Thank you for the encouragement, Bethani; it's much appreciated. Today I'm trying to figure out if my knee is bad enough to need a doctor-- I can stand and put weight on it and squat without pain, but I can't lift my leg and bend my knee in front of me, if that makes any sense-- I can't bend it if my foot is not braced against the floor, in other words. And I'm trying to decide if I need to switch to another riding stable, which will add an hour onto my commute time to my lesson (each way).
After I came off last night-- the horse took off at a full gallop and leaped into the air, according to my classmates-- the teacher asked, "What did you do?" and I told him, this time, nothing-- no stick, and I'd actually been pretty clear in my canter signal-- one of the other instructors taking the lesson with us said, "Oh, he does that sometimes." Great. Thanks. She added that he's more respectful with heavier riders, and I thought, well, then what the f*ck was up with putting a 115 pound novice on him, you know? I can only ride once a week (all I can afford) but at this point I'm not progressing as I should (I look like an old lady hunched over at the canter) and I think it's a combination of not feeling safe on half the horses there, and of the other horses, most of them you have to really work at to get to do anything, and then I don't learn how to give clear, consistent signals. Which I blame on A) it being a not-ideal situation for the horses (no outdoor turnout) and B) the owner buying cheap, cheap horses- either they are sound and crazy or sweet and unsound.
And I see the other instructor get on my recalcitrant mount and work him for the next 15 minutes and while I know she's been riding for 14 years, and I can see she's half-halting him every two seconds, I'm still frustrated that he doesn't take off with her because I feel like I'll never, ever get to that point. Sigh...
But no, barring any serious injury to my knee that would prevent me, I'm not stopping.
