I'm Back Again

I'm back again.
It's been three weeks.

I turn off the road onto the driveway to the barn where I take my lessons, and my horse is boarded. Funny, I didn't really miss it while I was gone. In fact, I been seriously considering cancelled my lessons and being 100 percent horse-free. You've probably heard this from me before in the past several months.

Yes, I considered it.

But then I considered a lot of things, such as giving up horses completely, spending time and money on other things, things normal horseless people spend money on like clothes and vacations and new cars. Yeah, stuff like that. I considered it long and hard during my three-week hiatus.

I dreaded going to the barn that day. I had too many things to do, didn't really want to ride. I arrived at the barn fully intending to give up my lesson spot that evening. After all, there are plenty of clients dying to have a prime spot like mine in the early evening.

I walk to the arena to get my horse assignment. (If you've been following this blog, you know that my wonderful dressaage partner of thirteen years has suspensory issues and cannot be ridden and has been retired to broodmare status.)

I've been assigned Ciro to ride. Now Ciro is as close to a push-button dressage horse as I've ever ridden. He's FEI level, knows all the tricks, and is incredibly supple and sensitive. His owner has gone boating for a month and wants him kept in shape.

I groom Ciro, saddle and bridle him, and head to the arena. It always take me a while to get the stirrups adjusted correctly on someone else's saddle. I walk him around the arena, then trot as the other lesson is finishing up.

My lesson starts. I'm still wishing I was home working on my latest book. We start by getting him round and over the top and lifting his shoulders. Once he does that, I can sit him somewhat easily. Then we do shoulder-in, half-pass, haunches-in at the trot.

We go to canter. He has a lovely canter. You just plug your butt into the saddle and sit there. I do canter half-passes. He makes it simple. Enjoyable. Just like it should be.

I've ridden him enough to know that it just takes a touch to lift him into a canter and a switch of legs and seatbones to change leads. We head down the short diagonal, and I do two changes, ending up on the counter canter. Easy. Really easy. He's just rolling along. We do some more all over the arena.

Dang, this is fun.

I guess I won't talk to my trainer about giving up my lesson time. Not yet, anyway. :)