Getting started

Let me start by saying I've been inspired by the FHOTD blog and, more recently, the training blog for the Very Large Colt. I would like to chronicle my Summer of 2008 (and beyond perhaps), as I work to conquer time, gravity and junk food and get back into horseback riding.

Here's my story in a nutshell. I've always been horse crazy. I was born to non-horsy, even horse fearing, parents -- and as such I had minimal exposure to them as a child. I started taking lessons midway through my teen years and rode sporadically until, at the age of 28, I acquired Jesse. Jesse was a 16hh Quarter Horse that I had ridden at a farm in Vermont at which I vacationed. He was lazy but with a sneaky buck, and we grew to know each other's quirks and preferences over many years together.

I ended up in Washington State in 2003. I had a new job and was far from family (Massachusetts) and friends (Massachusetts and Utah). My dad was diagnosed with cancer and passed away in January '03. I hated my new job and felt like a fish out of water. I was adrift.

In that year I acquired three more horses, and the following year (2004) I added four more. Sold three in 04-05 and got three more in '05. I fancied myself as being "in the horse business" and dabbling in training, but really I think I was -- and perhaps still am -- in a second childhood of sorts.

Anyway, I've kind of stabilized, though I do have a few nice mares and I'm doing a wee bit of breeding. I don't expect I will continue to do so for too long. Most of the horses I acquired were part of the PMU industry, so they were either babies or unhandled/minimally handled adult mares. It made sense, for a while, for riding to take a back seat to ground training and handling. Also, in order to afford this mid-life crisis I have all of the horses in a self-care boarding situation, so I also needed to work my proverbial butt off (if only that were true) just to keep them fed and cared for.

I'm tired of all that. I want to RIDE. But the obstacles have loomed large: age, tiredness, weight issues, laziness, inertia and a new one... PAIN. Unfortunately all of the barn chores have left me musclebound, stiff and inflexible. I have something called iliotibial band syndrome which basically means there are these well-meaning ligaments that do their best to stabilize my large and clumsy body as it lurches through the day. And these ligaments now resemble steel ropes down the outside of my thighs and they limit what I can do. Shovel shit? Easy. Sit on a horse without spasming and shrieking? Not quite so do-able.

I have a set of exercises for all of my "problem areas". It's almost summer, even in the rain belt of Western Washington. I have NICE horses, and enough of them to suit any whim I might have on a given day. There are far fewer chores in the summer. So there you have it... I'm determined to get my fat ass in the saddle and make real progress. I hope that the pain lessens as I stretch into riding positions again. And I want to write about my successes and hurdles, if only to keep myself going.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!