horsies

[rm]

Well, I did it. I rode a horse. I apparently have really good form instinctively, and we did a lot more today than she thought we would and I apparently figured out some stuff it takes people months to get; we're working on posting now, and she basically thinks that if I get over the minor fact that I'm afraid of everything (and wow, do I suck at getting on and off the horse or what?) I could be really good at this. English sadle for anyone who cares.

Horse was named Emily, and she was white and dappled, and doesn't like going clockwise in the ring at all, but otherwise was very very docile.

I've my next lesson next sunday, also at Kensington, but I think I'm going to pay Claremont a visit and then figure out where I am most comfortable (there are pros and cons of both for me mentally, quite aside from the practical issues).

I hurt in places I didn't know I had. And among other things I still find it utterly hillarious that I'm doing this. Here's to another one of my completely cracked whims.

Overall it was a really nice day. Got a sandwhich at Le Kiosk on the way to the stables, and chatted with the folks there in French (while listening to bad French pop music) while the food was prepared. Without doing anything really extravagent today just felt like I wasn't struggling, like this is how my life is, just this weird ongoing adventure where I get to learn how to do all sorts of strange crap, and that's like my job kinda. It was nice. It was really fucking nice.

Meanwhile, I finally decided that if I could face horses, I could face Kim's Video -- but the one our household has a membership with is closed closed closed. I'm sort of relieved. Signing up for Netflix tonight.

Comments

[roadnotes.livejournal.com]

I'm impressed. Horses are huge scary beasts with too many hard feet and way too many teeth for me to want to get near them. And you actually rode one...?

[rm.livejournal.com]

For an hour. Steered her around the ring and in figure eights, practiced making her stop and go. Practiced getting on and off. And then h eld on for dear fucking life as my instructor ;ed her around in a trot while trying to get me to post (which is like impossible to do, and when you fail to do it, results in your pubic bone being brutalized by the momentum -- so there's incentive to get it right, but it's really hard.)

[pharminatrix.livejournal.com]

Cross-posting was always a chore. I used to ride steeplechase in high-school and got pretty decent at it. The downside to that was that with my improvement, I had to sacrifice my nice push-button mount for a large rough-seated thoroughbred named Widowmaker Bumper, because they wanted me to depend on the horse less for competency. Posting is annoying but a sit-trot is worse. And my teacher used to regularly deprive me of stirrup usage to shake me of dependence upon them.

Where are you riding and how much are lessons?

[rm.livejournal.com]

At the moment Kensington stables. That might change if I decide Claremont Riding academy is a better fit (those are pretty much the two options that are logistically unfucked up for me).

Kensington is $45 an hour.
Claremont is apparently the same for private.

Semi-private and group lessons are less.

And yup, I got hit with the no-stirrups thing today too, and I _hated_ it... total security blanket for me. I felt like I was gonna slide off the damn horse without 'em.