Horse Poo!!!

I didn't blog Thursday, since I technically didn't have a lesson...at least not one on horseback!




I'm going to be doing some stall cleaning and feeding for my teacher, so we needed to go over the do's and dont's before she leaves on vacation. So, I learned how to clean a stall!!

This may not be exciting for anyone who's grown up around horses, but remember, I haven't been around horses! At least, I've been around horses in a very limited manner.... one of my co-workers thought I was crazy for wanting to clean up after "stinky animals", so I put it into perspective. If you're someone who is into car racing, and one of the car racing teams you love so much asked you to push a broom around the shop just for the opportunity of being there, would you?
Well, most people would say, "Sure! That'd be fun!"
So, I said, "oh please may I?"

And you know, there's an odd "zen" experience to be had when mucking out stalls. It's quiet, there are birds chirping, the general sounds of the horses, their breathing, the satisfaction of cleaning, making something good again, and the serenity of just being in the barn. And there's the occasional visit from a barn cat, or sometimes moving a horse from one place to another, and it all comes together and is very mind soothing.

So, I am now a "stablebitch". See, the old term was stable boy....but I'm not a boy. Maybe I should change the name of my blog?


Ok, and for today's lesson-

I worked more on directing Forrest around the arena, and I learned how to "post a trot". That means you're sort of standing and sitting alternating with the rise and fall of the horse's gait- it sort of gives you a specific rhythm when they're trotting so you're not bouncing around like a sack of potatoes. Then we took a short jaunt around the corrals to practice stopping and going. It was super warm today, so I actually worked up a sweat!!

I did way better tacking up and un-tacking, and I'm really getting the hang of basic horse language- I've definitely gotten more comfortable moving around them.

I also started thinking about a horse of my own....ok, when did I ever stop thinking about a horse of my own?!?

I can't wait for the day that I can be an independent rider- to be able to drive up, get my own horse, groom it, tack up, and go for a ride. I am sort of leaning on the idea of a prison-trained BLM horse... but I know I've got a long way to go.

So antsy!!!