Taste Vs. Authenticity

Derivation of this post: I asked the following question of a few folks. They thought that it was funny & that I should poll the group at large. So here we are.

When put the photo from this post [Doctor Whooves] as my desktop background, I finally took a look at the non-scarf end of the horse.

Oops.

I’m all about not going back to correct previous posts. Once opened, that door would lead to a bottomless, time-sucking vortex. Plus, a trimmed version of the photo marginalizes the scarf by pushing it closer to the edge of the frame. So, change the past or let it all hang out?

Inquiring minds are stumped.

Update, April 2014. I am not alone in this quandary. My Shetland: “I dreamt last night that PingPong came to live in my back garden.”, sixth photo.

Grazing Flashback

While my crack carpenter was redoing one of the walls to Rodney’s new stall, I had to keep Mathilda out of the barn and occupied. I forgot how tiring grazing can be. It’s unfathomable. Stand here. Hold horse. Read book. What is hard about that? It’s exhausting.

cov Heinlein RobinsonSince Rodney was also out, I didn’t want to get deeply engrossed in Strange Stones: Dispatches from East and West by Peter Hessler [Harper 2013]. Since Hessler is in the running to be my new writing model, I both read the essays and attempt to figure out how he did it. For a grazing book, I switched to Variable Star by Robert Heinlein and Spider Robinson [Tor 2006]. The plot points seemed familiar as they passed by. I couldn’t tell if I had read the book before and forgotten it, or have just read so much Heinlein that I can predict what is going to happen.

Rain Games

When it came time to take Rodney for his morning walk, an unnamed tropical mess was dropping massive amounts of rain from an upended bucket. Warm water, no wind, no flash bangs. Well, says I, eventing definitely happens in the rain. Jumpers and dressage may also. Off we go. I put on the Halter of Doom and headed out the door.

The trip as narrated by Rodney:
On the threshold, ‘You have got to be kidding me.’
Out in the deluge with twisted ears and a crunched up head/neck, ‘Us fancy jumper-type horses don’t do unpleasant weather.’
Passing under a tree branch, ‘Can we stay here until it dries up a bit?’

That’s one thing I’ve always liked about Rodney. Under the fuss and stew, he is essentially a lazy horse. He motivates more off a push than a pull. In the rain, he didn’t jig or bolt or spin. He simply slugged along and wanted it to be over. I can communicate much better with a horse who needs to be given a reason to move than one who requires tact and sensitivity to keep the lid on.

He’s also bold. We stopped at the edge of a temporary rushing streamlet. I thought he was uncertain. No, he checked it out to see if the water was worth a drink and then plopped his feet smack in the middle as he walked through. I know this doesn’t automatically translate to water jumps, but it’s a good start.

I would have tried for a picture of the drowned rat brigade but it would have required an underwater camera.

By the second day, he was simply resigned to whatever the crazy lady was doing to him now.

—
New York Times Crossword, Saturday July 6, 2013.
25 Down: Dressage half-turn.
Answer: CARACOLE.

Salute

I have the world’s most amazingly wonderful husband. What else can you say about a guy who will take three days of his four-day holiday weekend to renovate the barn so his wife’s oversized Thoroughbred can have a bigger stall?

This is more in the nature of a Facebook post than a blog post. I’m so tickled. You will have to bear with me.

—
New York Times Crossword, Saturday July 6, 2013.
25 Down: Dressage half-turn.
Answer tomorrow.

Form Does Not Follow Function

Although originally used to train riders, equitation has evolved into a hyper-stylized discipline that is an end in itself.

After my regrettable class at our fun show [Report], I have been feeling that my riding is in a rut. That I have gone as far as I can in saddleseat on good looks & charm. That I have gotten to the point where I am making the same mistakes I make on any horse. That I need to fix some fundamental error in the way I ride.

When Instructor and I were going over my show photos from the last big show [photo location given in Report], she said that I as far as horse guidance went, I rode just fine. If I were in a suit class – where rider position does not count – we wouldn’t bother picking these nits. She has said this before [Times Change]. I finally heard it.

I’m a good rider. Why is this so hard to say? Sure, I’m not Olympic level, but neither am I terrible. I can make the majority of horses go approximately where I want at approximately the pace I want. There is no deep tragic flaw that requires me to reinvent the wheel nor to reorganize my universe.

With a suitable horse, I could do a local hunter class or a low-level cross-country course almost immediately. With a nice horse and some ramp-up time, I could go further. I can accomplish a lot just the way I am. However, if I wish to engage in the particular activity that is equitation, I must add on the specific skills required for that endeavor. Similar to learning the order of the letters around the outside of a dressage ring.

It’s not rocket science. Why do I keep trying to make it such? This is meant with no disrespect to riding. Per Wofford, it’s simple; it’s just not easy.