Post by Yip on Jun 12, 2015 16:46:11 GMT -5
I'm pretty sure you'll remember my struggling with lost confidence and unfounded fear issues over the past several years.
So, now I'm at a boarding stable with lots of teen & preteen girls. Well, many people have left in 2 consec. shake-ups at the barn. The weekend feeder has leased a barn of her own and many boarders have followed her. Directly after that, the extra trainer bought horse property of her own & took her horses & a couple students. July 1, a teen is relo. her 2 horses to be closer to her trainer, who changed barns. We're suddenly down about 12 horses. 3 came in but that fam. is relo. to NC in Aug. so will be moving then. So most of the kids are gone & I don't see the adults too much. It's too quiet.
ANYway, I found myself surrounded by kids doing all sorts of fun things. They love riding bareback w/t/c and even jumping bareback. All those years alone, I rarely even thought of learning bareback. The times I tried were slippery, scary, Cookie ran off with me, & I didn't have supervision or an arena for security, so I forgot about it. How I wish now that I had made it a point to practice when daddio was home!
After not riding in 2013-14 Dec. 15- Aug 15 (getting prop. on the market, packing almost totally by myself) then unpacking, I had lost most of my nerve. I was even afraid to trot at the first stable, but was getting over it by the time we changed barns. Forget cantering on my fast jackhammer. I was beg. to enjoy it again and all these kids were riding circles around me...bareback. When did this happen?! At Christmas, I mounted Cookie bareback & was scared crazy, sliding all around & holding on for dear life. I remember being unable to even sit up straigh & had little steering, lol! That ride was my wake-up call. I needed to do better or get out of horses.
I bought a Best Friends English shaped bareback pad without stirrups and began working hard. I was riding nearly every day & got pretty confident. I began riding totally bareback sometimes and did well. Then daddio died & I got sick. Three weeks later, LY had a miscarriage & I babysat & grieved.. Then my dad was dying and I went to OH for 8 days, came home and was sick for almost 3 weeks. I went to the stable 3-4x in 3 months! Unbelieveably, I was able to pick up bareback/pad riding where I left off, w/t and over poles. It's a lot of fun & Cookie seems to enjoy it too. My seat has improved 1000% without a saddle & stirrups to rely on. I rarely use a saddle now. I want to feel totally confident, then begin work on cantering. I'm getting close but still chicken out. Actually, I have asked and Cookie has refused because she knows I really scared. Before I leave horse ownership forever, (I'll turn 62 on 6/24) I want to be jumping low crossrails.
So, that's where my riding is right now. I often think about getting a different horse for comfort, but I am extremely emotionally attached to Cookie. She & Rose literally saved my life when Matt died 10 yrs. ago, & now she is about the only constant left in my life.
So, now I'm at a boarding stable with lots of teen & preteen girls. Well, many people have left in 2 consec. shake-ups at the barn. The weekend feeder has leased a barn of her own and many boarders have followed her. Directly after that, the extra trainer bought horse property of her own & took her horses & a couple students. July 1, a teen is relo. her 2 horses to be closer to her trainer, who changed barns. We're suddenly down about 12 horses. 3 came in but that fam. is relo. to NC in Aug. so will be moving then. So most of the kids are gone & I don't see the adults too much. It's too quiet.
ANYway, I found myself surrounded by kids doing all sorts of fun things. They love riding bareback w/t/c and even jumping bareback. All those years alone, I rarely even thought of learning bareback. The times I tried were slippery, scary, Cookie ran off with me, & I didn't have supervision or an arena for security, so I forgot about it. How I wish now that I had made it a point to practice when daddio was home!
After not riding in 2013-14 Dec. 15- Aug 15 (getting prop. on the market, packing almost totally by myself) then unpacking, I had lost most of my nerve. I was even afraid to trot at the first stable, but was getting over it by the time we changed barns. Forget cantering on my fast jackhammer. I was beg. to enjoy it again and all these kids were riding circles around me...bareback. When did this happen?! At Christmas, I mounted Cookie bareback & was scared crazy, sliding all around & holding on for dear life. I remember being unable to even sit up straigh & had little steering, lol! That ride was my wake-up call. I needed to do better or get out of horses.
I bought a Best Friends English shaped bareback pad without stirrups and began working hard. I was riding nearly every day & got pretty confident. I began riding totally bareback sometimes and did well. Then daddio died & I got sick. Three weeks later, LY had a miscarriage & I babysat & grieved.. Then my dad was dying and I went to OH for 8 days, came home and was sick for almost 3 weeks. I went to the stable 3-4x in 3 months! Unbelieveably, I was able to pick up bareback/pad riding where I left off, w/t and over poles. It's a lot of fun & Cookie seems to enjoy it too. My seat has improved 1000% without a saddle & stirrups to rely on. I rarely use a saddle now. I want to feel totally confident, then begin work on cantering. I'm getting close but still chicken out. Actually, I have asked and Cookie has refused because she knows I really scared. Before I leave horse ownership forever, (I'll turn 62 on 6/24) I want to be jumping low crossrails.
So, that's where my riding is right now. I often think about getting a different horse for comfort, but I am extremely emotionally attached to Cookie. She & Rose literally saved my life when Matt died 10 yrs. ago, & now she is about the only constant left in my life.
