ride horses

so I take lessons and ride as much as possible

I’m 59. I had a horse for 8 years but had not ridden for 15 years. I began taking lesson this summer and leased a horse. I find I have a lot to remember and to learn. I ache often from using unused muscles but my smile muscles are getting very strong!

this was something i wanted to do when I was a very little girl… and it always got put off because we moved or our family grew or timing was off. So I never got to ride horses, and every time I’d see a horse, the dream would revive. I hope I veer myself into this experience soon.

I love horseback riding.
I invite the opportunity into my life experience.

However, when it comes right down to it, there are no stables around here, so I would have to drive into Phoenix. The stables there are situated around South Mountain and it’s HOT there and there is no shade. It’s not like a nice trail ride in the forest or along a beach somewhere. It’s just in the desert and the horses are hot and there are flies all around. And bees. AND it’s really expensive.

But I still want to do it.
Because I love horseback riding.

I’ve been riding for nearly 12 years…really the only hobby I’ve done that gets me out of the house…unfortunately, I haven’t had as much time to go riding…school and work take up a lot of my time…and my car takes up most of my money… :P

The only fun exercise I know of!!

private

Yesterday i spent an hour down at the riding school riding a quite chestnut mare. I rode her again today. She isn’t that reponsive to the leg and i do feel bad kicking her on. I don’t agree with this in riding schools and think that gentle pressure should be put on the horses sides to encourage it to move. I did though throughly enjoy my lessons. I’ve had 2 hours this week and plan to have three hours next week to get me upto scratch before i go ride my throughbred i’m buying. So far i’ve only done walk and trot and some schooling exercises. I’ve also tacked up my own horse, taken her rug off and put her bridle on. Learning basic horse care is really useful to me as i haven’t been around horses for over a year!

Depending on what i do, buy a horse or not, i’ll take between 1-4 riding lessons a month. I’m planning to get myself upto the standard where i can get a qualification and work training horses. This is what i’ve decided i’d like my career path to be. I always knew i wanted to work with horses in some capacity and riding horses for a living and training them is my dream job.

Having decided to get a horse, i will have to ride six times a week to keep my horse happy. I can exercise my horse, but lessons are £20 an hour at the moment if i choose to have them. The cost of owning a horse is quite phenominal.

I’ve not been horse-riding for quite some time now. I believe the last time i went was last year. I think i’m going to start taking some riding lessons again every couple of weeks, just so that i can spend time with the horses and improve my skill. My ultimate life path is to be working with animals, so i do need to try and put myself in a position where i am moving towards this.