The Plan

Dear Horse Peeps,

So, in my comment to Mrs. Mom, I did say I'd post about my riding plan here.

I have rode exactly 3 times in the last 3 years, after an 11 year hiatus. During those 11 years, I have sustained more than a couple head injuries. One left me with about 3 years of vertigo and a fear of heights since then. The vertigo is gone. I now fear not having control and falling.

Additonally, as some of you know, I've had Casey now for 2 years. During this time, he's been gaining weight and rehabbed and retrained. Then, he came home to the mud, muck and slippery slope of the farm. Then we moved here and he, being black, melted in the heat of Georgia.

It has cooled off. I have debated turning the heat on these last 3 mornings.

It is time to ride.

I know what I need to get back on the horse. Really, as someone who taught her friends to ride in high school and eldest daughter in the last couple years, I KNOW what is needed. DOING it has been more of an obstacle.

I NEED someone I trust to be holding the lunge line with Casey. I NEED that safety net to feel safe enough to mount my ginormous horse. Ok, at 16hh and 1300#, he feels ginormous. To me.

So far, here in Georgia, the only person I know who knows squat about horses and is close is my husband, Bad Pants. (Mrs. Mom is about 5 hours away, so that doesn't work). Unfortunately, Bad Pants is up to his proverbial eyeballs in work, often not escaping his home office until 8-9 pm on average. So, that will not work.

I no longer have a truck since the tow bar failed before leaving town on our move here. No truck means no trailer. Buying a new truck is in the future, but not quite today.

So... (dramatic pause)

I posted an ad on Craigslist looking for a trainer to come to me. They are, after all, elusive creatures here in Georgia, preferring that everyone come to them. Fortunately, I found someone! So, I will be paying more to have someone come to me, to work with me with MY horse. Of course, this plan also includes a few lessons at their place on their lesson horse. With luck, I will have my first confidence building lesson no later than October 17th!

In the mean time, I am walk/jogging (doing c25k training again) with the hopes of running my first 5k this coming spring, along with Pilates to strenthen my core for riding and upper body strength training since I'm no longer moving 7-8 three string bales of hay every 2 weeks.

This is The Plan.

Run. Ride. Pilates. Strength Train.


So, if my lard @ss can do this, and I wear a larger pants size than MM, so can you!


Love,

OS


P.S. Did you know horseback riding burns 833 calories per hour? Amazing!