Today's ride

I had a make-up riding lesson today, because Hank was being a butt head yesterday and ignoring me--and Krystin. Not a good boy! But, oh so handsome.

Today Hank was totally filthy when we went to get him from the pasture...he had rolled in mud. Lovely. Krystin rode Francis with us, and that seemed to help Hank be more confident and relaxed. He responded quickly and calmly. We had a great ride! Until...

Hank saw some poles lying outside the arena, poles which we had already passed about six times, but they were on the other side (we had switched directions) so now they were scary poles. I was riding along, not paying attention, grooving on the fact that I was riding a horse and having a good time, when WHOOSH! Hank sidestepped, tried to turn, and tried to back up all at once. I lost my balance a little, hunched forward which is a big no-no, and squealed like a little girl. Also not a good idea. It took me a couple of seconds to get myself together and tell him "whoa" and sit deeply in the saddle. When I did, he responded quickly and calmed down. So, partially my fault for not responding quickly enough in the right way, and partly Hank's fault for being a big sissy. Of course I felt like a complete moron. Sometimes I get frustrated with taking only one lesson a week--seems like it will take forever to get any skills at all. Family budget be damned! :)

Then I went to Whole Foods for groceries and got myself a big candy bar. All is well. :)