Exciting New Things for Me!

I'm so excited...I'm picking up some things that I used to do & haven't done in a long time.  Last week I brought a knitting project that I hadn't touched in a long time to a friend.  Alyssa had pulled the needles out & I had no idea how to fix it so I could finish the project.  She got me all sorted out & back on track.  My fingers are stiff, but I'm getting the hang of it again pretty quickly.

Today I got on a horse & rode.  I haven't done this in several years.  We've had horses for several years, but with little kids & so many things to do, I just haven't had time to do it.  Plus, my back wasn't great either.  Well, I've lost 30 lbs & am walking the treadmill everyday & felt strong enough to start up.  Hannah & her friend, Danielle gave me lessons.  I rode as a kid-but just trail-riding.  I took some college riding lessons, but they didn't really teach me anything.  These 2 girls are teaching me the fine points of riding...if the horse doesn't do what you want, they're showing me how to use my hands & legs & feet.  Basically, if the horse isn't doing what I want him to do, it's because I'm doing something wrong.  By just adjusting the tilt of my hand and lowering it or raising it, I can accomplish things I never dreamed of!  I am so very excited!  It's going to take a lot of work to unlearn the bad habits I had from just riding without real lessons, but I want to do it.  I've always wanted to do it...and maybe, just maybe I can do walk/trot adult classes at the gymkhana shows without killing myself.  cool!!!!
Casey was such a good boy-that's our palomino-he was so patient.  The only thing he did with me that he shouldn't have is he was being lazy.  With Hannah, he's not.  With me, he knew he could get away with doing the bare minimum.  He doesn't have a natural work ethic like Copper & Red...but it's good for me because they're teaching me how to keep him going with just the slightest bits of encouragement.  We don't hit our horses or get rough with them or jerk on their faces.  I'm so thrilled that my daughter & her friend know all the tricks needed to work with a horse without all that unnecessary abuse.  The two of them make riding look so easy, too.  Danielle had to ride next to me so I could see what her hands were doing.  It looked so easy, but it surely is not!  Those 2 girls are amazing in the saddle & I aspire to get more like that!