Vacation Time

Here’s another photo of the kitten

Essie can jump again…yay! But I am about a thousand miles away from her at the moment. Taking time off from riding is, I believe, good for both the rider and the horse.  Jumping is not a great thing for horses and can cause a lot of injuries, especially ones that cause permanent damage. When I’m home, we have three jumping lesson plus the trainer riders her once or twice and I hack her at least once. That means she is ridden six days a week, four of which are jumping, on top of daily hand walks. By all means it’s good that she gets out every day and exercises but I believe, especially with her injury, that she should have a couple weeks where she is ridden, with the intent of training rather than fun, for three days. I get free days where I don’t spend four hours at the barn and Essie gets time to be a horse and just be fat and sassy and judge others as a mare.  Riding is a stressful sport, more so because you are working with an animal which feels all your emotions. If you’re having a bad day you can bet your ass that the lesson is going to just as bad. Though there are exceptions to that rule, I do think that bad lessons are also good for you, makes you stronger.  All-in-all I like vacation time and I hope Essie does too.