Olena has been riding at a new barn for the last 2 months. She is now in a private lesson verses a group, and they train the girls here to compete. The class has more structure and requires a lot more commitment and drive from her. We LOVED Banbury and I miss the staff and our friends there but they were geared at the therapeutic aspect of riding and Olena has the desire to go beyond that.
We've had a good time, we get to spend a lot of time with the horse and getting to know him. We are responsible for grooming, tacking, bathing...I wasn't exactly the most well liked person in the barn for the first few weeks, (the girls teased it was bc the horses knew I was clueless at what I was doing) I was so kindly nibbled on a few times, took a few harsh nudges to the fanny while trying to pic his hooves clean, and was even blocked in the stall while trying to exit. But with some practice and a bit more confidence ,I am now the coolest mom. I come armed with peppermints and horse treats, my grooming and tacking skills are fabulous...well almost, and now my loving friend Jiggers likes to lick me from face to feet when I am around. It is pretty gross I have to admit! but it has been a pretty neat experience learning about these amazing animals. I never considered myself afraid of horses, but when all of a sudden you are responsible for coming close and personal with one, having to walk it around, groom it, tack it...they can be rather intimidating. We getting into the groove.
Here are few pictures from last weeks session.
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