The plan was to post about this week’s lesson in a more timely fashion, but I’ll have to start by letting myself be side-tracked for a bit. I have this craving right now to do something more artistic/creative, and I am kicking myself for not doing that ages ago. It feels much too late to pick something up at my age (yes, I am feeling hopelessly old these days :P), because I have this block when it comes to doing something as a hobby. I don’t like doing things I can’t excel at. I am too competitive, to focused on being at the top, to just dabble in something.
The only exception, really, which is why it fits into this post, is riding. I suppose that when I was younger, I figured that one day I’d have my own horse and I’d be competing. Everyone who starts riding probably thinks like that. But eventually it just becomes a purpose in itself, without the need for additional goals like that. I want to improve, of course, and I still hope to one day be able to have a horse, but just riding is enjoyment enough. With other things, I enjoy having completed them, and then it becomes the final result that counts, not the work needed to get there. Working on a subtitling job or on a paper can be a fun challenge, but for the most part its something I like best when I have finished it. So I can’t see myself taking up something if I don’t expect to be doing it quite seriously and producing results that meet my standards.
And with that off my chest (well, not really, I never get things off my chest), back to the lesson.
I was on Heddvig again, as planned, and this week there was progress. We rode circles and shoulder-ins. I decided to skip the whip to start with, because she was pretty frisky from the cold weather and all the snow, and the result was a much steadier and less stressed horse. Next week, I will definitely be bringing a short whip instead, because I do need a whip for the canter since she still needs a light tap on her shoulder to help her get it. Ulrika also found that Heddvig seems to be quite good for getting me to remember where to keep my legs (have to remember to bend that knee) and for getting me to pay attention to the little details. I was very pleasantly surprised to find her becoming quite steady in the shoulder-in at the walk, I had not expected that at all.
The trot was harder, and I probably could have used the whip there too since she did ignore my inner leg a bit and wouldn’t bend quite as well as at the walk. As a result, my hands were a little too active, so that is something else to keep in mind. But when she ends up quite bunched up and short its hard to get the sense for how to affect her side. She felt less rushed without the whip, though, so I will have to experiment with what works best. Certainly, as soon as I had the whip back for the canter she rushed into it again. Maybe I will try cantering without it sometime, but I suspect I need a lot more room for her then, to get her to sort out what I want.
All wasn’t cheery at the stables, though. Murphy’s out for a few weeks, and naturally I worry about him. Ulrika said he’s overworked (silly Irish horse didn’t signal pain until all four legs hurt, basically) but she feels that he tends to respond well to treatment. Still, I worry. But hopefully he just gets a well-deserved vacation and then bounces back.