I posted to the wrong blog this morning LOL!
The Man with a Horse Magnet in his Bum
Pictures and all :)
Monday, December 31, 2007
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Getting Fit!
I know I haven't been posting, but that doesn't mean I haven't been riding, thank goodness :) I started on one of my husband's horses, Sultan. He's half ASH, part QH part Arab, perfect dimensions for my husband but a bit small for me, nevertheless it got me up and going. I quickly discovered I hadn't lost as much balance or feel as I thought I would have, but boy oh boy, was I unfit LOL!
Lots of bumping around the paddocks and after about a dozen rides without a buster, I was feeling a lot stronger and more confident. I even had a gallop or 2 one day, not 100% voluntary but that's not unusual for me, I've rarely had a 100% voluntary gallop ROFL!
Things didn't feel quite right though, turns out Sultan was being really difficult in subtle ways, not flexing properly and really bouncing me out of the saddle at every opportunity, and my lack of strength was giving him lots of opportunities LOL! He's not had a lot of work lately and hubby has some things to work out with him. Things went better once I was on my own horse, he's a bit taller and we just suit each other better :) More about him later...
Lots of bumping around the paddocks and after about a dozen rides without a buster, I was feeling a lot stronger and more confident. I even had a gallop or 2 one day, not 100% voluntary but that's not unusual for me, I've rarely had a 100% voluntary gallop ROFL!
Things didn't feel quite right though, turns out Sultan was being really difficult in subtle ways, not flexing properly and really bouncing me out of the saddle at every opportunity, and my lack of strength was giving him lots of opportunities LOL! He's not had a lot of work lately and hubby has some things to work out with him. Things went better once I was on my own horse, he's a bit taller and we just suit each other better :) More about him later...
Saturday, December 29, 2007
The Early Days
Originally posted 9 Sept 2007
Thought it might be nice to share where I've come from, horse-wise.
I began riding at about 10 when my parents' best friend, Fred, put me on their old horse. I was instantly hooked! I began going to Pony Club Camp each year on borrowed horses, until we bought 5 acres and were given a rescued ex-racehorse called Chubby. He was a lot older than we were told originally, and I never really did well on him, but I had a lot of fun trying!
I'm attempting to insert pictures here:
OK, they didn't copy over, please see the original post here.
When I hit senior high school, horses took a back seat and in the end Chubby had to be sold. I was a bit sad but otherwise engaged. I only had a couple of rides bewteen 15 and 20, when I met my husband. He had the most wonderful horses I'd ever seen, AND he let me ride the most gorgeous chestnut Arab...I was in love, both with him and the Arab LOL!
We began dating and I began riding again. I was terrified a lot of the time, and fell off quite a bit trying to learn to ride bareback, luckily the Arab is not so tall as a TB :) Ill health intervened in the form of gladular fever then an undiagnosed allergy, both of which took their toll, and everything suffered. Diagnosis under my belt, I felt better than I had in years. Here's a photo of me riding the Arab on the beach 2 days after eliminating the problem food - it was an awesome day! And one a few years later doing my first official dressage test on a borrowed pony.
And then I had children, as the saying goes LOL!
Thought it might be nice to share where I've come from, horse-wise.
I began riding at about 10 when my parents' best friend, Fred, put me on their old horse. I was instantly hooked! I began going to Pony Club Camp each year on borrowed horses, until we bought 5 acres and were given a rescued ex-racehorse called Chubby. He was a lot older than we were told originally, and I never really did well on him, but I had a lot of fun trying!
I'm attempting to insert pictures here:
OK, they didn't copy over, please see the original post here.
When I hit senior high school, horses took a back seat and in the end Chubby had to be sold. I was a bit sad but otherwise engaged. I only had a couple of rides bewteen 15 and 20, when I met my husband. He had the most wonderful horses I'd ever seen, AND he let me ride the most gorgeous chestnut Arab...I was in love, both with him and the Arab LOL!
We began dating and I began riding again. I was terrified a lot of the time, and fell off quite a bit trying to learn to ride bareback, luckily the Arab is not so tall as a TB :) Ill health intervened in the form of gladular fever then an undiagnosed allergy, both of which took their toll, and everything suffered. Diagnosis under my belt, I felt better than I had in years. Here's a photo of me riding the Arab on the beach 2 days after eliminating the problem food - it was an awesome day! And one a few years later doing my first official dressage test on a borrowed pony.
And then I had children, as the saying goes LOL!
The Beginning
Originally posted 4 Sep, 2007 on my old blog which was a PITA program!
This week was THE week. I was to get off my arse and onto a horse! My darling Louie is approaching 4 years...nay! 5 years! DD1 is 4 and he is older than her! The arrival of DD1 and several health issues have prevented me from spending any serious time in the saddle, not to mention DD2, who arrived 9 months ago today! Thanks to a wonderful homebirth, I haven't had to deal with a lot of the crap I put up with after my first birth, indeed, I was able to comfortably sit on a horse when DD2 was 4 weeks old (when DD1 was 4 weeks I couldn't sit on the couch without pain!) but still, I have not ridden much. If at all ;) DH announced several weeks ago - I am starting your horse this spring, then I'm having my knee done in December, if you're not riding him, he'll have to be sold :O
So, I announced to online friends I was taking a break from my various communities, planned meals which work well in the slow cooker or take care of themselves in the oven, told DH if I was going to do this, some of the housework was going to have to be let slide, and bought a horsey magazine with an article about balance :) I came home from a holiday on Wednesday, unpacked and caught up on Thursday, went to town and did the groceries on Friday, and that afternoon I was going to go make a start - at the very least catch and groom something! I'm a big fan of baby steps! Hack, hack, hack. No, not riding, coughing :( We all get the flu, DH with a bit of gastro on top :( :( :( Not fun!
So I am doing what I can - reading my magazine, staying as on top of the housework as much as I can so it's not a shambles when I'm better, and starting a blog :) A surprising number of my "online friends" came out of the woodwork as horsey people, so I thought they might be interested to see how I'm going, and hey, gotta feed that net addiction somehow, at least I can say this is related to the horsey stuff ROFL!
Task for next 24 hours - stretch muscles! I'm sooooo out of shape and very tight. Task for next 1 hour - dishes! See ya :)
This week was THE week. I was to get off my arse and onto a horse! My darling Louie is approaching 4 years...nay! 5 years! DD1 is 4 and he is older than her! The arrival of DD1 and several health issues have prevented me from spending any serious time in the saddle, not to mention DD2, who arrived 9 months ago today! Thanks to a wonderful homebirth, I haven't had to deal with a lot of the crap I put up with after my first birth, indeed, I was able to comfortably sit on a horse when DD2 was 4 weeks old (when DD1 was 4 weeks I couldn't sit on the couch without pain!) but still, I have not ridden much. If at all ;) DH announced several weeks ago - I am starting your horse this spring, then I'm having my knee done in December, if you're not riding him, he'll have to be sold :O
So, I announced to online friends I was taking a break from my various communities, planned meals which work well in the slow cooker or take care of themselves in the oven, told DH if I was going to do this, some of the housework was going to have to be let slide, and bought a horsey magazine with an article about balance :) I came home from a holiday on Wednesday, unpacked and caught up on Thursday, went to town and did the groceries on Friday, and that afternoon I was going to go make a start - at the very least catch and groom something! I'm a big fan of baby steps! Hack, hack, hack. No, not riding, coughing :( We all get the flu, DH with a bit of gastro on top :( :( :( Not fun!
So I am doing what I can - reading my magazine, staying as on top of the housework as much as I can so it's not a shambles when I'm better, and starting a blog :) A surprising number of my "online friends" came out of the woodwork as horsey people, so I thought they might be interested to see how I'm going, and hey, gotta feed that net addiction somehow, at least I can say this is related to the horsey stuff ROFL!
Task for next 24 hours - stretch muscles! I'm sooooo out of shape and very tight. Task for next 1 hour - dishes! See ya :)
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