What a fabulous day! My Mum and my niece and I all headed off to the wilds of Lincolnshire to visit our mare who is currently in training to become a ridden horse rather than a giant lawnmower
The morning started well, but I felt awful as my little nephew couldn’t come with us and wasn’t really too happy about that…until I promised to take him to the park next week! We then started our journey and two hours later we were there…after two emergency potty stops – one for my niece and one for my Mum!
The location of the yard is beautiful, and I sat there dreaming about one day owning a house with enough land to be able to keep my horses at home…a view from the kitchen window of my horses would be perfect! We ate our picnic first whilst waiting for the trainer and her daughter to arrive – and then it was down to business.
Our mare came in from the field and looked gorgeous, and had kisses and cuddles with my niece…And then showed us how pretty she looks…It was then down to proper business and the trainer rode her for a short while…And then my Mum hopped on…or clambered on…arthritis doesn’t make ‘hopping’ easy!
She wasn’t really expecting to ride, so didn’t have her usual riding gear with her…but I think that this smile shows how pleased she was to have her first ride on the horse she has bonded with over the past couple of years…
My niece could hardly sit still whilst all of this was going on…although she did make a friend of the trainers daughter and sat there chatting away like a little pro!
She couldn’t wait to muscle in on the action, and ended up riding my Mums horse…I think you would agree that she is slightly over-horsed!
The next two that she rode were smaller, and she was so excited to get the chance to ride so many horses today…she normally has to put up with my naughty Shetland pony who tries to buck her off!
We struggled to get her back in the car actually, and it was only the promise of a hack around the village on the next visit that placated her!
It was a lovely afternoon! It was great to see how chilled out our mare was – the trainer is doing a fabulous job and I was thrilled to see how hard our mare tries…she really looked after my Mum and niece, which I was so pleased about. It is not an ideal combination at all – novice horse and novice rider – but my Mum and her bonded and so we are taking things slowly so that they can grow and develop together.
The plan is that my Mum will enjoy some nice steady hacks, and then once I am up and running – well, not running…just back in the saddle – then I will school her and take her out to some competitions. At the moment though, we have help from this trainer as I am not in a position to do this yet. Plus, you always need instruction and coaching no matter how good you might think you are…so I see no shame in having someone help us with something that we cannot do yet!
Watching my Mums mare learn reminded me of my weight loss journey really. There are things that I find simple, yet things that make me ‘stick’ a little…those things that I need to work harder at, or think about more carefully. I could see the cogs whirring in her mind – her ears flicking all over the place, trying to concentrate on what was being asked of her. She is on a big learning curve and I hope to be able to constantly develop her skills…just as I wish to do with my weight loss and my healthy lifestyle. I don’t just expect her to know it all…and neither do I expect to know it all…it is why I am undertaking the nutrition course, heading to uni for a coaching course, attending the Jessie Pavelka day – all of this is building my knowledge and skills to help me get to where I want to be!
Whilst it was a lovely day, it was also a little bittersweet. I got to watch people having such fun, and getting so much enjoyment from riding…whilst I sat on the sidelines and took photos! I have no issue with this though…for now…but I need to stay focused and crack on to reach my goal of riding my Mums mare on my birthday next year!
Right then, the usuals…
Breakfast: Spinach, mushroom, onion and tomato omelette on toast (2 x HEB).Lunch: Pasta quiche, tomatoes, a banana and nectarine.Dinner: Syn free chips, Quorn burgers and mushrooms, onions and tomatoes.
Snacks: Eat Natural bar (11 syns).
My food today has been lovely! Brekkie was a nice omelette on toast – nice and filling for my long drive. Lunch was shared between us all…I didn’t end up having blueberries, just the pasta quiche, a nectarine and some tomatoes, followed by a banana before we drove home…for some reason, I ended up feeling really faint and needed it! Dinner was lovely – a Quorn burger and cheese stack with sweet potato and normal chips and a superfree combo of onion, mushrooms and tomatoes!
Exercise: Not huge amounts…just a lot of standing and mooching whilst watching the horses.
Thank you so much for reading
Weight Loss Bitch xxx