Reading and riding
I'm reading a great book called In Service to the Horse, by Susan Nusser. It revolves around people in the horse industry, people who actually work taking care of horses in one capacity or another–unsung heros like three-day grooms and breeding shed stallion handlers. I picked it up thinking I would just read the parts about the O'Connor's grooms, but I managed to get sucked in to the other chapters as well.
The first chapter is titled “Meticulous Noticing,” and I think that is the best phrase I've heard for that part of horse management that is pure observation. So much of the horse's well being depends on miniscule details: barely detectable heat in the leg, a tiny bump, a slight change in the horse's way of being. I think it's part of what sets horsemen–true old school horsemen, not these new age charlatans that package up and gimmick common sense to mystify horsemanship and make a buck–apart from the rest of the human race. I can only hope to emulate what real horsemen do for the good of the horses they come into contact with. I will always be making mistakes. I will always be learning. I will always be humbled.
Anyways: this raw, damp weather isn't letting up, so we all threw our hands up and headed to the indoor last night for some schooling. Since the weather has been so bad, Mico was in his stall all night and day, and he was very! forward! when I got on him. I haven't done any flatwork since a week ago Monday, though I have gone out conditioning several times.
Mico was forward, and I was stiff. It took me most of the ride–basically just a warm up–to loosen myself up to the point where he started to respond to my relaxation instead of my stiffness. I know now though that I can ride him, if I am relaxed–meaning my muscles and joints especially. I think we were both relieved when it finally happened. We go again tonight, and if the weather lets up, we have a lesson with Janet tomorrow night. I feel bad because I fully understand the importance of “homework” between lessons, but I haven't been able to apply myself this past week, at all. But even with bad lessons, I can learn something–a useful skill like managing a bullish Haflinger!
Now I have sufficient motivation to ride consistently: the good rides come on coming when I ride often. Otherwise, after 2 days, it's back to square one.
The first chapter is titled “Meticulous Noticing,” and I think that is the best phrase I've heard for that part of horse management that is pure observation. So much of the horse's well being depends on miniscule details: barely detectable heat in the leg, a tiny bump, a slight change in the horse's way of being. I think it's part of what sets horsemen–true old school horsemen, not these new age charlatans that package up and gimmick common sense to mystify horsemanship and make a buck–apart from the rest of the human race. I can only hope to emulate what real horsemen do for the good of the horses they come into contact with. I will always be making mistakes. I will always be learning. I will always be humbled.
Anyways: this raw, damp weather isn't letting up, so we all threw our hands up and headed to the indoor last night for some schooling. Since the weather has been so bad, Mico was in his stall all night and day, and he was very! forward! when I got on him. I haven't done any flatwork since a week ago Monday, though I have gone out conditioning several times.
Mico was forward, and I was stiff. It took me most of the ride–basically just a warm up–to loosen myself up to the point where he started to respond to my relaxation instead of my stiffness. I know now though that I can ride him, if I am relaxed–meaning my muscles and joints especially. I think we were both relieved when it finally happened. We go again tonight, and if the weather lets up, we have a lesson with Janet tomorrow night. I feel bad because I fully understand the importance of “homework” between lessons, but I haven't been able to apply myself this past week, at all. But even with bad lessons, I can learn something–a useful skill like managing a bullish Haflinger!
Now I have sufficient motivation to ride consistently: the good rides come on coming when I ride often. Otherwise, after 2 days, it's back to square one.
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