# grown up first-time rider`s journal



## tbrl (Jul 28, 2017)

So, I started riding end of summer 2017, when I was in my late thirties.

At first I started riding in the riding school my daughter rides in. (from now on called barn 1)
It`s an amazing place, very english dressage-oriented, with highly competent instructors, a barn owner that really burns for dressage , and fantastic facilities for both horses and people. (big pastures where the horses are together , and are free to go in and out from the barn as they like at night. Big indoor arena, staff that always works around so everything are clean and well-working, groomed trails, and horses from beginner-safe, bomb-proof to highly competent dressage or jumping horses)

But they did not have any beginner lessons for grown-ups, so I was stuck with either private lessons, beginner lessons with just 5-10 years old, or drop-in lessons.

So, I found barn 2.
That is also a great place. Much smaller (and closer to my home), with a cozy feel to it, and really eager, friendly and happy horses. Both the owner and my lesson-mates are nice people, and we do have a lot of fun.
They do not yet have an indoor arena, but they have a lot of natural trails in the woods, and a small outdoors riding arena. 

I'm currently riding at both barn 1 and barn 2. At barn 1 I takes drop-in lessons and sometimes private lessons, and have also taken a weekend-course with my daughter, that is also taking group lessons there once a week. (and the drop in lessons, and private lessons of course)
At barn 2 I take lessons once a week, and have also been on a few rides in the woods with them.


2018.04.30

I had an amazing lesson! I asked for a new lesson horse, instead of the icelandic ducati I have had the last six months, and it felt so good. I did not freak out once! I even trotted without being the least afraid, and that's a first for me in barn 2. I did not canter , but I actually considered it. That's big.

But I still wonder if they have a secret whoa-sign at that barn, which they have not yet been telling me about. Cause they are all saying that the horses have great whoa, and that they always stops when they want them to. 
Well, can`t say I have noticed that.. For me it seems like I can lean back, sit as heavy as I can, and pull my hands off before they grudgingly after a few years stops. But then, most of them ARE mini-drafthorses, so maybe it just takes time to stop them. A bit like trailers..

Anyway, I really really liked that horse! Even if I had to remind him a few times that horses are vegetarian, when he started nibbling at me. I guess he might have smelled horse-candy from my pocket, since I always has carrots or horse-candy for the horses at barn 1, and I use the same jacket both places. Or he might just be a human-eating horse... 

It was real windy though, so the horses was a bit edgy, and my lesson horse had a draft-horse freak-out (he stopped and refused to move) when a big plastic cover was flopping wildly in the wind. 
I think he took it bravely , he was after all alone , and had to go past it to get to his stable.
(All the other horses that are used on my lessons are in another stable.)
I actually just had to let him stare at it a bit, and talk it through with it, and then he went calmly past it. 
Did I mention how I really really liked that horse a lot??

And best of all, he is now my new lesson-horse 




2018.04.28


Drop-in lesson at barn 1 (with my daughter)
I got my favorite pony  

We went for an hour ride on the groomed trails around the riding centre, it was a beautiful, relaxing day. It did not by any means go fast, but I do think my GPS tracker must have been insane that day, cause when we finished, it said that we had gone a mile. And even if he is in many way resembling a snail, he surely would not use an hour to go ONE mile??
Afterwards we went into the indoor riding arena and trotted in circles for a while. No canter today either.

I was real happy to ride him again. He is just my go-to-pony whenever I need a really relaxing ride. And after last monday that was exactly what I needed.
The instructors at barn 1 says he is lazy, stubborn and rude, and that I need to be bossy with him.
I disagree,I just love the personality of that pony/horse. He has such a character and really great brakes. Always makes me feel so secure and well taken care for. A real baby-sitter! 

If I should have bought a horse for myself, I would have begged the BO to buy him. He is really something special. Love that guy!


2018.04.23

Bad lesson at barn 2. Well, the lesson was not bad in itself of course. But none of us did well that day. Most of the horses had a real lazy day, they refused to do anything they were asked to do.
Well, except my icelandic lesson-horse of course. He just wants to go-go-go! And he wants to do it FAST!
He did everything I asked for, but each time he started "trotting" I totally freaked out, and pulled his reins in a death grip to make him stop. I am awful. All he wants to to is please me, and I just confuse him with my mixed signals.. (he does not exactly trot, he does that tølt- thing, witch is scary as ...)

We gave up the lesson after a while, and went for a walk around a cornfield instead. THAT at least I can handle.. even if they did think a green beaver-trap was going to catch them, so they had a little spook and bolted a few meters. It was an okay end on a not so good day..

I feel so out of my league.. Like I took a driver lesson on a moped, and someone gave me a ducati to drive. It is really terrifying!
I really thought I would get used to it, but after over six months with him as my lesson horse, I am still a nervous wreck each lesson. Which he feels, and makes him stressed out as well.
I feel really bad about that. He is such a sweetheart. Always snuggles with me when I am grooming him, and meets me eagerly at the gate when I goes to fetch him.
And I DO love him, I am just a neurotic rider I think.


2018.04.14

drop-in lesson with my daughter at barn 1.

Beautiful sunny and warm day. It was so many people there, that all my favorite horses was taken by kids. Since I was grown-up and actually more experienced than most of the other persons there, I was assigned a 16,3 hands high horse that are not usually used by beginners.
I´m not a small person myself, but hey.. that monster-horse is actually higher to his back than I am to the top of my head. Probably even with my helmet on.
I asked the instructor if she had a lift for me, or at least a ladder, so I could mount him. But no... I had to use the same two-steps as I use when I mount the much smaller animals I usually rides.
I was actually quite surprised when after just a few tries, I actually managed to mount him. But oh my was he high!!
I don`t know if I has said it yet, but I am severely afraid of heights.. I have not been as afraid in barn 1 since the first day, as I was on top of that giraffe..

Luckily one teenager girl that I meets there every week (she is there with her cousin, to help out, since her mother is afraid of horses) took pity on me, and walked beside me an whole hour on the groomed trails just to make me more comfortable. And after a while I relaxed and found out that even if he was a really really big horse, and did stumble a lot, he was quite sweet and good-natured. and amazingly, quite safe 
But I opted for just trails that day, no trotting on that giraffe.


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## tbrl (Jul 28, 2017)

sorry, the dates are in reversed order. And will probably be for a while, since I am trying to make a sort of diary for myself, so I can see my progress over time. And I do have eight months to cath up on..


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## tbrl (Jul 28, 2017)

2018.04.09

Lesson at barn 2

The outdoor arena was full of water, so one of my lesson-mates asked the BO if she could tack up her own horse, and go for a ride in the woods with us instead.
I was so happy! And a bit nervous of course. The last time they took me on a ride in the woods, they told me it was an easy ride, and it was absolutely nothing like the groomed trails I anticipated.. So a bit nervous, but still happy..

It was an amazing and confidence-building trip this time. Even if after a few minutes I found out that my saddle was not exactly staying in place. Each time I leaned one way, the saddle did too.. so I had a real keep-the-balance lesson in the woods.
I do think that trail is a good trail normally, but because of the raining, the beginning of the trail was real muddy. The other horses had no problem with that of course, they are quite big, but my little icelandic horse had mud almost to his knees.. But as the never-quitting little trooper he is, he just happily walked on.
I was relived when we went off track and into the woods. It was a bit steep some places. And since I am quite big for my little overweight duracell-pony/horse, he had to run up the steepest parts. Witch irritated the other horses, when he almost crashed into them. So I had to switch place and go second instead.
At one point my little angel decided to go between two trees, and forgot to take into consideration that my knees and legs are outside his body. I can just say; that was a close one.. I almost was pushed off him, but somehow managed to stay on. Had to wiggle a bit afterwards to make the saddle come back into its place.
Rest of the trip was more relaxing, and I had a great time. Even if my little trooper was stumbling a bit at the end. I do think he was a bit tired.. (can`t help but feel he would be better off with kids riding him) But as always happy as can be.. I've never met a horse so happy before. He really has an amazingly eager personality..


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## tbrl (Jul 28, 2017)

2018. 03. 23-25

Weekend- course at barn 1, with my daughter.

Arrived at friday, and was assigned a sports pony I thought was only used by kids. 
Had a dressage lesson with the BO. He was an very easy horse to ride. Did everything I asked for, when I asked. 
A really good lesson, even if the BO talked latin (he really did not, but she could have, cause I did not understand what she actually wanted us to do), and wanted us to stand on our hands, dance tango and lick our elbows at the same time (ok, maybe it was more like sit straight, hands down, one hand steadying the horses head while one leg should make him go in a circle or something like that, while we were trotting in circles. And that is almost the same..)
I was totally exhausted after that lesson, and just wanted to curl into the coach at home with my husband and a glass of red wine. 

Saturday..
Walking hurts!! sitting hurts too.. everything hurts! And I am bone tired!
But riding lessons awaits.. so off we go.
Today we had a sneak-peak at our kids lesson. (we are three parents and four kids that went togheter) They practiced some of the same thing as we did yesterday, and they actually seems to understand what she means.. I do think our kids are a bit better riders than we are. ( but then, they started riding long before we did)

The dressage lesson was a bit easier today, since we had a understanding of what we were supposed to do (after watching our kids). We had a great lesson, and I even cantered a bit. 
But I am hardly able to stand on my legs.. and in just a few hours a new lesson begins.. I must admit I'm starting to regret this weekend-course thing.. I'm absolutely not fit for this , its sooo hard training!
I do not understand why people says that cantering is a lot more comfortable than trotting. To me it feels a bit like when my daughter is driving the boat. And she insist on going to the open ocean, where there are waves and she wants to go fast!
I'm quite afraid of boats..

Lesson two, with the drop-in instructor this time. 
Two points over poles.. Our version of jumping.. We are just not ready for that yet, so pole-work it is. My energy-level is behind zero, so I admit to doing as little as I can. Two-pointing is really hard , don't think I will ever fully make it. But then, I never thought I would master rising trot either.. And I sort of do now.. I say sort of, cause it is not in any way perfected.. but up and down I go. sometimes even in tact with the horse.

Finally.. home...

Sunday

Last day. Puh..
Today I asked to switch to my go-to-pony.. And I was sooo relived when I got him, and she even said that if we would like to go for a ride instead of having one more dressage lesson, we could. 
But, then they figured out that my favorite did not have winter shoes on, and its still icy outside, so I had to take another. 
So I got an arab instead. I did not like her. She seemed a bit flighty too me, and would not stand still..and she was thin. (I guess they are supposed to, but I prefer stocky horses) It felt a bit like balancing on a stick that any minute was about to take a leap or bolt..
It got even worse.. she actually fell with me on. Luckily she was alright. Poor horse. But I was a bit shaken up, and none of the others wanted to ride anymore. So we turned around and went back to the stable.
But then our kids were going out for a ride, and they had found out that the road was free of ice and snow, so I got my favorite and went for a ride at the road. It was an fantastic end of the weekend.
I guess I really prefer to just take a hike with a horse over dressage.. even if I know I need to take lessons too..


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## tbrl (Jul 28, 2017)

3. a really bad picture of me on the ducati-islandic horse

1. the giraffe

2. my favorite go-to-pony


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## mmshiro (May 3, 2017)

tbrl said:


> I guess I really prefer to just take a hike with a horse over dressage.. even if I know I need to take lessons too..


_You and me both!_ I took lessons for two years, some of it with a dressage coach, some of it at a jumping barn, then I went to have trail and field lessons and never looked back. Over the course of the last 12 months (I'm in my third year of "adult" riding), I probably rode 2-3 times every week, with a total of 1-2 times in an arena.

Currently, I went back to taking a few lessons alongside my regular riding to make sure I don't develop any bad habits. I can't wait to take my horse there out on a trail which, coincidentally, she needs because she's only seen the race track and jump circuits, and BO wants to take her for cross country and endurance rides.

Trail rides are good for your lesson horse, too, for as long as you still take lessons to learn the fundamentals; not because of the trails, but because of the variety they offer for the horse. If I were a horse, "arena lessons only" would be like having a job where I sit and add endless columns of numbers all day. Actually, it would be like that PLUS living in a dormitory next to the office.

I didn't read all of your stuff, but the very first sentence made me laugh: Last summer you *were* in your "late thirties"? You didn't hide your age there very well, did you? :rofl:


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## tbrl (Jul 28, 2017)

I agree, arena only would not be nice for the horses. Luckily they do both in the barns I am taking lessons. Even if one of the barns do hack out more than the other. Those horses seems more happy than the ones at the other barn, that sometimes seems bored of the arena-work with endless newbies riding them around in circles. 
I can`t blame them. I would go nuts..

Laughing. I did not hide my age much no. But when I wrote "were" I probably wrote it kinda wrong. (I'm not so good in english, since it is not my language) I'm still in my late thirties, but maybe if I pretend to be forty , I can join the over forty group? they seems so nice. I am always reading what they are writing about.


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

Giraffe? THIS is a giraffe!








​ 
When he isn't comfortable about something ahead, his head comes way up! What worked this day was getting off the pavement and going out into the Arizona desert, which he finds relaxing. But even then, he can find things to worry about:








​ 
"_I do not understand why people says that cantering is a lot more comfortable than trotting._"

When you feel the rhythm, cantering is a rocking motion. Trotting is pretty much always an up and down motion. The horse in the pictures above was used for relay races, often carrying a 250+ lb rider (not including western saddle) on his 800 lb body. He used to brace his back hard as a rock at a trot, protecting his back. But he's always had a decent canter. I suspect his background included a very heavy rider bouncing at a trot, but rocking at a canter.

Now we mostly go hiking together in the desert. Lots of walking. I started riding at 50 and I do it mostly to enjoy my horse's company. He had to learn his new owner wasn't interested in racing....just hiking:








​ 
"_It felt a bit like balancing on a stick that any minute was about to take a leap or bolt..._"

Yeah, that sounds about right! Been there, done that. 

Good luck with your riding. I enjoy reading about your experiences.


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## tbrl (Jul 28, 2017)

Thanks, BSMS. I have truly loved reading your journals about both Mia, and now Trooper, Bandit and Cowboy. (yes, I has read your journals. And must admit I really like your style. Both in the way you writes thing, and the way you seems to reflect upon everything that you reads or learns.)

Yes, he really was a giraffe in that picture *laughing* Looks like the pony my daughter often are riding, when I am about to put his bit into his mouth, and he don't want to 
The one I called a giraffe was not because of how he held his head, but because he had such a long long neck, and are the highest horse I have ever been on. Kinda scary actually. But he was a nice one, and I would ride him again if asked to 

I do not think barrel racing was a good thing for him with such a heavy rider, but I am glad he came to you. You seems like a good match.

I have just tried to canter twice, so I guess I was just scared of the newness of it. Maybe I get to try it again next monday. (If I dare) I have often been thinking that I should have taken a glass or two of red wine before riding, I do think I would be a better riding with some liquid courage. I do tend to overthink things.
I guess that's a problem when we starts at an age where you no longer are invincible..

Today it is my daughters riding lesson. I always look forwards to that. It is nice to be around horses even if I can`t ride them.
I do think I am like you there, I just like the company they give. Horses are special creatures for sure


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## tbrl (Jul 28, 2017)

*just a few pictures*

My daughter and her her first love (and the reason I was bitten by the horse-bug)

And a picture of my new lesson-horse


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## tbrl (Jul 28, 2017)

*05-07-2018*

Did not make it to the drop-in-lesson on saturday, which was a bummer.
But today totally made up for it.
I had an amazing day at barn 2. It´s kinda strange to think about how tense I always were before each lesson there, and just by a switch of horse, now I feel totally safe and just enjoy everything we do.
My new lesson horse is becoming my favorite horse really fast. Today he played with my zipper, which was sooo cute 
He took it up and down many times, and seemed to have fun doing it. He is just so sweet.
We were trotting a bit, and was supposed to sit down when we did it. I do think its kinda strange how I am not able to do that anymore, when I did it just fine before I started to learn rising trot.:shock: Ofcourse, it might just be that I believed I did it just fine..
well. My riding-mates always tells me that I have a great seat, so they do not understand why I am so nervous and tense. I must admit I have never understood what exactly they were meaning, so today I asked. And supposedly I'm sitting very correctly in the saddle , and seems to have a good balance.
They are such sweethearts. I do find that strange though, since I'm probably the most clumsy person I know..
And now I am riding the most clumsy horse also. We must be a match made in heaven.
My little prince is such a nice horse. But I sometimes wonder if he might have bad eyesight or something, cause he is always stumbling and falling down on his knees. 
Today no exception .. we finished the arena-training and went for a walk around the cornfield. And suddenly, he just went down on his knees, without no apparent reason. It was nothing there to make him trip. Clumsy horse :loveshower:
He was fine, and I did not fell off this time either. My husband says that it is because I have such bad reflexes , that somehow I do not understand that I am supposed to fall off, and therefore just sits there. Not reacting until its over.
It might be some truth in that. :rofl:
But it does make me wonder how he will fare at the real trails.. Hopefully we will not roll down some steep hills, or stumble on the rocks or something.. That might hurt.


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## tbrl (Jul 28, 2017)

*december 31. 2017*

New years eve I was asked if I wanted to ride some before firework would start up for the evening. And I brought daughter with me as well. It is her only visit at barn 2 so far.
Was a beautiful day, but quite cold. We took a trip around the before mentioned cornfield, and did some arena-riding too.
A fantastic way to spend a few hours at new years eve.


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## tbrl (Jul 28, 2017)

*my first ride in the woods with barn 2*

Do not remember the date, but it was in 2017. I guess maybe a sunday in october. 
I asked the BO if it was an easy trail, and she said yes. 
I do think that at the time we had a different perception of what an easy trail was supposed to be. 
Now, I would love to take that trail again, to see if its still as scary as I tought it was around 6 months ago.
Did not dare take out my phone to take pictures in any of the "scary" places of course.


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## Kalraii (Jul 28, 2015)

*OK I love this. SUBBING! XD*


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## tbrl (Jul 28, 2017)

My daughters group lesson yesterday were ehemm.. interesting?
Their regular instructor were away, competing in a show somewhere, and I do not think the replacement had gotten any information about witch level our kids were at at all..
She started off assuming that none of our kids had ever been on a horse before, and wanted us to pony them while walking around some groomed trails. 
Wich irritated me and the other parents quite a bit, since they have been riding these trails a lot , and we now normally just hang around in the barn or are following at a distance while we are talking.
Well, it was probably ok that we were there, cause we were probably about half a mile down the trail when we heard the first rumble, then a lightening, and then the skies opened up. 
After a few minutes the lightening and thunder were quite regular, and happened at the same time, so it was real close by.. 
My daughter was riding the big rabbit (yes, I do often call him that..) A beautiful pony that looks a bit like an arab, and tend to worry about being eaten by everything from the birds outside his stable, his own tack if it is on the floor, the awful plastic bags that most horses dislikes and so on..
Big surprise, he did not appreciate thunder, raining or lightning either. 
Most of the other ones were just shuffling along, while he got more and more tense, and at a particular high thunder, I grabbed his reins a nanosecond before he tried to bolt. 
We ended up going back after that, and my daughter had her hands full , because he really really wanted to get them both to safety as fast as possible. And she were supposed to ride behind a shuffling pony that felt no reason to go any faster than a turtle.
well, needless to say we all looked like drowned cats when we came back to the indoor arena, and her sweet rabbit , was quite amped up the rest of the lesson. 

Today we are going in for a private lesson. I have asked for her rabbit again, thinking that she can use more training in sitting his absolute horrible trot. Yesterday she was totally unable to. She might have been a bit tense or just plain freezing her butt off..
Well, they have a show coming in a few weeks, and she is going for a program they are also cantering in, so I am unsure if she should ask for her regular show-horse, since he is unable to take the right lead when cantering. 
The rabbit has a beautiful canter (when he wants to), but an jarring trot.. Do not know what is worst. A horse that she might need to correct over and over again for taking the wrong lead, or my daughter not being able to sit down in a correct way..
I guess she really don't have a chance at this competition anyway, so it might be a moot point.
This time she will compete with maybe 30 older kids, that have been riding a very long time.
Not like the trot only-program she has taken twice. 
Not much chance of a placement this year I guess. Hope she takes that well.. she is quite obsessed about dressage (unlike me, witch just want to hack around).
Well, I should probably wake her up, so she gets some food before her private lesson.


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## tbrl (Jul 28, 2017)

As always a great time on the private lesson! I got to see BO ride, something that are amazing to watch! She makes everything seems so effortless, even when the horse are doing this " jumping sideways diagonal over the arena-things"..
I just KNOW that it probably takes an extreme amount of body-control to do that, and excessive training. But she doesn't seem to do anything at all.. just awesome to watch!

we started out going for a walk in the woods. The big rabbit did great, maybe he is not that much of a scaredy-cat that I makes him out to be after all ;-)
He was a bit skeptical to walk into a muddy rain pit, but I do not know if he just don't like to get his delicate small hooves wet, or if he are afraid of alligators lurking down there. (witch does not exist where we live)
Anyway, he went over when I walked beside him.. (my poor shoes)
And he even walked through a scary part where someone had put a big green plastic sheet in the trees. Good, and very brave horse!

The BO is an amazing instructor as well, she made my daughter do the whole program over and over again until she almost mastered it. I do think she will need one more private lesson though. (she would have benefited from about ten more before the show, but we do not have the time for that. And it would have been quite expensive too)
I also really likes that she seems to trust me. The man that shoes the horses came early today, she was still in lesson with my daughter, so she asked me to double-check that the right horses was readied. 
I really hope I did point out the right horses.  But since we were two people that both thought it was the right ones, I guess we had it right.. Made an excuse for me to cuddle with a few more horses too.. 
I do like horses!


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## tbrl (Jul 28, 2017)

*2018.05.15*

Yesterday was hot as hades, (77 F) and I had a long debate with myself whether I wanted to go to riding lesson or not. A big part of me just wanted to move into the refrigerator and stay there until the weather-gods becomes sensible again..
But, even if I have beginner-lessons tomorrow,( since I have been so neurotic for so long, I jumped on the chance to take a few lessons with beginners, before I move back into the regular lessons), I just could not drop out of the regular ones..
So I decided to go anyway.
I was supposed to pick up my better half, and drive him home , before taking the car and go to barn 2.
But somehow when I got dressed my phone did an disappearing-act, and I NEVER leaves the house without my phone. But now I had to If I was going to make it to the lesson. 
I drove to the train station, no train and no husband.. 
Rushed to see if there was any information on why the train was late, and there it said that because of the weather some trains had problems. 
I got a bit stressed out, I could not contact my husband, and had no idea if he would be a few minutes or hours late..
To top it off, our kids where at home, with their friend that was staying the night, and I do not like to leave them alone for long , since the most insignificant things might set off world war 3. 
Luckily the train arrived a few minutes late, and I hurried along to lessons only a bit late.
By then I was already stressed out, warm and miserable. 
When I came "my" horse were already used by the disabled kids that rides before us, so I just had to switch saddle. *relived*
But the horse was also warm, miserable and not in the mood for another hour outside with flies and other jerks with wings. And he told me so, clearly!
Most of the hour we had small disagreements, the BO told me I had to be more assertive, while I was wondering what kinds of magic she thinks I possess, since she belives that I might force an animal many times stronger than me to do anything. 
Well, I nagged him, I growled at him, and I begged him.. and he stomped some, swished his tail some, and shook his head some. And somehow we agreed that ok, we could do a compromise. 
He would go where I wanted, but he could do the worlds slowest almost-trot if he wanted to.
He waked up some at the end, when we were supposed to jump. But It was NO WAY I was going to jump anything that day. I was tired, hot, and have never been jumping in my life. So, we did circles instead. 
Feel a bit bad for him having me on his back that day. 
But, hopefully we have a better day tomorrow.


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## tbrl (Jul 28, 2017)

*2018.05.16*

The first newbie-class was ok, nice people and I got my barn 2 favorite. 
We had a throughout lesson in how to tack and ready the horse before riding, which I have been doing for several years now.. so even if I do like to brush and love on him, it did go a bit slow..
After that we rode down to the arena, walked in circles, between cones and stuff like that.
We did practice a lot of whoa. But I still believe they have a secret sign for that, and wants us to figure it out on our own. Or he just might need a good thinking before reacting. 
Anyway, a nice day. But nothing spectacular in any way. 
And we did not go trail-riding :-( The promise of small trail-ridings each time was one of the reasons I wanted to be there. But, at least I got to know my new lesson horse a bit better. 
I really do like him, and this time he did not trip


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## tbrl (Jul 28, 2017)

*2018.05.23*

Second time on the newbie lessons. 

It was so unbearable hot even in the afternoon, that I was actually considering dropping my safety vest. But since I am a bit risk-averse I did not dare. You never know when you are going to need it, right? And being me, I figured that IF I dropped it, I would probably fall off for the first time..
And being clumsy by nature, I would probably end up in hospital. 
Seriously , I can't even take a ride on a regular bike, without ending up in surgery.. So I dare not think about what a fall from a horse would result in..

Well, we did the grooming a bit faster this time. So more time for riding 
We practiced sitting trot , witch as usual I sucked at! Seriously , why is that so hard to do? It should have been simple. I am usually quite adapt at sitting on my bum.. 

But no mini-trail-riding this time either :-(


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## tbrl (Jul 28, 2017)

*2018.05.28*

Had a great time at barn 2. 
I am no longer afraid to ride down to the riding arena, and now I am even trotting around on the outdoor arena without being afraid. Things are looking good 
So strange to think about that only a few months ago I was terrified each lesson there. Now I am having a blast!
We were supposed to jump , but I chickened out. I do feel that I might try to canter there, before jumping. And it might be an idea to learn how to 2-point also..
So I was walking over poles instead. If I could have done that a bit, then trotted over them, I might have tried to trot over the elevated poles too.. But, I'm really making progress (sort of.. I really have been doing all that in barn 1. But outdoors, another barn and different horses are a totally different ball game to me)
And to top off a fantastic day, the humidity and too warm weather had a break. It was raining, but was still warm enough that it felt great.


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## akhalteke (May 30, 2018)

TBRL 

Wait what breed is that?! He is such a gorgeous chestnut <3


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

you are being asked to jump, already??


I guess I'm old fashioned, because in the old days you had to do a lot of flat work and become proficient at all three basic gaits before the instructor would start you on jumping.


That said, I 'm glad you are enjoying your lessons and feeling proud of your improvement. It's good to keep a record of that, as in future you will forget how hard you worked to get the basics down.


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## tbrl (Jul 28, 2017)

*pictures*

Akhaltek : Is it this one you mean? He is an Dole, and I do think he is gorgeous as well. It is one of my favorite breeds 

Tinyliny: Yeah, I do think it is more common to start with the basics, but I kinda "jumped in" in an more experienced group, so they are already been through all the basics, and I just tries to catch up


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## tbrl (Jul 28, 2017)

akhalteke: Do you have an akhalteke? They are gorgeous as well. It is one of those on my daughters riding school. She is owned by our drop-in-lesson-instructor. 
They are supposed to be the most beautiful breed in the world, I have read. I do suspect the Akaltheke at my daughters riding school might have read the same page ;-) She is stunning!
And she is really nice too..


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## tbrl (Jul 28, 2017)

*2018.05.30*

Newbie-lesson day, at barn 2, with my favorite prince :-D

Was 82 degrees outside, so needless to say, I was transformed into a puddle.. well, almost..
I was quite sure I would not use my safety vest in such weather, but... I just feel unsafe without it, so on it went.. I do need to look into a thinner model with more airing. 
The horses was hot and lazy as well, and quite irritated over the mosquitos . 
But when down on the outdoor arena they perked up a little. 
We trotted some poles (or tried to, my prince had no intention of losing me, so he slowed down each time we came to the x poles), took some serpentines , and went for a small walk. 

He did stumble a bit this time too.. But did not fall down. I do wonder why he is always stumbling. 
It has to be a reason, other than him being sleepwalking?

Was so nice to take a walk. On the way home they suddenly started trotting (some were cantering) up the last hill. Came as a total surprise on us all, but it was fun!

I have buddied up with one of my fellow newbies, and we are talking about leasing, (is it called that in english?) the horses we were riding, twice a week. Probably starting after summer-vacation. 
Then we can do the lesson once a week, and go for a ride together another day of the week. 
All of my fellow riders on the not-newbie course is already leasing their horses three times a week, and are taking rides together all the time. But I cannot do those days because of my daughters riding lessons. And, I do not feel up to their speedy rides in the woods.
I do think my fellow newbie is more like me.. happy to just hack around and enjoy the nature and having a relaxing time. 
She is not actually a newbie though, she is more of an re-rider, and no longer immortal. Suits me fine, I am not immortal either.. I think...


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

I had never heard of a Dole horse. You are in Norway?


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## tbrl (Jul 28, 2017)

Yes, I live in Norway. A Dole is one of our national breeds. We do have three of them. Four if you count the coldblooded trotter as well, but they are quite similar to the Dole. They used to be the same breed, but over time, became two.

The Dole is a draft-horse, and the biggest national breed we have. But, its still quite small for a draft-horse. Often around 15 hands, sturdy builds and are calm, steady and most often nice-tempered horses. But, stubborn they are!
Quite like one of our other breeds, Norwegian fjord. Often a bit more known outside our country.


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## tbrl (Jul 28, 2017)

*Pictures*

BO took some pictures yesterday. I really need to get a new and less clumpy safety vest..


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## tbrl (Jul 28, 2017)

*2018.05.31*

My daughters riding lesson in barn1 . 
They were jumping this time, and she were doing great on her little rabbit. 
It is so great seeing their progress. My daughter was the one that was afraid of cantering, and refused to do that for almost half a year, after they learned it. 
Now she is cantering circles, and has learnt to 2-point over jumps while cantering.

Today they are going to take another lesson, cause it was no lesson on may 17. because of our national day. (we would both have preferred to celebrate in the barn, but..)
Hopefully they are going through the LC3 program today.
Some of them are doing a dressage show tomorrow, so they need some practice. Especially since its their first time with LC3. Before they have been taking the trot and walk-only program. 
I have tried to tell her that she will be competing against girls almost twice her age, that has been riding for many years more that her, and therefor will not place on this one. But that she should try to compete with herself instead. Getting better points each time. 
Really hope she does not get too disappointed. She is a smart girl, so she does understand, but she is also highly competitive and LOVES dressage..


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## tbrl (Jul 28, 2017)

*2018.06.01*

My daughter had her last lesson before the show. They were supposed to go through the basics, and they sort of did. But they had too little time to really make it work. It really was a bit chaotic day.

When we arrived (well, almost arrived) , the last bit of the road was closed off because of maintenance, so we could not drive down to the barn. 
We tried to find a parking spot nearby, but everywhere we went it was no-parking-signs.. Luckily we met up with the instructor, and she knew of another road to the barn, so we had to take a 15 minutes detour to make it there.
Not many know of that road, cause it is really just a small one-car trail through the woods, that ends up behind the barn. So when people did not show up at appointed times, we did not know if they were just searching for a parking spot, trying to drive around, or if they were not supposed to show up. 
And because of the heat, (and because someone used the indoor arena) we had to go to the outdoor arena instead. It takes a few minutes to ride there, and we cannot see it from the barn, so we had to make sure we left nobody behind.
Soo.... we used a good bit of our time waiting. 
My daughter were riding a pony she had never ridden before, so we did not know him well, and he did not seem to like us much. For a gelding, he has an real amazing mare-face. 
Well.. the outdoor arena was a great place to be. It has been an heat-wave here lately, and we have broken records from 1967 heat-wise.. so a shadowy arena with a bit of airing was great!
And they had even watered the arena, so it was not dusty either 

10 minutes after we got there, BO called the instructor. The big rabbit (someone else rode him) had been sedated that day because of the dentist, and she had forgotten to tell.. so he had to be put back in his box.
Poor boy, no wonder he was kinda slow and strange acting.. So, his rider had to stop the lesson and was told to find another horse, and take the lesson after instead.

The program they should be riding was a new one this year, so the instructor did not remember all of it yet, and we had to find it on internet and read it to her. 
At last they were going to ride it through one and one, before lesson ended. But by then the other lesson should have started, so we had to do it quick.
My daughter was the latest one out.. 
Well, everything went well, until the instructors dog started playing around my daughters pony, witch spooked and tried to bolt. Luckily it was a fenced in arena, so he did not get far. 
After that he was even more annoyed, so when my daughter tried to get him to canter the last circles, he decided that enough was enough! Time to get rid of the annoying little monkey on his back (he has been known to do that quite effectively lately). He bucked several times, and tried to teleport himself sideways. 
My daughter made a whining noice (never heard her do that before), but stayed on. And managed to complete the course. She should have started it anew, but they had no more time..


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## tbrl (Jul 28, 2017)

*2018.06.02*

Show time

My daughter was taking LC3 for the first time this year. She has just taken trot and walk only programs before. (and always been placed)

Well.. It was NO airing that day, and 86 degrees in the shadow. I was sweating profusely while standing totally still. HOT HOT HOT!!
AND the show were going on inside the riding arena, witch have NO airing or aircondition whatsoever..
Pheew.... 

My daughter was one of the latest to show, so we came an hour and a half before her time, so she could make him pretty and do warm-up and practice 20 minutes before the show. Witch they are supposed to do. 
Well.. we came.. paid and went to find the horse. Big was our surprise when he was saddled and stood outside with a little girl. They were going for a ride. 
I found the lady that had given him to the little girl, and tried to tell her that they could not take him out on a ride, cause my daughter was supposed to use him on LC3 in about one hour and twenty minutes, and she has to be on the outdoor arena to practice in an hour. 
He is not supposed to go more than one hour either, because he is old and asthmatic . 
Well. she refused to find them another horse, and told me there were no problem, they would be back in time.
Guess what, they were not! My daughter did not get to practice those 20 minutes before the show, because they did not come back in time.. She did make it to the show though.
I was soooo mad!
And my daughter was quite stressed out, (both the teachers and we do think she might have asperger , but because of her above average intelligens she does well anyway, so we will not give her a diagnose unless we have to ) Well, needless to say she does not like sudden changes.. 
She got a handle on the stress, and did great, until the last transition to right lead canter in big circle. 
Well, that is kinda his big fault, he will NOT do right canter no matter what.
She had to break canter, try again, break canter, try again.. repeat and repeat. After many tries he did it right, but by then she did not understand if she was supposed to take another round in that right canter or follow the trail, and go down the midline and salute. 
So she took one more round around before going down to x.

Well.. that last canter did ruin her otherwise good performance. (she is only nine years old after all, and started riding two years ago. Most of the others were late teens) She ended at 64,8 %. The winner were 65,5 % , so was not too bad, but not perfect either.

She will try again in 6 months


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## knightrider (Jun 27, 2014)

Kudos to your daughter for still trying when everything was going so wrong. It must have been super frustrating for both of you!


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## tbrl (Jul 28, 2017)

knightrider said:


> Kudos to your daughter for still trying when everything was going so wrong. It must have been super frustrating for both of you!


Thank you. Yes, it was frustrating, but she is quite stubborn. 
And it seemed to me that when she took that first halt at x, the first thing in the program, she just clicked into show-modus. 
She does not seem to notice anything around her, its just her and the horse, and the program they are doing together.. 
I do not think I have ever met a more focused kid before. Right there and then nothing else matters than the moment.
Surprises me each time. At lessons she can be daydreaming and do not seem to focus at all. Unless it is a private lesson. 
But in show, she is in her own world I think.


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## tbrl (Jul 28, 2017)

*2018.06.04*

The people in barn2 are crazy! 
It was hot and dusty on the outdoors arena, so one of them asked the BO to saddle up her horse, and go for a ride in the woods instead. 
As said, so done..
At first we were riding on the small sand-and-crushed-rock road that goes to another farm. As usual my dear prince tripped and fell on the first downhill. I am starting to expect that now.. so I am prepared and have not "dismounted" yet.
In the first uphill, the BO asked if we were ready to trot, and before I was even thinking about refusing, off we went. We were supposed to do rising trot, but I had my stirrups a bit long, so it was kinda hard. (I do prefer long stirrups when riding trails, it just feels more stable.) He were actually cantering a bit too.. I survived!
We went into the woods, and I started to relax and really enjoy the beautiful green wooden landscape, when we had to leave the trail because a farmer had placed a bunch of trees he had felled, in the middle of the road. It was ok, my horse did not stumble once. So I found out that I might not get killed riding him in the woods after all. I have been a bit worried about that, because of his tendency to fall down on his face all the time.
Bo knows I have just cantered twice, and one of the times were like 2 steps.. and the other time were half a round in the indoor arena. 
So I was a bit skeptical when she suddenly announced that we were going to canter up the hill in the woods, but as before, I did not react fast enough. I got out a weak "nooo" and then we were cantering. 
It was fun!!

I love riding in the woods, and we even saw a deer, and we think she had a baby nearby, cause some of the others saw her nesting-place. But we did not see the baby. None of the horses spooked by the deer that were rustling around in the bushes, even if it was really close to us. 

When back on the road again BO wanted to canter uphills again. The horses are used to always cantering there on the way home, so they are vibrating with energy, and hard to hold back. That makes me a bit nervous. I do prefer calm energy. 
I do think it might be because of my illness, I have a disease called ME, so I have a real low energy level myself. And any action spikes my adrenaline level real high, witch makes me worse for days after.
Well, enough of the digression, horses cantered again, and this time it went fast! Well, it might not have been fast for experienced people, but to me it was fast! 
My prince felt like he was going to go for a race home, so I was a bit scared, and quite happy when BO stopped her horse, so I had a chance to stop Prince as well.
I do not think I like cantering on the roads. I had all kinds of scary thoughts about not being able to stop him, and what would happen if a car should happen to come down that road. The ditches are lower than the road, so I would NOT appreciate going down there in canter!
So before the next uphill, I asked her if we could walk the rest of the way home. So we did.
Babysteps.. 
I do think my lesson-mates find me a bit annoying , since I am scared to go as fast as them. They really do like speed..
But, I`m quite surprised that I dared canter at all , so I think they should be happy for that at least. 
That would not have happened a few months ago.


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## tbrl (Jul 28, 2017)

*2018.06.06*

Had another great day at barn 2, with the newbies this time.
We went for the little wooden trails as we call it, where I was cantering on monday. 
This time we trotted up the hills, entered the woods. Had to go off trail, because the felled trees were still in the middle of the trail, and my poor prince got stuck! Luckily he reversed a bit, and got himself loose again, without loosing his calm. 
He has the most amazing temperament.
We cantered up the hill in the woods again, one of the kids fell off, and her pony came galloping past us all and disappeared. The BO handled it great. She jumped off, checked the kid, who was alright, placed the kid on her horse, and left us to find the runaway-pony. All of our horses were happy to be grazing and waiting for her return. And after maybe ten minutes she came back with the pony, and the kid were right back on, and off we went.
I don't think it took more than maybe 5 minutes before the kids were holding their ponies back, so they could canter up to us again. 
They are way tougher than I would have been!!

The whole trip was no longer than two and a half miles, if my track devise is correct. 

Had my go-pro on my helmet this trip, hoping for some pictures, but.. I was not yet inside the woods before it died...


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## tbrl (Jul 28, 2017)

*2018.06.06*

Had another great day at barn 2, with the newbies this time.
We went for the little wooden trails as we call it, where I was cantering on monday. 
This time we trotted up the hills, entered the woods. Had to go off trail, because the felled trees were still in the middle of the trail, and my poor prince got stuck! Luckily he reversed a bit, and got himself loose again, without loosing his calm. 
He has the most amazing temperament.
We cantered up the hill in the woods again, one of the kids fell off, and her pony came galloping past us all and disappeared. The BO handled it great. She jumped off, checked the kid, who was alright, placed the kid on her horse, and left us to find the runaway-pony. All of our horses were happy to be grazing and waiting for her return. And after maybe ten minutes she came back with the pony, and the kid were right back on, and off we went.
I don't think it took more than maybe 5 minutes before the kids were holding their ponies back, so they could canter up to us again. 
They are way tougher than I would have been!!

The whole trip was no longer than two and a half miles, if my track devise is correct. 

Had my go-pro on my helmet this trip, hoping for some pictures, but.. I was not yet inside the woods before it died... :|


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## tbrl (Jul 28, 2017)

*2018.06.11*

The last lesson with the ladies for the summer. :-(

Had a nice day on the outdoor arena , but all the horses seemed a bit tired and lazy. They had been on a long ride where they were galloping for miles the day before, and I am sooo glad I actually asked the BO about that trip last time I saw her. I had actually planned to go.. Needless to say I cancelled that one!
Most of my lesson-mates were attending that of course, but they do love speed and are way more experienced than me. 

So, we we were practicing collected canter, or should have, if we were able to get the horses to actually canter.. 
When going from trotting to canter, we are supposed to put one foot in front of us, and one back..

That sort of acrobatics on top of moving horses is quite impossible. I lose my balance, and can't seem to do it all at once. I might take one foot in front of me, but then the other wants to go in front too.. or I can take them both back.. but one back and one in front?? 
Well, let us say that I can't really blame Prince if he does not understand what I am trying to tell him, while having my balance nowhere in sight, my legs flying everywhere and my hands following no direction at all..
So, so far, I have only been cantering because of Prince`s goodwill ..oh.. ok.. I admit it.. more because he has started cantering and I could do nothing to stop it. 
(If I should be real honest, I cannot control that horse in any way.. he just follows along with me as a passenger .. While I pretend to ride, and trust him to keep me safe from all harm . So far, it has worked like a charm  )
Well, at least I had fun, as always


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## tbrl (Jul 28, 2017)

*2018.06.13*

Last day on the newbies-course. 
We celebrated it with going on a grazing tour with our lesson-horses. 
Well, we called it "riding the small wooden trail", but in reality our horses were just grazing their way through the woods, while we were enjoying the view and relaxing. 
It was exactly what I needed, since I came directly from my youngest sons summer-celebration at school, and was kinda tired. 

I am sad that it is over.. But I do hope we might persuade BO to take up the lessons in August. If not two of us are talking about taking a lease on Prince and another horse, so we can go riding twice a week anyway.


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## tbrl (Jul 28, 2017)

*2018.06.23*

Had a drop-in lesson at barn 1 with my daughter.
I feels so at home there, and the BO was there as well, so she asked me to help with the horses.
My daughter rode the big rabbit again, but since I was asked to help, I got to groom and tack up the pony my daughter ride the most, a beautiful irish sports pony. I do think he is the most amazing pony that exists. He is the ultimate gentleman. His only "fault" is that he is a bit scared in the box, and therefore threatens some people while they tack him up. 
When I came into the stable, he called out to me, and as usually he was perfect when I tacked him up. (needless to say my heart melted even more) 
I actually was once asked if I was a horse-whisperer when grooming him, cause he was standing there halfway sleeping.. I do think he might understand that I love him very much, maybe most of all the horses I have ever known. But I have never ridden him, neither will I probably do so.
So my favorite heart-horse, but not someone I myself feel right to sit upon.
I do not know why I feel like I am to big to ride him, cause I have seen other grown ups ride him, that have been bigger than me. But, I suspect it is because my love for him, I am to afraid to hurt him in any way.
I cringes inside every time I see a big person on him, or someone are pulling on his mouth or kicking him, or just flailing around as a sack of potatoes. And sometimes I feel an almost unbearable need to pull down the bad riders from his back or tell them to stop hurting him.
But, I cannot do that, since he sadly is not mine.. 
I should have had him around me all the time, cause he is the most outstanding peace-inducing thing I have ever known. When around him, nothing else matters. (oh, that was quite sappy.. but true)

I never got around to tell the Bo witch horse I wanted to ride myself, cause I was to busy with helping out. But when I came down, she had saddled up my favorite riding pony, a "norlandshest" . (witch is a lot smaller than the irish pony I would not ride)
I had not been riding him for a very long time, and it felt like slipping on a pair of worn-out comfy shoes. So totally at home there, knowing how he reacts in most situations , totally at peace and in relaxing mode.
Only thing was... he must have been smaller since last time I rode him.. Cause I felt so close to the ground. 
We went for a walk together, starting out as leading the group, until he met a scary white baby-carriage in the woods.. then he tried to turn and go back home, but after a while he said "ok, I`ll keep going" But by then we were bypassed by a steady fjord, and suddenly almost all of the horses had bypassed us.. Hmpf.. I know he is a turtle, but hey.. he was so good, daring to go in front. He is not used to do that.
After the walk the others wanted to go inside the arena, to trot in circles, but I just wanted that walk and to enjoy some time with him, so I jumped off and went to groom him while waiting for the others to finish.
Perfect day!


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## tbrl (Jul 28, 2017)

Today I am a bit perplexed.. I have been riding at barn 2 for around 8 months now, and did think I had an understanding with the BO that I was going to lease the lesson-horse I have been riding, starting in August.
Yesterday I learned that she has leased him out to a woman I was on the newbie-course with, that was there a total of 4 times!
So, now she is going to get him on the monday lessons , so I can no longer have him as a lesson-horse either.
I could have understood if she was making more money on leasing him out three times a week, but she do not. I already pays as much for one lesson a week as she is getting for three days of leasing. And then she is doing trail-riding as well, witch we are also paying to come along for..
So , less money.
I can understand it for the sake of the horse. She wants them to have someone that takes them out regularly , but I had already said I wanted to lease him. 
If this was the first time this happened, I would probably not have been reacting. But, first I was promised one horse as a lesson horse. She got ill, so not BO`s fault.. I was promised another horse that I also trusted, but when I came to the lesson, someone else was riding her. I asked and got told that she had been leased out to another lady at my lessons. That was ok. I could understand why someone that had been riding there for longer than me, and wanted to lease, was getting the horse she wanted. 
Then I was stuck with a horse that scared me for a long time. Before I finally found a new one I trusted. 
Now he is also leased out to another one. 
I would probably not have been reacting to that either, had it not been for all the other times BO have suddenly cancelled things whiteout telling me. So when I show up, nobody are there, or the ladies that are leasing are like "what are you doing here today?" When I has been invited to ride a few days before..
My husband has to leave job early for me to go riding, so when things are being cancelled , it would have been nice to know..
Things just adds up, I guess. And I am quite frustrated right now.. And do not know if I should just take a hint, and stick to barn 1 with my daughter instead. 
Its a bit sad though, I really had fun with the ladies.
And maybe I am just over-reacting.. I don't know.. Maybe its normal, and I am the strange one, since I am always doing all I can to never break promises..


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## Dragoon (Nov 25, 2013)

Perhaps you are not being as clear as you think you are when speaking with other people... I hear you saying "I thought I told her I wanted to lease X..", and not "I definitely told her I wanted to lease X". There shouldn't be any doubt in your mind that this person understood you...
Since I did not hear the conversation, I can't comment further. LOL

I hope you reconsider riding the Irish sport pony! Horses are very strong creatures, even the small ones. Since it is his job as a riding pony to have riders, I'm sure he would rather have more rides with people who love him and are considerate of him, even if they are a bit larger. He can easily bear the weight. Its the uncaring riders he has to suffer through...Without a doubt, horses know if you like them or not!


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## tbrl (Jul 28, 2017)

Thank you for your feedback 
I do think you are right about me not being clear enough, Dragoon. I am always afraid to promise something before I have thought it through at least a hundred times, and are absolutely sure I am able to follow it up. And since I needed to discuss with my man which days would be ok for him, I might have been a bit vague..

I have felt so bad about how I was writing about her in the last post. 
She is really a fun-loving, nice person that makes people smile. She is mostly positive to everything, and she makes everything seems like fun.
I guess the flip side of that is being a bit reckless and impulsive. 
She is like "oh, that sounds fun, lets do that." But then if something comes up, its forgotten. 
And because I am the opposite , sometimes that feels unpredictable to me.
I do have the same problem with one of my best friends sometimes. She is also a fun-loving person, that I need in my life, she makes things easy and fun. While I am always over-analyzing everything, are way to serious and always wants to please everybody around me, people like that makes me want to "live" a bit more. Take a few risks, just to have fun.
But I do get hurt, because to me, when they are telling me that we are going to do something, to me that is a promise. 
So when they are suddenly cancelling without telling me, I feel a bit hurt. And sometimes angry, if it happens to often.
But, I guess that the flip side of being logical and dependable, is also being a bit social awkward , inflexible, a bit boring and way to risk-averse  So, its not like I am being flawless myself..

But, I am sure if I am going back to ride there or not. I did love riding with the ladies, but I do not feel safe on the horses that are left for me to use. So, I guess I might go for barn 1 instead.


Yeah, I do think my favorite irish pony do know I love him. I am absolutely melting inside when he is nickering to me  Never heard him do that to anybody before. But he is one of my daughters favorites as well, and she is a better deal to him than me. she is a better rider and weights next to nothing. And she is really gentle. So I am wondering about asking the BO if there are any possibility we might lease him for an hour or two a few times a week. And maybe one of the fjords or my little friend as well, so we can go hacking together. I do feel to big for my little friend as well, but he is a bit more sturdy, and as long as we are only walking I don't feel too bad. I just don't want to make him canter in circles with me or doing something strenuous .


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## tbrl (Jul 28, 2017)

I have not been around for a while, since I have not been riding much this summer, and quit barn 2.

Have found another barn, a newly started one, and feels right at home there.

We found it in september, tried it out for a month , with private lessons. Decided we liked it at lot there.

So October 01. we started leasing there.
My daughter now has a gotlandsruss pony Tuesdays and Sundays, and I have a Fjord on Sundays.


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## tbrl (Jul 28, 2017)

*2018.10.07*

First time with both horses, when leasing. 

My youngest son decided he wanted to come with us to the stable as well. He wanted to ride again.
So, quite relived actually, I asked my husband to come as well. In case we needed a helping hand.
I have never had to keep track of two horses at once before, without any other people to help me out if needed. So.. quite relived.
I forgot to take into consideration that my husband is afraid of horses.. And dogs.. and do not like cats much either.. or any other animal..
And.. it is quite a lot of cats , dogs and other animals on that barn.

My husband was stressed out even before he left the car.. (barking dog loose)
Naturally the horses picked up on his nervousness, and became nervous and on high alert as well. 
Witch my husband assumed meant that they were aggressive and unpredictable..
Then things naturally evolved . More and more stressed husband, more and more stressed horses..

When we came into the indoor arena my husband refused to be near any of the horses, and absolutely not under any sircumstanses would he go near the monstrous fjord.
I was ponying my son on him, when my daughter needed help with the stirrups. The leather are way too long, so we need to turn them several times around the stirrup to make them short enough. 
I asked my son to keep on going around the arena, while I was helping my daughter. 
Well, he lost control. 
The fjord backed into the rear end of the little hellion, who kicked him and bolted. The fjord kicked back, and my son flew through the air and nose-dived into the ground. 
Needless to say. My husband did not approve.. Horses = dangerous devils..
The fjord had to be put back in his paddock for the day.. x-tra free day for him, and no riding for me.
And my son refused to go back up on the horse again.


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## tbrl (Jul 28, 2017)

*2018.10.09*

My daughter has Louise on lease. 

Beautiful day in the stable. To my big surprise my youngest son wanted to come again. And he wanted to ride as well.
My daughter was a gem. She ponied him around on Louise , and after a while he was trotting alone like he used to. 

We also went for a walk around a small trail that goes in a circle and ends up at the barn again. And they were taking turns to ride.

My daughter was riding most of the time in the arena of course, but both kids were happy.


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## tbrl (Jul 28, 2017)

*2018.10.14*

Louise AND Ask on lease. second try..

My daughter was at a birthday party today, so came late to the stable. 
We opted for riding indoors since it was starting to get late.
This time everything went great. Even if my daughter now is afraid every time Ask gets less than half an arena away from Louise.


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## tbrl (Jul 28, 2017)

*2018.10.16*

Louise. Barback riding for my daughter today. My son tried as well. Nice day.


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## tbrl (Jul 28, 2017)

2018.10.16 Barback riding on Louise, for both my daughter and my son. Nice day.

2018.10.21 Louise AND Ask. 
Was a really long day . My daughter had her birthday party on the other riding school today. 9 kids on 9 horses, and we had to make them all ready before the lesson started. After that we had cakes and soda in the room over the riding arena, while we watched someone else's jumping lesson.
At 02.45 we were home, had something to eat, and at 03.15 we had to leave again, to go to the new barn where Louise and Ask is.
Everything went fine there as well. 
Amazing day, all about horses all day long. Can't be better than that. But boy was I tired the days after....

2018.10.23 Louise . Awful weather, icy cold wind and raining. And starting to get dark.. But there were so many people in the indoor arena that we opted for the outdoor arena anyways.. My daughter is still afraid every time someone gets close to Louise. Thinking she might kick.


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## tbrl (Jul 28, 2017)

2018.10.28 Louise AND Ask - another interesting day...


It was not my best day yesterday. I had not slept well, and was bone tired even before we went to the stable. After a few hours mucking I was starting to become a little bit less zombie-like, but not exactly my best. And this is not an excuse, I would probably have fallen off no matter what.

Well, Ask was a bit looky, a bit restless if you like even when grooming him. But I thought nothing about it, and we found out that we were going for a longer ride in the woods . A place where we had been just once before.
A few minutes into the ride, Ask suddenly jumped several inches up and to the side. I think it might have been crocodiles in the frozen puddle (that was probably twenty inched long and 10 inches wide). If that was not the reason, I do not know what else it might have been. Cause this time it was no flying birds there.
Or else he might know something about those woods , that I know not.. Cause he was stopping, looking, high alert all the time.
But I figured he just needed a litte time, and told him to go on. 
Just before we entered the woods, a rider came through the bush, and into the trail we were on, so we let her ride on, before we kept going. 
Well, suddenly she came trotting back. My daughter got nervous about the passing, cause she still remembers how nice Louise and Ask might behave if someone is too close. So we tried to find somewhere we could let her pass safely. But instead our horses turned and went back the same way we came, so we found out that ok, we can go back and ride in the arena instead. 

Well, on our way back, suddenly a monster came jumping out from the woods and tried to eat Ask! Or so he thought... he bucked, and off I slide...
Ungraceful as can be, suddenly I was on the ground. Embarrassed , but holding the reins, and wondering what the ??? happened now??
I was like: "Ask, what did you do that for?? You know I have bad balance! Not nice!! " And then.. "well, you are so cute.. Let`s go back to the indoor arena so I can get back on"
Its no way I am getting back on without something to stand on, so I had to pony him back. Quite embarrassing actually. especially since the rider was still right behind us..
But, at least I did not break anything , and I did go back on when back in the indoor arena...


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## tbrl (Jul 28, 2017)

2018.10.30 My daughter (lets call her A2) was supposed to practice for LC3 competition in a few weeks. But the indoor arena was a bit crowded, so we had to drop it. Its getting darker outside, so a lot of the riders prefers the indoor arena it seems.
Louise`s box were taken, so we had to groom her outside the box, witch she obviously does not like. Suddenly she panicked and jumped forward, resulting in her breaking free. Luckily she did not go far. She stopped after a few feets, and let us take her back into the stable.
Lesson learned; no grooming outside the box!


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## tbrl (Jul 28, 2017)

2018.11.01 A2 had jumping lesson in the riding school. Usually she is riding a 30 year old gelding when jumping, and they are a superb match. Even at his age he is fast as lightening, loves to jump, friendly and cozy as can be. But hates to be interfered with when doing his "job" (He decides how fast, high and when they are jumping) And he will sometimes buck off people that will control him to much. A2 trusts him 100% , and is comfortable with him doing what he can best, while she is trying to stay away from his back and not disturb him. A perfect match!

But yesterday she got a little pony named blackie. 
Blackie is a sweet little thing that are often used by small kids in the summer. But is perking up a bit in the winter, and therefore often are used by slightly older and more experienced kids in winter.
Well, winter is obviously coming.. And Blackie has opinions on her own! She can and will test you!
So.. they were jumping. Blackie were arguing, A2 tried not to let her win.. A2 thought she was winning. They were in full gallop, they were about to jump, my daughter standing in 2-point, and BAM, Blackie stopped.. my daughter fell over her head, landed smack on her butt, and Blackie was taking rounds of victory! Mentally giving us the middle finger, and singing "nana nana nana.. you can't get me"
Tail high, galloping perfect rounds, jumping all the courses and refused to stop!! Brat!!! *laughing*

My daughter was quite cross with me for laughing my butt off.. But today she sees the humor in it as well.


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