Saturday 22 October 2016

Week 1 Over

Hello friends 
Wow
It's feels so good 
To take the time to sit down with a cuppa and write
This week has been hectic to say the least 
Early mornings 
Long days 
Very early nights 
Lather, rinse, repeat 
Before I started the course 
I deliberately didn't think about what I was letting myself in for
Ignorance is bliss and all that 
I decided to take it day by day 
And hour by hour if necessary
The first half of the week was spent in the classroom doing assignments 
It was very laid back and relaxed 
No pressure at all 
Thursday and Friday are spent in the stables 
All week I was looking forward to working with the horses 
On Thursday morning 
We gathered in the centre 
And caught a bus out to the stables
I had my gear with me 
So I was good to go 
First we went up to the class room 
To do some theory 
That lasted about half an hour 
Then it was down to the stables 
And time to muck out 
I don't know about you 
But I have never in my life kicked out a stable 
And let me tell you 
It is not easy 
First I worked with one of the other girls 
And she explained things to me 
Basically 
You get yourself a wheel barrow 
A pitch fork
And a brush 
You remove all the horse poop 
And any of the bedding that is wet 
But Jesus H Christ 
Did I have trouble doing that
The pitch fork itself is heavy 
And I am quite a little person 
So I found the actual mucking out really hard 
Then of course the horse is in the stable 
So you have to manoeuvre around him
And try and get him to go where you want him to go 
So when I had filled my barrow 
I had to bring it around to the dung heap
And boy did I struggle with that 
The barrow was so heavy 
I was sure it was going to topple over 
If you can imagine 
I was walking forward 
Pulling the barrow behind me 
Coming out of the stables 
There was a slope 
And I swear to God
I nearly got run over by my own wheel barrow!
Then I had to go around to empty the barrow 
To what I can only describe as a quarry of horse poop
I had to go right to the edge 
And honest to God 
There were many times when I thought I was going to be pulled over the edge 
I literally don't have a lot of strength 
Grainne is the name of the woman in charge in the stables 
And she is one hardy buck 
When she saw me struggling with the barrow 
She said she hopes I don't drive
Ha!
Of course the funny thing is that I do 
But I definitely find using the barrow tricky 
The other new girl was there too on Thursday 
But because she has worked in a trekking centre before 
She knew a lot more than me 
So I felt way behind everyone else
Then it was time to groom the horses 
And that was nice
It was around then that I realised that I wouldn't be riding that day 
I can't lie 
I was really disappointed 
But I figured this week was a trial week
So no riding for me 
We breaker for lunch for an hour 
And no one had told me that there are zero facilities to get something to eat and drink 
I had nothing 
So one of the girls very kindly shared her lunch with me
After lunch 
The others had their riding lesson 
And I did more grooming 
And learning about the tack and all the gear 
I have to admit 
It was pretty overwhelming 
There was so much information thrown at me 
It was mind boggling 
By the end of the day 
I felt physically and emotionally drained 
And unsure whether this was for me 
We finished up in the afternoon
And I asked our tutor Joanna if I could speak to her 
I was honest 
I told her I felt a bit overwhelmed 
And that I was recovering from an eating disorder 
And was still quite weak 
She was nice to me 
Told me not to compare myself to the others 
And to work at my own pace 
She also said that if at any to me I needed to take ten minutes for myself that was ok
She also told me to really think about if I want to do this course 
And what ever decision I came to was ok
I left the stables feeling very tired 
It was really hard work 
But the positive is that I got to spend time with so many beautiful animals
So that made it all worthwhile 
My day wasn't over yet though 
When I got back in to town 
I was walking over to get my bus 
When I saw a woman holding a bird 
And was trying to cut something off the bird 
Curious as ever 
I asked her what she was doing 
She showed me that the birds feet were all tangled in fishing line 
And there was a fish hook through its claw
She held the bird 
And asked me to pull the hook out 
As you may know 
It's not easy to get a fish hook out cleanly 
I tried to pull gently 
But the bird started to bleed
But I kept trying 
And finally managed to pull it out 
The woman said she was going to bring the bird to the vet 
So I left her to it 
Honestly 
How do I get myself in to these situations?
But hey 
I was glad I could help

Yesterday 
We were out in the stables again
But just for a half day 
I was slightly dreading the mucking out part
And I prepared myself for the fact that I probably wouldn't get to ride
Again 
We started in the classroom
Before heading to the stables 
This time 
Joanna kept a good eye on me 
And helped me with everything 
Which was good of her 
I mucked out and groomed a beautiful pony called Blue 
He was a real pet 
A gentle little thing 
Then Grainne came over and asked me if I had ridden before
I said I had done a little bit 
And explained about the equine assisted therarpy 
She told me to rack up Blue 
And that I could join the lesson
I was super excited!
And Joanne helped me tack up 
I led Blue in to the arena with the others 
They all looked so confident 
And I felt so nervous 
I mounted Blue 
And took myself to the back seat of the line 
The minute I was on his back 
I felt right at home 
Then it was straight in to riding trot 
No warm up or anything 
Blue was a joy to ride 
And really looked after me 
We did a few rounds of trot 
Then we did something called the jumping position 
Which I'm presuming is the position you take when jumping a fence 
I just had to learn quickly and copy the others 
I am so glad that I had the experience I had 
As I was really thrown in at the deep end
Then some of the others did a twenty metre circle 
Again 
I was glad that I knew what that was
And I was able to keep up 
Then some of the others did a canter 
One by one 
I was at the end 
So Grainne told me just to trot 
But Blue had other ideas 
And broke in to a canter 
What a buzz!!
I loved it!
And Grainne actually said 'Good Girl'
Which is praise indeed from her
I thoroughly enjoyed the lesson 
And it really made all the hard work worthwhile
All too soon 
The lesson was over
So I brought Blue in 
Untacked him
Groomed him
And out his rug back on
Then it was lunch time 
And we were finished for the day 
And the week

This morning it felt so good to wake up
And realise that I had no where to be 
And nothing to do
It was a tough week 
But I have to say 
I thoroughly enjoyed it 
And I think I am going to do it
It's funny 
When I was doing the horse therapy 
I literally used to turn up 
Ride Star 
And go home 
I had no clue about all the work that went in to looking after horse 
And boy are they a full time job
I'm so glad to have a few days off though
To recharge my batteries
And catch up on myself 
I am so lucky to have the support of my family though 
My Mam looks after the dogs during the day 
So I don't have to worry about them at all 
Right 
I'm off to make a cuppa 
And watch Masterchef 
Hope you enjoy your Saturday 
And see you on the next post....






9 comments:

  1. he looks lovely how big is he? well done on you're first week , jo xx

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    Replies
    1. He's a big ol boy Jo
      Not sure of his exact size
      But he's beautiful!!

      How are you? X

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    2. well thank you, loving that you are doing this! have a good rest this weekend ready for next week, love jo x

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  2. Nice to see your face. :)

    If you keep at it, you'll get stronger, and then the work won't be so difficult.

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  3. Great to get caught up in your adventures. Wonderful pictures.

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  4. Oh mucking..... that I do not miss.

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  5. I'm loving reading about you getting out there and pursuing something you truly enjoy. I hope this week is going just as well.

    xxxx

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  6. Nice post. Thanks for sharing. Get to know about the best centre for diagnostic medical test in Kerala.

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Thank you for leaving some love x