Pushing myself physically at the end of a long day

It was another early morning and very busy day with far too many meetings and phone calls. I finally escaped with barely enough time to get myself to the barn for a lesson. Fortunately, Fancy was relatively easy to catch (it appears she prefers carrots to apples). The lesson was hard work, with a horse in the arena when we arrived, and another who came in shortly before we were finished - which made her very distracted.

I worked on body position again. It’s a constant for me as my core isn’t as strong as I would like, my left leg is noticeably weaker than my right, and I tend to twist my upper body to the left. Ad in the fine details of hand position and elbow relaxation, and you can see how each ride becomes a workout for my brain as much as my body.

Despite the hard mental work, I left the barn feeling refreshed. All that rising trot had blown the cobwebs out. I had gotten random visits from someone’s happy dog. Nacho the barn cat wanted cuddles. I had successfully managed 1200 pounds of stubborn animal with a mind of her own, mostly by using my thighs. My lungs are full of fresh cold country air (and some barn smells). I will sleep well tonight.

This was Fancy yesterday morning.