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quietannI'll start with the last thing first:
Traffic was *horrid* driving home from Lexington to Andover after my lesson; I made a slight detour to do an errand and by the time I was home I was *done*. No tai chi tonight (sigh); instead I took a nap and had a terrible time getting myself up and out of bed. No riding or tai chi next week, because we will be in Vermont with Ben's parents, or on our way there.
Riding: I was tense. I was not in the best frame of mind, and tired from sleeping badly last night. I rode Dak instead of Bella. I *think* I like riding Bella better, but I might be too heavy for her. I *know* I like Dak's ground manners better. Bella is very fussy about how she is groomed, she doesn't like certain other horses and lets them know it, and she can be a brat. Dak's very calm, and has only a few "issues" which are entirely predictable and easy to deal with, like bloating up when one tightens his girth, and being terrified of Whimsey, the HUGE mare in the next stall, who likes to dominate him. Because of the latter, I did receive a scrape on my right shoulder when returning him to his stall, but it's my fault because I did not walk him into the stall with me between him and Whimsey, and he crowded against me so my arm got caught on an eyebolt. Poor Dak needs little old me to protect him from the Big Mean Mare apparently!
Riding itself was... OK. Definitely not as good as two weeks ago.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lyonesse said I was holding my breath too much, and I did have one place on every round where I know I was. There is a branch that sticks into the track, and Dak rubbed me against it, and after that every time we went past it I was focused on keeping him from trying that again. About half the time, I was successful. Also had some cock-ups over passing Bella or being passed by her, but the space we are working in is tiny and "strategizing" a pass isn't easy. I bet I was holding my breath when passing (or trying to), also.
So: walking, posting trot, a little bit of sitting trot. Bella trots much more smoothly and is more likely to stay trotting, although again, when Dak was dropping into a walk it was often my fault. It started raining and we cut the lesson a little bit short, which was too bad because I would have liked some steering exercises.
Dak is a *fine* horse, but he has less personality and is not as responsive, compared to Bella. A certain amount of the difference is just "gelding versus mare" issues.
This entry probably sounds more negative than I mean it to. I still had a very good time; I was just a bit out of sorts. I suspect I'm entering into PMS time, because I've also been fussy and unhappy at Ben.
Oh, and I bought my own riding helmet and boots today! The helmets these days are greatly improved over what I had when I was kid. I bought a Tipperary Sportage helmet, which is whatlyonesse uses. I discovered that I can't wear paddock boots with zippers because my ankles are too fat, sigh, so I bought laced ones and they are so spiffy I may wear them sometimes when I am not even riding! They are Ariat Heritage II (I think). I picked up two pairs of inexpensive riding gloves, one very lightweight and one for winter use. (If winter ever arrives...) I bought these things at the Complete Equestrian in Bedford, which is a nice shop (once one finds it).
Traffic was *horrid* driving home from Lexington to Andover after my lesson; I made a slight detour to do an errand and by the time I was home I was *done*. No tai chi tonight (sigh); instead I took a nap and had a terrible time getting myself up and out of bed. No riding or tai chi next week, because we will be in Vermont with Ben's parents, or on our way there.
Riding: I was tense. I was not in the best frame of mind, and tired from sleeping badly last night. I rode Dak instead of Bella. I *think* I like riding Bella better, but I might be too heavy for her. I *know* I like Dak's ground manners better. Bella is very fussy about how she is groomed, she doesn't like certain other horses and lets them know it, and she can be a brat. Dak's very calm, and has only a few "issues" which are entirely predictable and easy to deal with, like bloating up when one tightens his girth, and being terrified of Whimsey, the HUGE mare in the next stall, who likes to dominate him. Because of the latter, I did receive a scrape on my right shoulder when returning him to his stall, but it's my fault because I did not walk him into the stall with me between him and Whimsey, and he crowded against me so my arm got caught on an eyebolt. Poor Dak needs little old me to protect him from the Big Mean Mare apparently!
Riding itself was... OK. Definitely not as good as two weeks ago.
lyonesse said I was holding my breath too much, and I did have one place on every round where I know I was. There is a branch that sticks into the track, and Dak rubbed me against it, and after that every time we went past it I was focused on keeping him from trying that again. About half the time, I was successful. Also had some cock-ups over passing Bella or being passed by her, but the space we are working in is tiny and "strategizing" a pass isn't easy. I bet I was holding my breath when passing (or trying to), also.So: walking, posting trot, a little bit of sitting trot. Bella trots much more smoothly and is more likely to stay trotting, although again, when Dak was dropping into a walk it was often my fault. It started raining and we cut the lesson a little bit short, which was too bad because I would have liked some steering exercises.
Dak is a *fine* horse, but he has less personality and is not as responsive, compared to Bella. A certain amount of the difference is just "gelding versus mare" issues.
This entry probably sounds more negative than I mean it to. I still had a very good time; I was just a bit out of sorts. I suspect I'm entering into PMS time, because I've also been fussy and unhappy at Ben.
Oh, and I bought my own riding helmet and boots today! The helmets these days are greatly improved over what I had when I was kid. I bought a Tipperary Sportage helmet, which is what
lyonesse uses. I discovered that I can't wear paddock boots with zippers because my ankles are too fat, sigh, so I bought laced ones and they are so spiffy I may wear them sometimes when I am not even riding! They are Ariat Heritage II (I think). I picked up two pairs of inexpensive riding gloves, one very lightweight and one for winter use. (If winter ever arrives...) I bought these things at the Complete Equestrian in Bedford, which is a nice shop (once one finds it).
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Date: 2006-11-16 04:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-11-16 04:53 pm (UTC)2. Where I am going in Lexington is EAST of Rt. 128.
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Date: 2006-11-16 06:27 pm (UTC)i'm not sure what the deal is with bella and dak and you and helena, for jen. she mentioned weight, but possibly that was wrt booboo, since i know she has other riders who weigh about what you do assigned to bella long-term, and she has me ride tiny little rosie sometimes too. having talked to helena though i'm wondering if there was an emotional aspect to it -- helena likes dak but she *adores* bella, was giving her massage after her ride while the next rider was grooming, &c. also helena apparently had the week from hell, so putting her on bell may have been a supportive emotional choice on jen's part, both for helena and for bella (who loves to be fussed over, even though she makes faces halfway through the process).
if you do prefer mares though, booboo might be a good choice for you to try out. i'll ask jen, if you like. i haven't ridden her myself, but she looks like a nice horse from what i've seen.
i may move you guys up to the big arena now that i've got some confidence in everybody's steering (except for my third student, who has yet to show up, and who is not as advanced as you two anyway...) and at least up there there aren't any trees :)
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Date: 2006-11-16 06:42 pm (UTC)Jen actually put me on Dak before Helena showed up, although Helena may have called ahead to let her know she was hoping to ride Bella. And I am *fine* with Dak; he just requires a bit more encouragement. I might be interested in trying booboo, though. I think one of the girls in Jen's lesson really likes Dak, and if you guys want to get us consistently on the same horse for the winter, now's the time to figure this all out.
Thinking back to the horses I rode when I was a teen, most of the ones I really liked were mares, but I also rode some very sweet geldings. (I am going to make a separate post about the horses I liked...)
The tree branch issue should be easy; there's just the one branch and it's basically parallel to the ground, about 5 or 6 feet up. I think Dak was playing with me a little by trying to rub me against it; towards the end of the lesson I was getting good enough at stopping him that he wasn't really trying anymore.
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Date: 2006-11-16 06:51 pm (UTC)leggings work great -- i wear them all summer. i wear part-spandex jeans if i'm working that day, and polarfleece breeches in winter (maybe to be added to this winter, as i hope to ride outdoors in colder weather than i've done....eeep.)
riding a horse who requires encouragement (rather than softness) may be what jen feels you need more, too. or, for that matter, having you ride him might be for dak's sake. jen is insightful, complex, and sort of sneaky. i have long stories about this...
i'll talk to jen about booboo, maybe on saturday. heck, maybe i'll get to try her myself :) but all else being equal, can i presume you are okay with having dak as your mount for the winter?
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Date: 2006-11-16 07:51 pm (UTC)I am fine with Dak for the winter. Unless something really weird happens and I decide I can't stand him... This is much less likely now that I'm not a petulant teenager! (I still can get petulant, but am much better at holding my tongue.)