there is too much. let me sum up.

[lagilman]

The pantry is done, despite some mishaps this morning. It is verra nice. I now get to indulge my obsessive kitchen geek and set everything up Just So. Plus, despite the commotion of drilling, hammering, and unhappy cats, I managed to write 1200 new words on Bonnie #1 (working title still pending). Also signed off on the contracts for "Dreamcatcher."

And then I went off to the stable.

The Return to Riding Report Card, week 2

Again on Sancho, who is a very stubborn but otherwise well-mannered fellow. He also moves like a ton of graceful bricks, so when you sit wrong, you know it. Very good for beginners and returners like me.

He also likes the way my hair tastes. Him and Boomer both. *sigh*

Anyway, C says that I'm remembering to open up my shoulders, but the forward-leg thing is still a problem. Interestingly enough, it's only in the posting trot that it's a serious problem. Walk and canter I remember how to sit back and push down (I don't always do it, but I do remember how). My sitting trot has always been good. Posting? Not so much. Argh.

But I'm getting there. I do know all this, it's just a question of remembing it all the time. And I'm not cramming for an exam, so I can take my time getting there and enjoy the process. (IOW, dancinghorse, don't go breeding me a pony just yet. *grin*)

And, for those wondering, you know you're doing it right when a muscle in your inner leg/hip that is only used in these circumstances opens up and screams BITCH! I HATE YOU! at you. Excuse me, a bath and aspirin call my name...

And then there will be more writing.

Comments

[kateelliott.livejournal.com]

a bath and an aspirin

Heh. I started outrigger canoe paddling back in November and I swear that the day after the first couple of practices I could barely move. Now the actual regatta training season has started and there are new levels of aching to explore!

[bigferret.livejournal.com]

Have a nice relaxing bath!

[karenmiller.livejournal.com]

Re: the leg forward in posting, there's a good chance you're posting out of your stirrup, and perhaps with a gripping calf, instead of letting the post come out of your pelvis and from the thighs. As you rise, you're using the stirrup to brace yourself and get the lift, instead of letting the horse's action bump you out of the saddle. (at least, that's often the case). At the risk of sounding like a sadist, I recommend you get your trainer to put you on the lunge line and that you spend some time posting without stirrups. Remember that the action of the post is confined to the pelvis/hips/abdomen. Your shoulders should stay back, your chest wide and open, your head up and not bobbing up and down. The post isn't an up and down motion, it's a forward/back tilt of your pelvis. It should remain isolated to that region. It's like doing a belly dance, with the rest of your body remaining motionless. In fact, if you're doing it correctly, you should be able to hold a glass of water without it sloshing over the sides. Your hands, for eg, should not move at all.

Hope that makes sense.

[lagilman]

Oh, I know/knew all of the stuff that needs to be doing, it's just a question of my brain and my body having a confab and getting a tandem clue....

(one of the reasons Sancho's such a good retraining horse is that he has a noticable 'bump,' so when I lose the posting motion [hangs head in shame] a few strides at sitting trot gives it back to me)

I suspect the lunge line will come out at some point. C. is still sizing me up, and vice versa.

[dancinghorse.livejournal.com]

Lipizzan x Morgan. There's yer cross. Up to you to find the mare.

8)

You really are doing well for lesson number two. Pain included--poor thing. But it will pass.

You know what a Sancho is down here in the borderlands? He's the guy who takes care of the wife (noodge noodge) when the husband is away.

Which is why my neighbor has a Mexican ranch horse named Sancho and a Palomino named Sailor (as in Hello...).

[lagilman]

Lipizzan x Morgan. There's yer cross. Up to you to find the mare.

Moooom! She's taunting meeeeee!


I got the chance to meet some of the other school horses today. Some lovely, others quite clearly Trouble. I can't wait. *grin* There was also a cute pony -- looked Icelandic? -- who only had one eye. The other was a dried-out socket, so clearly either birth defect or long-term damage. Whatever happened to him then, he's totally spoiled now. Clearly everyone who walks by has an apple bit for him!

[neutronjockey.livejournal.com]

You breed, I'll train ;) I *heart* those little boogers.

Have you had the chance to ride the Icelandic's tolt? Freakin' awesome!

[mevennen.livejournal.com]

I'll refer you to Material World, aka Daisy - she's a one eyed racehorse. Out on a gallop one day, she and her trainer swerved to avoid a jogger and Daisy went down. Her trainer was concussed and Daisy ended up losing an eye.

Then she was put in her first race, all the same, at very, um, unfavourable odds and cruised home in what was described as 'splendid isolation.' She's won prize money ever since and I watched her come home at Cheltenham a couple of weeks ago.

http://www.materialworld.org.uk/history.htm

[lagilman]

The pony and I are not exactly well-matched; even my legs would drag on the floor (they have a veritable herd of ponies I suspect are rescues, that the kids learn on).

But he's such a handsomely shaggy [and flirtatious] beast, you can't help but adore him.

[neutronjockey.livejournal.com]

Ahhh the one I rode was about 13.9-14.o hds ...and sturdy WOW sturdy!

[lagilman]

That's wy I love Morgans. None of this "bigger than thou" breeding attitude in the old line, just "get it done nicely" work ethic in a reasonable package. The fact that they're often so damn pretty in their trim musculature is just a bonus. :-)

[neutronjockey.livejournal.com]

From what I've encountered with Morgans, my own gaited TWHs and other gaited breeds is that their temperment is exactly as you describe: they are ponies that are willing to please.

...I'm fairly partial to Morgans as well.

[badgermirlacca.livejournal.com]

*raises head alertly* Somebody wants a Morgan mare???? *eg*

[house-draven.livejournal.com]

Keep on posting, and you'll end up with a butt to die for (though you probably already know that). My ass never looked as good as when I was riding every day for three or four hours at a time. *sigh* And horsie time is well worth the sore muscles, imho. Good on ya for getting back to it.

[lagilman]

I doubt an hour a week is going to do much...but it certainly won't hurt.

[house-draven.livejournal.com]

Yah, posting never hurts in terms of toning and you already look great, so it's all just bonus for you.

[lagilman]

Yep, well I remember it...

(both the jump work and the feeling of 'wheee, where did horsie go?')

[sfmarty.livejournal.com]

I went to the neighborhood stables on Sunday thinking I should start getting the muscles back in shape. The wrangler asked me how old I was and said he wouldn't let me ride.

grumble....

[lagilman]

:-(

One of the reasons I had to give it up was where I lived at the time, insurance rates has skyrocketed so much, lessons were damned expensive to compensate. I can see both sides of the rgument, but dayum....

[badgermirlacca.livejournal.com]

Obviously your neighborhood stables aren't the appropriate place anyway. There are folks competing in their 70s.

See if there's a branch of the "Old People's Riding Club" anywhere around you. That's what I'm going to be looking for....