Adventures in Horse Riding

For only my second time riding a horse, I like to think I did pretty well. I stayed on the horse which was a huge win. I was also the best in the class (sure there was only a 7 and 8 year old, but still).

There are many things I have learned about horseback riding in my two lessons. Trotting is way faster when are on the horse. My wife likened it to driving a car – the first time you are in the driver’s seat, slow speeds feel like a million miles an hour. I am told that sensation gets better the more you ride. I was concerned because horses have four gaits: walk, trot, canter, and gallop. (Humans only have walk and run.) If trot feels like I am on a bouncy lightning bolt, what is canter going to feel like?

I did have plenty of practice trotting during the lesson and even weaved through some cones. Getting a horse to trot is not as easy as I thought it would be. Sometimes you have to give them a good kick! The kick gets them from “you are a beginner and I will do as I please” to “gahhh! I didn’t realize you were serious – fine, let’s trot.” My horse, Rico, is a little challenging to get going; some would call him lazy.

When Rico and I are walking, it is not enough to just walk. Just walking is for suckers. Instead I have him weave through the giant mounds of horse poop. I figure Rico doesn’t want to walk through it and it helps me work on my steering. Everyone wins.

We are a team – Team Drico.



In other news, I built a square foot garden – 3x3. It is only one third filled with herbs. Basil, parsley, and rosemary. So far they are doing well. Pictures will be forth coming. Once complete, building a garden will totally go on my list of new things. Also on my list of new things, I am making limoncello. Just to be clear, I will not put every new food I make on my new things list, but it is a three month process. Anything new that is a three month process counts.



Lastly, I bought, well Mary bought me, a heart rate monitor watch. It is pretty cool. I used when I played ultimate Frisbee this past weekend. I think the monitor is pretty accurate. I was getting tired when my heart rate was high and better when the heart rate dropped. It was in line with my heart rate zones. What I decided is that I am out of shape (for me), and need to do more aerobic exercise. I think the heart rate monitor watch will assist greatly in this endeavor.



To recap, horses = fun; garden = awesome; heart rate monitor watch = healthy.