Fourteenth Private Lesson aka The Ice Bowl

Oh wow it was cold today.  Catherine gave me an out to cancel and save both of us the experience but I figured that between not having had a lesson in almost a month plus wanting to be able to ride in cold weather someday it was not something I could reasonably duck out of.  But wow was it cold.

The weather has recently changed to cold cold cold and the horses are not in a good mood because of it, Cypress even more than usual.  When I retrieved him out of his new stall (he had escaped from the last one and had an accident) he went straight for the hay next door and it took all my strength and weight to get him back to where he was supposed to be.  Grooming was more wrestling than anything else.

The lesson itself was mostly getting used to being in the saddle again, getting him to do what I want, making sure my signals are clear.  The new and interesting thing was my weight, which wasn't new as much as a refinement of what I'd done in the past with letting my body roll with the horse's motion.  That made everything a lot easier.  There was also a lot of work on how to correct misunderstanding of signals or bad behavior not so much because it was planned that was as that's what Cypress led me to need to work on.

By the end of the lesson my feet were frozen and my back was sore and stiff (I had a brutal workout with my personal trainer yesterday emphasizing core and leg strength, perfect huh).  Cypress was listening pretty well and I was correcting better and sitting in the saddle with more balance and fluidity.  I may have ended a few minutes early but I'd had enough, Catherine had been out in the cold long enough for her tastes, and I think Cypress was getting ready to really get moody if we kept pushing him.

I'm hoping the next lesson will be warmer but if not I'll still do it and just try to adjust my clothing, part of the experience for me is learning what I need in order to try to make it comfortable.

Comments

[Luna]

try those little warmers that you can put in your shoes (the ones that are chemically activated) and when you dismount, land on your toes and roll onto your heels!