Saw a Man About a Horse (Now With Hyperlink Goodness)
Every time I drove past the stables on the way to school I though about how I'd like to ride a horse. I've been horseback riding on a trailride, and once at a school camp, but those weren't the same. I'm not really sure why I want to learn how to ride a horse, but I just do. Perhaps I'm a renaissance man. I put an ad on Craigslist in their barter section, saying that I would exchange video production services for horseback riding lessons. Someone wrote me back and suggested I contact Progressive Riding. I did. They said Yes.
I drove out to Aldergrove yesterday to meet with them, to find out what kind of video they wanted, and how we could arrange the trade. Instead of a meeting, I got a lesson. I was not at all prepared to ride a horse. My pockets were full of items as usual: wallet, PDA, house keys, car keys, chapstick, cell phone, pocket knife and some change. I was taught some horse safety, how to brush a horse, how to put on it's saddle and bridle, and then I was shown how to ride the horse. Pretty soon it was my turn. I'm out of shape, and have the flexibility of a soggy rock. I couldn't even get my foot into the stirrup without standing on a box, and even then it was hard, and I felt something in my already-sore back twist out of place. So there I was sitting on a horse. But the thing is, you're not really supposed to sit on a horse, you're supposed to essentially stand in the saddle, press your knees into the saddle to help your balance, hold your body in a specific position to be balanced, and then react to the movement of the horse. I thought that man invented the horse so we could just sit on it, and it would take us places in exchange for hay, and the occasional handful of oats.
Riding a horse is hard, and that I'm out of shape made it harder. Being able to keep my body in the correct position was very tough on my legs. I could feel my right leg shaking with weakness near the end. It was also very hard on my testicles. I was wearing jeans which held my balls in such a way that they were tightly squished against the saddle, and as the horse moved, my chance of being a father diminished. And then we went from a walk to a trot, and I felt like I was moving very fast, and my testicles felt ready to pop, and my legs felt ready to give up.
I'm going to go back next week. I kept asking about when he wanted to do the video, as I wanted to get some sort of specifics, but he didn't give me a firm answer. He wants 2 videos made, one about each horse that he wants to sell, each only 5 minutes. He also wants some still photos. Each lesson I take is valued at about $100/h, so I'd like to get the video stuff taken care of so I know how many lessons it would equate.
My legs are sore.
I drove out to Aldergrove yesterday to meet with them, to find out what kind of video they wanted, and how we could arrange the trade. Instead of a meeting, I got a lesson. I was not at all prepared to ride a horse. My pockets were full of items as usual: wallet, PDA, house keys, car keys, chapstick, cell phone, pocket knife and some change. I was taught some horse safety, how to brush a horse, how to put on it's saddle and bridle, and then I was shown how to ride the horse. Pretty soon it was my turn. I'm out of shape, and have the flexibility of a soggy rock. I couldn't even get my foot into the stirrup without standing on a box, and even then it was hard, and I felt something in my already-sore back twist out of place. So there I was sitting on a horse. But the thing is, you're not really supposed to sit on a horse, you're supposed to essentially stand in the saddle, press your knees into the saddle to help your balance, hold your body in a specific position to be balanced, and then react to the movement of the horse. I thought that man invented the horse so we could just sit on it, and it would take us places in exchange for hay, and the occasional handful of oats.
Riding a horse is hard, and that I'm out of shape made it harder. Being able to keep my body in the correct position was very tough on my legs. I could feel my right leg shaking with weakness near the end. It was also very hard on my testicles. I was wearing jeans which held my balls in such a way that they were tightly squished against the saddle, and as the horse moved, my chance of being a father diminished. And then we went from a walk to a trot, and I felt like I was moving very fast, and my testicles felt ready to pop, and my legs felt ready to give up.
I'm going to go back next week. I kept asking about when he wanted to do the video, as I wanted to get some sort of specifics, but he didn't give me a firm answer. He wants 2 videos made, one about each horse that he wants to sell, each only 5 minutes. He also wants some still photos. Each lesson I take is valued at about $100/h, so I'd like to get the video stuff taken care of so I know how many lessons it would equate.
My legs are sore.