Colorado! and progress

Well, the weather has been ridiculous. I did get to go to Colorado, which is BEAUTIFUL! I had never been before so it was an experience.

Went Snowtubing....there was a lot of snow. :)

 

 Did I mention it's pretty there?

    

OH and they have a hella lot of breweries there to visit!!!! My favorite was Syntax. Absolutely delish liquors and mixed drinks!

And then I came home to....you guessed it....even more snow. See, we don't really get snow that much here. But we got 8-12 inches (depending on where you are). As you can imagine, it shuts NC down! We stop functioning. We don't know how to handle that capacity of snow. So it's put a little damper on my getting to ride, but it doesn't seem to have affected America much. Actually, he's doing really, really well. He has lost weight and he's looking nice and trim. Next step is to get that topline back. All in time! 

Here is a comparison picture of Last April until now. April is what he looked like before I started working with this trimmer. 

This may not look like a big deal to a lot of people but it really is. This is progress. The biggest thing is showing the comfort of his body. See how in the top photo he is closed up with his right side. That's how he always stood. I have so many pictures of him standing exactly like that. It was his comfortable pose. But slowly, he is standing more natural and square. He looks more comfortable. I am also wondering if getting that extra weight off of him is helping him to hold himself  up better as well. Hm......

Here's a photo from all last year until now....Look how huge and fat he is in the second to last picture!!!! Uhhh so glad I was able to get that off of him easily.

 

I love the progress of health you can see in this set of photos. He got healthier and healthier and the dapples exploded. Then he got fat and winter came. We had lymphangitis and a minor colic and digestive issues and no dapples. But now that we are back up and running. We are gold! Only upwards from here!

What is your ultimate goal in riding?

Last week, while mentally prepping myself for my first lesson in months upon months, I started to think of the questions my new trainer would be asking me. The history of my horse, what have we done together, how old is he, how long have I been riding. What is my riding history. And my favorite

What is your goal with riding?

For some, you would think this would be an easy and fairly straight forward answer.
-I want to get to 3rd Level dressage  - or-
-I want to get to 3' Jumpers and successfully -or-
-I want to compete in HUS world champions


oh no, not me. Mine is much simpler. Much less focused.

I want harmony. Sounds simple enough but what a process and intricate idea it really is. Because my goal is not aimed at one particular place in time. I want my horse and I to be harmonious. For us to be in sync and balanced. I want us to be as one. I want us to get to that place in our training where I can think, balanced and be balanced. Where we flow as one into the canter, balanced and methodical. Where we flow as one over jumps, landing on the other side and moving forward as if there was no jump at all. Harmony between rider and horse. It's simple but difficult. It takes time and trust and patience. Of which, I am have an ample amount. So I know that with guidance, we will get there.

That is all I want. Right now. :)

I believe our goals change as we achieve them. But for now, I'll aim for this!

So ask yourself these questions...

What is your ultimate goal? 

And are you riding with your horse, or are you riding your horse?