Riding
Awareness of the outside world. On the subject of mental health, 988. Put it in the mental file next to 911.
~~~
Background. The idea of getting on a lesson horse causes me anxiety. At the moment, I am able to get on my own horse without excess stomach acid. [The Crux]
(Of course, talking about this causes my brain to suggest getting wound up about both. To which, I say Shush!)
A realization while watching a troop of beginner horses do their thing at Stepping Stone Farm.
One. I didn’t want to get on any of them. I knew this.
I was leading horses who were heading to a show to be ridden by tots. I had not the slightest interest in getting on a single one.
[Missing The Saddlebreds, Or Not]
That lead to …
Two. I have been putting ‘riding a lesson horse’ in the same bin as riding my own horse. Riding is riding, right? Both activities involve getting on a horse.
Maybe not, at least for me.
Walking into a room full of people you know is different than walking into a room full of strangers.
I can chat.
When I’m in extrovert mode, I have no problem plonking myself down at a table of strangers and introducing myself.
[More Banquet Thoughts, Where To Sit]
However, it is a separate skill.
Perhaps I need to approach getting on a lesson horse as its own activity, one that requires a different energy.
I shall have to ponder.
Onwards!
Katherine
Virtual Brush Box 