Riding my Horse

So today we got to ride horses. If any of you reading this don't know about horses, they kind of reflect where you are at. And they have this sometimes annoying habit of making you face the things you don't want to face but maybe need to.

So today I saddled up my horse and I was really looking forward to riding him. I got on and within five steps I just knew, 'oh boy, me and this horse are gonna make hard work of this'. Now as I write this I can almost hear Mark, the trainer we are working with, thinking, if not saying, 'well, if that's what you're thinking, that's probably what you'll be getting'.

My horse is a 15.2hh mustang called Zuni (second from the back in the photo), and one way and another he doesn't put a lot of energy out there for me to use. This is a bit of a theme in my horsemanship - laid back horses. And because of the way I am, a little 'laid back' myself, it's pretty easy for us to end up going nowhere fast. So today I made a good start, with the help of Zuni, on finding a way to bring more energy into my riding. See it's all fine if I have an energetic horse, although I tend to slow them down too, but when I get a less keen horse I really have got to be able to find a way forward, so whatever my dreams about this week, the job I have to work on just happens to be the job that has been bugging me and my riding for years.

Funny how life goes - come all the way over here and here I am facing the same situation as back home in the UK. One big difference this time - I am working with a teacher I trust and am able to take advice from. So I am starting to get some stuff sorted that is well overdue sorting. Stay plugged in to see if it all works out or whether I do end up taking that night-time job in Asda stacking shelves.