Time for scattered updates
Nov. 13th, 2003 09:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
callistotoniWhat a day. Woke up with a sore throat; no big surprise, given that I've been fighting a sinus infection for weeks. Got to work and my friend Andrew had to take off for Urgent Care to make sure he wasn't having heart trouble (good news: he wasn't). Had to take off work early to go to an SCA riding lesson, that I couldn't bow out of because a) I'm the POC, and b) I thought I had to bring some of the SCA games equipment to show the instructor. Not a good time at work to be doing this. Unfortunately, the instructor never showed, so we all went up there for nothing. On the drive home I began to feel really crappy, which ticks me off big-time because I'm supposed to have a lesson tomorrow and work at the barn Saturday. So I'm making an early night of it and taking bunches of vitamin C. Visualize being well, visualize being well...
In other news, Sunday I went with Madbaker, his wife, and Donna and Andrew to see the Mighty Wind concert. Like Madbaker said in his write up, it was a great show and I too am really glad I went. Really a once in a lifetime thing. And I thought it was cool that I had listened to Harry Shearer's Le Show on Sunday morning, and heard him tell the audience when he signed off that he'd see some of us fans in SF that night. Harry Shearer in drag playing the base was worth the price of admission all by itself :-) .
Took Monday off after the concert (bad me!) and went down to see the new Ferry Building food complex in SF--very cool! The day was nice and sunny, which helped show off the warm tones of the tile as the sun comes through the skylights. With Sur la Table and Peets and several cool chocolatiers, it is a fiscally dangerous place! I also finished watching thier tapes of the Babylon 5 series, which I really liked (even though some people took some time to learn to act ;-) ). I'm such a geek...
Barn updates: Last Friday and Saturday featured lunging. Deb started me out with her old appy, Jokie, Friday night, and I got to see how a stud chain works. Then I got the Big Important Lecture on how to lunge safely and effectively. I also go to hear about horses that "come down the line", i.e. horses that decide to charge you by running down the lunge line. Key hints to stay safe and in control were *never* to drop your lunge whip and to stop it before it starts. All this came in handy Saturday, when Deb asked me to lunge Mai Tai (the bratty draft horse). About 3/4 ways into the lunging session Mai Tai swung her butt to the outside and tried to face me. I was prepared, so I quickly stopped her with the whip and got her going again. Then she tried to go in the opposite direction, but I got her turned aroung and going how I wanted her to. Then she was fine for the rest of the session. I later told Deb that Mai Tai is probably good for me, because she is enough of a brat that I can learn to correct but not bad enough to be really dangerous.
The other notable aspect of Saturday at the barn was that Deb had me mentor another woman who will be helping her with groundwork. Deb asked me if I'd mind doing it Friday night, saying that she really liked the way I worked with the horses. Nice compliment for both me and Collett, who has taught me a lot about working with horses on the ground.
With regard to lessons, I'm still working on the same stuff. Last Friday I had a mental breakthrough as to where I should be holding my hands with respect to both my body and the horse's withers--a good thing. Tuesday on Jokie I was doing more "bun management" training, and was having much better luck with head to the wall and hindquarters to the wall. (These moves, as you might recall from earlier posts, are when you move down the rail sideways, such that the inside hind leg is crossing underht the body and is in the same line as the opposite front hoof. Should leave three tracks in the sand: inside front, outside front and inside hind, and outside hind. OK, so sometimes I get inside and outside mixed up, but most of you don't really care so that this explaination is adequate :-) ). I'm doing much better going down the rail, but I still have trouble with shoulders in on the circle. On Jokie I was having trouble getting his butt far enough to the outside and preventing him from making the circle smaller. But it is getting better. Oh, and we did lateral leg cues at the sitting trot, so my seat is slowly getting better.
Funny thing, sorta: Collett came out to watch my lesson Tuesday, just to support my riding and to check out in person what I've been trying to describe. At the end she said I looked good, but she had trouble understanding what we were trying to do, and didn't know what we were talking about. Like I said, I'm learning to ride on another planet from most of the other people I know. Falzalot dropped in too, and gave me a wonderful gift of some clippers and a dressage whip, both of which she had inherited from her old instructor. Very cool! And I'm looking forward to when Falzalot starts up again with Deb--looks like I'll be handing Jokie off to her on Tuesdays after my lesson.
Well off to bed. I'm hoping to catch Master and Commander this weekend (I really like the Patrick O'Brian books), but given that I'm at the barn Saturday and sewing with a friend on Sunday, there may not be time. Assuming, of course, that I'm feeling better...
In other news, Sunday I went with Madbaker, his wife, and Donna and Andrew to see the Mighty Wind concert. Like Madbaker said in his write up, it was a great show and I too am really glad I went. Really a once in a lifetime thing. And I thought it was cool that I had listened to Harry Shearer's Le Show on Sunday morning, and heard him tell the audience when he signed off that he'd see some of us fans in SF that night. Harry Shearer in drag playing the base was worth the price of admission all by itself :-) .
Took Monday off after the concert (bad me!) and went down to see the new Ferry Building food complex in SF--very cool! The day was nice and sunny, which helped show off the warm tones of the tile as the sun comes through the skylights. With Sur la Table and Peets and several cool chocolatiers, it is a fiscally dangerous place! I also finished watching thier tapes of the Babylon 5 series, which I really liked (even though some people took some time to learn to act ;-) ). I'm such a geek...
Barn updates: Last Friday and Saturday featured lunging. Deb started me out with her old appy, Jokie, Friday night, and I got to see how a stud chain works. Then I got the Big Important Lecture on how to lunge safely and effectively. I also go to hear about horses that "come down the line", i.e. horses that decide to charge you by running down the lunge line. Key hints to stay safe and in control were *never* to drop your lunge whip and to stop it before it starts. All this came in handy Saturday, when Deb asked me to lunge Mai Tai (the bratty draft horse). About 3/4 ways into the lunging session Mai Tai swung her butt to the outside and tried to face me. I was prepared, so I quickly stopped her with the whip and got her going again. Then she tried to go in the opposite direction, but I got her turned aroung and going how I wanted her to. Then she was fine for the rest of the session. I later told Deb that Mai Tai is probably good for me, because she is enough of a brat that I can learn to correct but not bad enough to be really dangerous.
The other notable aspect of Saturday at the barn was that Deb had me mentor another woman who will be helping her with groundwork. Deb asked me if I'd mind doing it Friday night, saying that she really liked the way I worked with the horses. Nice compliment for both me and Collett, who has taught me a lot about working with horses on the ground.
With regard to lessons, I'm still working on the same stuff. Last Friday I had a mental breakthrough as to where I should be holding my hands with respect to both my body and the horse's withers--a good thing. Tuesday on Jokie I was doing more "bun management" training, and was having much better luck with head to the wall and hindquarters to the wall. (These moves, as you might recall from earlier posts, are when you move down the rail sideways, such that the inside hind leg is crossing underht the body and is in the same line as the opposite front hoof. Should leave three tracks in the sand: inside front, outside front and inside hind, and outside hind. OK, so sometimes I get inside and outside mixed up, but most of you don't really care so that this explaination is adequate :-) ). I'm doing much better going down the rail, but I still have trouble with shoulders in on the circle. On Jokie I was having trouble getting his butt far enough to the outside and preventing him from making the circle smaller. But it is getting better. Oh, and we did lateral leg cues at the sitting trot, so my seat is slowly getting better.
Funny thing, sorta: Collett came out to watch my lesson Tuesday, just to support my riding and to check out in person what I've been trying to describe. At the end she said I looked good, but she had trouble understanding what we were trying to do, and didn't know what we were talking about. Like I said, I'm learning to ride on another planet from most of the other people I know. Falzalot dropped in too, and gave me a wonderful gift of some clippers and a dressage whip, both of which she had inherited from her old instructor. Very cool! And I'm looking forward to when Falzalot starts up again with Deb--looks like I'll be handing Jokie off to her on Tuesdays after my lesson.
Well off to bed. I'm hoping to catch Master and Commander this weekend (I really like the Patrick O'Brian books), but given that I'm at the barn Saturday and sewing with a friend on Sunday, there may not be time. Assuming, of course, that I'm feeling better...
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Date: 2003-11-14 07:44 am (UTC)Sorry you're sick. Glad you like the clippers. Hope Deb says the whip is okay. What sewing day is Sunday? Not LBK's right?
I have got to finish my last doc today or I'm screwed. :-/ But I'd love to see M&C with you if I can swing it!