'Ancora Imparo'

Ancora Imparo , or "I am still learning" if you don't know Italian, pretty much sums it up. That's what Michelangelo said when he was in his 80s. Well, I'm in my late 40s and "I am still learning" describes my recent experiences with horses. I started taking lessons when I was 7 on Tennessee Walking Horses out at the Fickling farm. When I was 9, I switched to hunter/jumpers and I've stayed with that discipline ever since, but I've dabbled in combined training and now I'm learning all over again how to canter. This pic above was taken about two hours ago while I was trotting in circles around Corrie trying not to slide out of the saddle. Dressage saddles are slippery. That's one of the things I learned tonight. I also learned that I've been bracing in the stirrups, which isn't surprising considering how much trail riding I've done in the last ten years. Consciously moving my legs back from the hips more in line with my elbows was tough and I felt as though my heels had to be up and my toes pointing down, but you can see in the picture that they aren't. And the leg still isn't back where it should be. Aaargghh!! This riding stuff is tough.

I've also learned so much since India was born. I've learned about starting young horses and in my quest to learn more about that, I stumbled across Mark Rashid. Go click on the link to the right that says "My favorite horse trainer."

I am still learning. Learning is tough. Learning is stretching my hips. But hey, if your hips are practically behind your pelvis and your shoulders are wide and relaxed and your lower legs aren't touching the horse, the paint mare practically falls into a canter when asked in the corner of the dressage ring. Amazing.

So, what have you learned lately? Tell me about it.