Yesterday evening brought with it some interesting developments. It would appear that the person to whom I have been giving large amounts of shredded paper is looking for someone to ride her older horse. That person could be me! Of course, I shall have to demonstrate proficiency in the art of staying on, starting, stopping and steering. My legs remember, though, and have been telling me to get back on a horse recently. I, of course, have been telling them to shut up, as I can't really justify spending money on this, nor do I have the time, and I am not prepared to make both the time and money for this. If I only have to make one of the two, I am in!
The next step is to retrieve my riding hat and boots from the parents' house, and obtain a suitable pair of trousers. After that, I believe that I am to have a go at riding the horse (whose name is Holly, I think) in an enclosed space so that she can't run away with me.
I rode most weeks between the ages of 10 and 18, so I used to be mostly OK (although my sense of balance was always somewhat dodgy; I am hoping that the yoga and martial arts I have done in the meantime will help with this), but 18 was a long time ago. I think I rode again once when I was 20, but that didn't really work. I blame it on the horse being young and unbalanced, but it could well just have been because I was rubbish. I just prefer that explanation less.
Today we have been moving boxes around. We put my books and the DVDs in HWSNBN's mum's garage and collected a lot of boxes. I think that my next task will be to pack the contents of the kitchen (except for the plates, bowls, cutlery and three pans. Plus a roasting tin. Oh, and the cups and some glasses. And most of the food, for now. So basically I need to pack the kitchen equipment that I don't use very often, which is a different proposition, I suppose). That will start shortly, and will continue tomorrow afternoon.
Ah. I shall have to go - Stephen Fry's on (QI), and I've not seen this episode before.
Argh! He's gone orange! How did that happen?
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About Me
- Optistatic
- North, United Kingdom
- I am a person with a job. Sometimes I like to think about things, and will share my musings with those unfortunates who happen to get in the way at the time. You can e-mail me at: optistatic at hotmail dot co dot uk. If you do this, nothing will happen because I let that email lapse years ago 🙂
4 comments:
Oh, how fortuituous! A horse needing riding and your legs needing a horse! Er, well, that sounds a bit off, but whatever...
I'm sure it will be lovely to ride again, though I must confess I cannot speak from personal experience. It's not that we've no horses near where I live - we do, indeed! - just never had the opportunity/money to try.
Now, I suspect that someone with nerve issues in their leg who finds jostling and light touch very painful might well NOT enjoy it, so I shall leave the riding up to yourself. I shall simply enjoy vicariously.
I have a lovely image of you in tan riding trousers, black riding boots (perhaps they're actually dark brown?), a crisp white blouse with short sleeves and one of those helmety-hat things, in black. Of course, this image is much more spring/summer suited than the actual weater you've got right now, but that is my image.
Feel free to correct as necessary.
Money is a big thing with riding. It was what I wanted to do most in the world when I was a young teenager, so all of my pocket money went towards that and horse magazines. Birthday money went on riding gear, unless Daddy got a new job, in which case he always bought us something. My first riding hat came that way.
Legs are important in regular horse riding - horses are trained to move away from the leg, so one squeezes with one leg to make the horse go sideways, for example. I think that horse riding could readily be adapted to suit you, if you really wanted to do it (or you could go behind in a trap), but I expect that balance and joggling would be issues for you, insofar as balancing usually requires some squeezing.
I expect the image you have of me has the sort of thighs I would like to have. The real me is unlikely to be wearing tan riding trousers! I think navy or purple are more likely. My boots are black, and I really hope that they are find-able. My blouses don't do crisp - a t-shirt is more likely. My helmet is black and velvety, though. Alas, it is a child's helmet - it is basically one of those thick skull caps but with velvet and a peak. When the riding school had to conform to new safety standards they made us get rid of our old hats and offered new ones cheaply. It is better than nothing, though!
Sorry - did I shatter too many illusions?
LOL! I don't believe my mental Abi had model-slim thighs... and I'm happily adjusting said image to have purple trousers, which sound quite fabulous! And a t-shirt is fine, especially if it is fitted and girlie, I think! But that is just me...
Also, the helmety-hat thing sounds like what I had imagined, so this is good!
And as for my potential riding, yes, I think the jostling and such might be quite too much for me. What is a trap? Is it like a little cart to tow behind?
I don't have many non-fitted t-shirts. Actually, in my quest to throw out all of the clothes I will never ever wear again (the ones of those I don't love a lot, anyway) I have looked at my three non-fitted t-shirts. They stay for sentimental reasons. One of them was brought back from America by my uncle (along with the Levis I used to adore when my bottom was really quite small, although it did not feel that way at the time), another is the t-shirt with the names of most of the people in my year at University, and the third is for the Gospel Choir - I don't want to keep it, but really want to pass it on to someone who might use it. I must do that, or it will not happen.
So yes, the t-shirts I wear are indeed fitted. In this weather, I am afraid that I would also wear a few extra layers - ideally, a black fluffy fleece and a dark blue Puffa gilet (so very, very warm, but not really very sexy! I use it in my vegetable patch as, glory of glories, it covers the bottom of my back. That gap always used to leave me very sore and stiff.).
A trap (in this context) is indeed a little cart. After I wrote that I suddenly thought that you might not know what I mean, and might think that I had some profoundly weird ideas (well you might think that anyway; I was being specific in my profoundly weird idea idea), but hoped that the word would be in your vocabulary in this context. I think it is probably a 1950s English sort of word (too much Enid Blyton. If that is the right era), but you appear to have got the idea and hopefully didn't perceive me to be a weird freak along the way...
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