Happy noises
This horse therapy thing is working out just as well as I'd hoped, and really quite quickly.
I've completely recovered from my initial organisational urges and am a reformed corporate refugee. It's amazing; I exist completely in the moment, just doing the task I'm supposed to be doing. I don't multi-task, but in a good way as opposed to the inability to multi-task that freaked me out so much last year. Even on the minute's walk from tack room to stalls all I'm thinking about is the gear. It's peaceful; it's almost meditational. I'm a good minion.
It's heaven. I know enough about the afternoon routine now to potter about and be useful, and today I ended up walking Lockey* around the arena for about 20 minutes. And not just around in big circles, but through twists and turns and small obstacles designed to warm him up and stretch a little. He did some quite complicated things in response to my nudges and urges, which felt really good. I felt in tune with this huge warm strong animal. I shared some of his strength.
*purr purrr purrrrr purrr*
Lockey's rider was late so I and two new teenaged girls got a quick lesson in helping during lessons (mainly don't scrape off the helpers around corners), but I had to hand over the reins eventually (strictly speaking it was the lead rope) because my legs were protesting the soft sand.
I also had more good experiences in the field catching loose horses. I've either been given easy horses to catch, or my book learnin' on the subject is paying off. All I'm doing is approaching from the side (right in the middle of the horse's field of vision), making enough noise to be noticed, keeping my eyes on the forequarters and keeping my hands loose and fingers together. I'm absolutely loving this chance to put theory into practice--even if I don't actually know what I'm doing is effective--and tune my mind to a completely different frequency. Someone gave me a tip about haltering, and so I learned a thing today which will save me some fumbling next time. How I love the illusion of expertise ;-)
Today I got to shovel my first manure! And it was great! Except for the bit where the lady leading the pony in question asked for the bucket and scraper because her horse had "done a whoopsie". A what???
I'm told it's only a matter of time, but as yet I've not been kicked, stepped on, or bitten. I've been licked and nuzzled instead. I'm not looking forward to the common injury of being kicked in the ankle while leading, but since I use a loose lead I'm hopeful I'm giving the horse enough room to choose its own footing. It's such a buzz to walk with a relaxed horse at your shoulder.
The cats seem very small, predatory, and independent in comparison :-)
(*) Lockey with the two hind sockies. I'm not trying to rush the process of learning names.
I've completely recovered from my initial organisational urges and am a reformed corporate refugee. It's amazing; I exist completely in the moment, just doing the task I'm supposed to be doing. I don't multi-task, but in a good way as opposed to the inability to multi-task that freaked me out so much last year. Even on the minute's walk from tack room to stalls all I'm thinking about is the gear. It's peaceful; it's almost meditational. I'm a good minion.
It's heaven. I know enough about the afternoon routine now to potter about and be useful, and today I ended up walking Lockey* around the arena for about 20 minutes. And not just around in big circles, but through twists and turns and small obstacles designed to warm him up and stretch a little. He did some quite complicated things in response to my nudges and urges, which felt really good. I felt in tune with this huge warm strong animal. I shared some of his strength.
*purr purrr purrrrr purrr*
Lockey's rider was late so I and two new teenaged girls got a quick lesson in helping during lessons (mainly don't scrape off the helpers around corners), but I had to hand over the reins eventually (strictly speaking it was the lead rope) because my legs were protesting the soft sand.
I also had more good experiences in the field catching loose horses. I've either been given easy horses to catch, or my book learnin' on the subject is paying off. All I'm doing is approaching from the side (right in the middle of the horse's field of vision), making enough noise to be noticed, keeping my eyes on the forequarters and keeping my hands loose and fingers together. I'm absolutely loving this chance to put theory into practice--even if I don't actually know what I'm doing is effective--and tune my mind to a completely different frequency. Someone gave me a tip about haltering, and so I learned a thing today which will save me some fumbling next time. How I love the illusion of expertise ;-)
Today I got to shovel my first manure! And it was great! Except for the bit where the lady leading the pony in question asked for the bucket and scraper because her horse had "done a whoopsie". A what???
I'm told it's only a matter of time, but as yet I've not been kicked, stepped on, or bitten. I've been licked and nuzzled instead. I'm not looking forward to the common injury of being kicked in the ankle while leading, but since I use a loose lead I'm hopeful I'm giving the horse enough room to choose its own footing. It's such a buzz to walk with a relaxed horse at your shoulder.
The cats seem very small, predatory, and independent in comparison :-)
(*) Lockey with the two hind sockies. I'm not trying to rush the process of learning names.