Riding Overkill

I think I overdid it yesterday. I left work early and rode Mae. I forgot to bring my watch, and there’s no clock in the indoor, so I just tried to estimate a half hour for riding and about 10 minutes for a cool down. By the time we left the arena and I could find a clock, I saw we’d been in there for almost an hour and a half. Oops! Poor Mae. I think I need to give her a few days off. She’s been grabbing at the bit and I’m trying to work on that and find out what exactly is going on – if the bit doesn’t fit her or if she’s just tired and cranky. I might have a lesson on her next Tuesday or Wednesday, and I really hope the trainer can look at me and go, “Ah-ha! Here’s what’s wrong, and here’s how to fix it” for absolutely everything I do. (Don’t worry, I’m not deluded enough to think it will be that easy.)

So after riding Mae for way longer than I intended, I grabbed some dinner and then headed over to the Other Barn for my riding lesson. It went really well! I’m so used to riding Mae, though, that it was weird riding a different horse. And I hate to admit it, but he felt so much more solid, balanced and steady than Mae. I guess she and I still have a lot more work ahead of us.

Anyway, I feel all ridden out. I thought it might be fun to make Thursdays my “riding day,” where I go right from Mae to my lesson, but maybe it’s just too much. I didn’t get home till late at night and was exhausted. I’ll give Mae the weekend off, but tomorrow I’m heading back to Other Barn for the little schooling show. Yikes. Wish me luck!