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....