Notes from Summer Wood...

I promise my posts are not all going to be horsey from now on but just wanted to share my feelings at the moment. I didn't realise how much the face thing (I had a wrong time wrong place accident with the boys just before Christmas that resulted in 36 stitches and an operation on my face) and recent events had knocked my confidence. Not until we started looking at new horses. I am determined to get my nerve back however so here is day one with Darcy.
I'm not saying its boring- heck no! Its just the little demons in my head keep asking when she is going to do something wrong- I feel her breaking into a trot and wonder is it a trot or is she going to buck or tank off with me never to be seen again. She is being very forgiving and happily walked around doing serpentines and changes of rein, bless her as though she knows.
Has anyone else been here and got through it? I need success stories- lots of them!

I want to get to know her. I was saying this to MrP last night. I want to know what she does if something frightens her, I want to know if she puts in a mini buck when she goes into canter, I want to know what she does when she is on her toes, just so I can be prepared for it. I think I have ridden one too many naughty horses- we will gain each others trust and she will give me my confidence back I can feel it - then there will be no stopping us! Also I am riding in the brand new Barefoot saddle- which she has never been ridden in before and in the half hour that I rode her the girth straps had given that little bit and I could feel it wobbling- once I trust the saddle it will make a difference!! I'm really not making excuses here it wobbled - a lot!

She is lovely to ride though nicely forward going off a squeeze with your leg but not so much that you feel out of control- I really dont know what was going on with my hands- maybe a couple of lessons wouldn't do me any harm after all. MrP was saying "bring her head in like you did on Saturday and make her canter..." I could tell you what I said but...

Then I got MrP up on her and led him round, he fidgeted, and grumbled that the saddle wasn't straight , then that his stirrups were too short, then not the same length, wriggle wriggle fidget fidget, then that his hip hurt! Darcy was an angel and just walked with me on a leadrein. I told him to pull himself together and that I would have noticed if the stirrups were odd... but sure enough they were a hole out (so much for experience!!) then we had the whole rigmarole of getting MrP off (Darcy could yet become the first ever horse to be sainted!) He says that having his legs in that position hurts his hips somehow (thank god men don't give birth then!) and that however far forward he leans he can't swing his leg over the back of the saddle and he doesn't know what to do with his hands while he is leaning forward. I was tempted to say hold onto the reins to stop your horse wandering off, but being as he had done the whole thing just holding the pommel (Blackpool donkey style) and just the very end of the reins I thought it best to keep my sarcasm to myself (see I am growing as a person) So MrP scrambled off in a very undignified manner I think teaching him to ride could be a long process- at least he is trying and he's keen (but he better not spoil my horse in the process...)

As for the fat broad that he took pictures of... I will be keeping a very close eye on her! I told him last night, it's not so much his having an affair that bothers me, as him letting her ride my horse!! ;O)

Poppy thought it all looked such fun she wanted a ride- and got her hat on ready- but I told her she's not allowed in her 3rd trimester

Next post will return to baking and my early attempts to master a sewing machine and Cairo's 15 minutes of fame on ShopDogs blog and how it went to his head- tch!





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