My horse riding journey so far

Okay, it's about time I blog about one of the things that I enjoy most - horse riding.

Let me recount - I started this hobby about 9 months ago, August 2009 to be exact. In the first lesson I couldn't believe how big the horses were! I guess the few horses I've ridden in my childhood back in China were of a smaller breed. He was so big I felt like I was on a boat rocking back and forth! It felt wonderful to finally start horse riding which is something I have always wanted to get into since small.

After the first lesson, I began trotting. Gosh, I have to say that if you don't know how to trot - it freaking hurts ('cos your ass literally smashes against the horse's back at high frequency and intensity - hm sounds a little wrong but whatever) and I couldn't walk properly the following days!...thankfully that's all behind me! Now getting into the rhythm is pretty much second nature to me and quite effortless too (pat on the back! haha).

Now I'm starting cantering, which is the 3rd gait (walking, trotting, cantering and galloping). I won't lie, I do feel somewhat tense and apprehensive given how fast the horses go at this gait. But once the pure joy takes over the fear, the wind in your hair, the going at high speed on a live animal and yes the feeling is awesome.

The slight fear in cantering maybe due to the fact that I've fallen off a couple of times. The first time was when I was relating to my instructor of how apparently you have to fall off over 100 times to genuinely call yourself a real rider. And no surprise, I fell off that lesson. The horse that I was riding, Florida if I recall correctly got spooked and did this jumping thing during which I lost balance and fell off. I actually landed on my feet - like these gymnastics finishing off on the rings (I would have probably scored a 2 out of 10 on that landing). The second time was when I was on a horse whose goal it seemed was to buck me off, tried to do it about hm 4 times and was successful on her 5th try. That fall hurt. After the lesson, I went ahead to give the horse carrots which is something I do after each lesson. A guy whose daughter was also learning to ride said how nice I am to treat her even though she throw me off. That was interesting 'cos the thought of not feeding her never crossed my mind. I guess to me giving them carrots does not mean treating them, but more as a thank you for allowing me to ride them. Come on, horses are not here just so that humans can ride them!

There is something nice and sweet about horses, they are such simple animals - their lives seem to revolve around carrots and food in general and they have so much love to give. It's so calming to brush their coats and after each lesson, to give them big gracious pats on the neck - which they love by the way (in the beginning, I'd pat them very softly afraid that I'd hurt them but then I realized that they are huge and the gentle pat probably felt like tickling). Yep, I love horses.

Okay, I have to sleep now - will be getting up at 6am for tomorrow's lesson, looking forward to it! I shall give an update of this journey in the not too distant future.

On the misadventures of my toenails

In chronological order of falling off,

1. A door slammed into my toenail - probably one of the worst pain I've ever experienced (lesson: check that my foot is not in the way when flinging a door open to escape some reeking rubbish bin chute)
2. Hiked on the destroyed part of Great Wall for 10 miles (lesson: never try out new shoes when hiking)
3. The nail fallen off due to incident 1 grew back crooked so had to surgically remove it so it can grew back anew (lesson: double check advices given by doctors working for public institutions, such as Melbourne university)
4. Went skiing at Mammoth, the nail which grew back quite nicely due to incident 2 is currently in the process of falling off - again (lesson: keep nails as short as possible)

I don't know if it's because my toenails are too fragile or that I'm just too not careful at times - hm probably a combination of both.

A great Buddy indeed

German Sherpards are known for their loyalty and intelligence. I'll have to get one one day! :)

On the matter of Man, Technology and Nature

The recent volcano eruption in Iceland caused airports to shutdown all around Europe for nearly a week and resulted in thousands of people being stranded. It's rather incredible to see how disorganized the airports gotten not too mention the thousands of lives it has affected - with people crying, complaining and some cursing about the situation. Was there any contingency plan? Nope. Our dependence on technology was made quite apparent here, maybe it's about time that we come up with backup plans before a system fails?! Volcanoes and other natural disasters can be devastating, yet I think we do need reminders now and then that the planet is alive and be grateful to be living on her and see her beauty everyday. The planet will be here long after mankind has gone and I just hope, although I doubt highly that it won't be left in ruins - I digress. In any case, this event signifies how fragile mankind is, our reliance on technology and the power of mother nature - which is a very humbling feeling indeed.

My attempt at getting bix into blogging

the benefits of blogging

1. so that bix can read back on her trips and experiences etc
2. so that I can see what bix has been up to
3. so that I can be amused

the 3 above alarmingly convincing arguments will lead bix to blog about her trip to Europe