get some improvement between the beginning and the end.
She's kind of one-sided, so going one way she veers inwards and going the other way she veers outwards. And she is still learning subtleties; she's got 'stop' and 'go' pretty well. Also 'walk backwards very quickly' (especially, apparently, when she's being ridden out and comes across something she doesn't like). Anything beyond that is a bit much for her, bless her.
She likes scratching her head on me. I am a complete softie for being used as a horse scratching-post, so I indulged her.
Did work (good Eni!). Ate lots of chocolate.
Bavarian cheese is GORGEOUS. Very good buy :D
Only 2 flies still...am waiting for more to hatch. Two of the pupae are darkening, which means they will hatch soon.
I am going to be all aching muscles tomorrow, I'm sure :) It's funny; I never notice my muscles complaining more than usual whilst I'm riding if I'm ot of practice. I pay later...always amusing.
We seemed to get on reasonably, by which I meant I didn't ride her wonderfully, but I was OK and we had fun. We were both slightly tired by the end. The instructor was a friend of mine and she hadn't taught an adult intermediate class before, so it was a bit scary for her. I told her to nag me as much as she wanted, and have a good bitch at the stupid guy. (The stupid guy rides like a sack of potatoes and joyrides the horses. It almost hurt to watch him on poor Dillon today; I know I can get so much more from the horse than that; Dillon just kind of lolloped lazily. And stupid guy is so heavy in the saddle, and Dillon's back has already been abused enough. Oh, and he never listens to any of the advice the instructor gives). So I worked very hard on getting Holly to work like a nice little horse, and we got...somewhere. Not terribly far, but I managed to get some improvement between the beginning and the end.
She's kind of one-sided, so going one way she veers inwards and going the other way she veers outwards. And she is still learning subtleties; she's got 'stop' and 'go' pretty well. Also 'walk backwards very quickly' (especially, apparently, when she's being ridden out and comes across something she doesn't like). Anything beyond that is a bit much for her, bless her.
She likes scratching her head on me. I am a complete softie for being used as a horse scratching-post, so I indulged her.
Did work (good Eni!). Ate lots of chocolate.
Bavarian cheese is GORGEOUS. Very good buy :D
Only 2 flies still...am waiting for more to hatch. Two of the pupae are darkening, which means they will hatch soon.
I am going to be all aching muscles tomorrow, I'm sure :) It's funny; I never notice my muscles complaining more than usual whilst I'm riding if I'm ot of practice. I pay later...always amusing.
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Date: 17 Dec 2004 23:15 (UTC)The same holds for me and the first spell of bowling (as in cricket) I try after the winter. My body only seizes up entirely the next morning. I believe there is supposed to be a sensible way for this not to happen, but I've never actually bothered to find out what it is.
no subject
Date: 17 Dec 2004 23:21 (UTC)no subject
Date: 17 Dec 2004 23:26 (UTC)I think the even more mystical practice of warming-down has something to do with it. I could always ask my sister, who is doing a physiotherapy degree, and stuff, but that would be taking it to extremes. Especially since she's gone to bed.
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Date: 18 Dec 2004 00:22 (UTC)no subject
Date: 18 Dec 2004 11:05 (UTC)no subject
Date: 18 Dec 2004 00:38 (UTC)no subject
Date: 18 Dec 2004 11:04 (UTC)Erm...on the plus side, they have two large outdoor menages and a smaller indoor one. But the indoor one's going to be ripped down soon as they broke the planning permission regulations putting it up (their own fault!).
The horses are mostly nice, although several of them have been bought off dodgy dealers in Scotland/elsewhere so have a rather unknown history (and sometimes some interesting scars) and are not especially well trained, and they have a few really insane ones (which I keep well away from!).
The tack is a bit of a disaster, as any horse with a nice bridle inevitably gets bits pinched off it. If anyone has a riding school horse on loan they tend to buy their own set of tack for it and guard it like crazy.
Our main instructor, Callum, is really good; he knows exactly how far he can push me and never sends me past my limits. So I've never fallen off in about 6-7 years riding here (well, I fell off a horse that was standing still and not doing anything, but that was my fault!).
Conclusion: I like the place cos I love Callum's teaching. Very few of the horses are properly trained eventers or anything, but there are some cute ones. I'd say just make sure you check your own tack before riding if you're doing anything more than trotting.
no subject
Date: 20 Dec 2004 12:10 (UTC)