I’ve convinced my better half to take riding lessons. It’s all part of my not so secret plan to get a second horse. Theres a local barn that has a pretty descent lesson program and a stable of school horses and he’s been going once a week for the last couple of months. Its been really fun watching him figure out the basics of steering and halting. He’s the only adult in the class, his class mates are little girls which brings back all kinds of memories for me about when I started ridding. These little girls remind me of me. His instructor is really good at tailoring the lessons so that it works for children and adults and it cracks me up when his 9-year-old classmates are all so happy to see him in the tack room.
I watch the lesson often from the shade of a tree with the moms of the girls in his class. One of whom has a couple of horses at home her older daughter rides. We talk of horses and kids and its a really nice couple of hours once a week. I look forward to it every single week. It has made me miss riding my horse more though. Seems I’m the only one dismounted. Between my pony’s injury and my injury were probably going to be down for the count the whole summer. Which sucks. When I visit her at her new farm and drag my chair next to her stall to keep her company I plan all sorts of things for us to do when we can get back to riding. What trails were going to explore, all the fun things we will do and i’m really interested in getting her out to the jump field though last time I jumped her (true it was so small it hardly countered) I got taken away in an ambulance. So maybe I’ll take it slow. My new farm is very quiet and peaceful. Having half the number of horses and even fewer boarders i’m there a lot by myself hanging out with the girl. It’s good for me, it clears my head and I don’t have to hear that damn tractor all day long. I also commented to my better half about how much more laid back my new farm is. I never thought my last farm was stressful but in contrast it was. There were so many “rules” and though I never thought I was on edge when I was there, I think I was. With so many people you were always being judged and the barn manager would send out emails notices constantly about all the rules we needed to be reminded of. I’m still on that mailing list and I’m both amused and annoyed when the emails come in reminding me clean up after my horse or turn off the lights or whatever the inaction of the day is over there. I feel at my new barn its more fluid and that you have more control of the care of your horse. I like that, like that i’m not feeling like i’m being judged all the time or that I have to be careful what I say because the barn manager is going to disagree with the supplements i put on my horse of the fact that i’m keeping her barefoot. Cuz no matter what she was always right in her mind.
So I will wait out our downtime with anticipation and hope that when we can ride again i will still have nerves of steel and my pony and i will begin our adventures again.