Trying to Get Riding Fit with MS at the Speed of a Snail

[Jackie_Cochran]

I got my riding lesson today on Cinnabar at Debbie’s stable. Since I am still adapting to the time change I had no energy.

I did not get to use the Posture Prep on Cinnabar’s back or hind leg muscles leading to his hamstring so he was not moving as well. I did get to use my Resona Vibe PEMF machine on the tendinitis setting and he seems to like that–he nuzzled me even though I did not get to use the Posture Prep on him.

The Resona Vibe machine is helping him some, I got him to back up two full strides without much problem. Isn’t it nice when we find something that helps our wonderful riding horses!

I just walked around, mostly sitting down though I did manage to ride on 2-point some at the beginning which seemed to help. My right lower leg kept on wanting to stay back, and the thing was that it felt normal to me, like my leg was in the right position. Debbie finally got me to where my right lower leg was in the right place where of course it felt too far forward. My nervous system was not working that well today.

I concentrated on one thing today, using my inside leg to the outside rein. When I used my lower leg nothing much happened no matter when in the stride I used my inside lower leg. My outside rein remained unstretched and Cinnabar was not that impressed (“what do you actually want me to do lady?”)

Then I used my inside upper thigh to press against the horse’s spine when it pushed against my upper thigh. Lo and behold Cinnabar immediately stretched his body on the outside of the curve and Cinnabar gave me great contact on the outside rein.

Debbie saw this and when we discussed it she told me that with some horses the riders have to use their ENTIRE inside leg hard from hip joint to heel to get any results.

I lasted 25 minutes in the saddle. When I got off I was able to walk back to the barn a lot faster than after my last lesson 2 weeks ago, I was still slow but I did not have to stop several times to rest so at least I am improving somewhat there.

I hope this following statement does not get me banned. My DH was reading the news on his cell phone while I rode. On the way home he told me he was very glad I had bought the Home Horse because from what he was reading about the economy and certain economic proposals right now that I better prepare myself. There may be a time relatively soon when we can no longer afford to pay for me riding horses anymore, and I am just paying $30.00 USD for my 30 minute lesson once a week.

This is making me feel depressed and rather sad. I LOVE riding horses, and it is the most effective physical therapy for keeping me walking on my own two feet.

I am glad I bought my Home Horse, but darn it I just really prefer riding a real live horse.

[NaturallyHappy]

@Jackie_Cochran

I hope this following statement does not get me banned. My DH was reading the news on his cell phone while I rode. On the way home he told me he was very glad I had bought the Home Horse because from what he was reading about the economy and certain economic proposals right now that I better prepare myself. There may be a time relatively soon when we can no longer afford to pay for me riding horses anymore, and I am just paying $30.00 USD for my 30 minute lesson once a week.

I hope that is not the case. You’ve been so loyal and have gone so much to help those nice horses, perhaps Debbie would offer you a significantly reduced rate.

[3PonyFarm]

I hope you can keep riding. I suppose there is no way to claim it as a physical therapy expense is there?

[Jackie_Cochran]

Shannon could not come out today. I don’t think any reasonably sane person would do it today, we are getting the remnants of the big storm of the last few days. Just rain so far with occasional grumbles of thunder off in the distance.

So DH helped me ride my HH. Since I would not have been riding a real live horse anyway in this weather I would have been riding my HH anyway. I lasted just 14 minutes. I did sessions of staying up in 2-point for a count of 10 with DH keeping an eye on my balance. I balance seated, walked 10 strides seated using my gut muscles, walked 10 strides seated using my butt muscles, posted 10 strides 2 or 3 times, I did seated “canters” left and right, balanced some more, and cycled back through doing all this 2-3 times.

At least I got into my saddle today.

[Moss]

It’s always a good day when you can get in the saddle, no matter how long.

[3PonyFarm]

I hope your weather improves for your lesson this week.

[Jackie_Cochran]

Today was absolutely perfect for my lesson, a little nippy at first but by the time I got to the ring I had already taken off two layers, the sun shone, the wind was just a mild breeze, and the ring was not full of puddles.

I even did a short posting trot, the first time since last May when I fell off of MJ.

I am really, really TIRED even after a long nap.

Cinnabar was not very willing to move out today. He has been used for a good number of lessons lately and he just did not feel like moving. I did the Posture Prep, we put the Resona Vibe on him (tendinitis setting), we finally remembered his F.I.R. butt blanket, and he really just did not want to move out at all.

So I used a lot of leg, and more leg, and light touches with my spurs, and finally my crop. Then, with Debbie’s permission I tied up my bridoon rein and kept contact with just the curb rein which usually is a guarantee that he will relax and move on out. He was not impressed at all. I finally had to trot him to get his muscles loose enough so he would want to move out. His first reaction was “you want me to TROT? You NEVER want me to trot—slave driver.”

His turns on the hindquarters were good to the left, to the right something just was not working with his body. As usual I accepted what he gave me after a repetition or two, it wasn’t his fault that his body did not feel as good as usual.

Next week Debbie will be gone on a well deserved vacation so when Cinnabar gets used in a lesson it will be with someone who does not like a horse moving out like I do. He will get to be lazy again, patiently plodding around the ring at maybe 2 MPH, what he thinks is a proper speed for doing a riding lesson in the ring.

I rode for maybe 25 minutes, and I am so very, very tired. Posting the trot is something I need to do a lot more of to strengthen my body so I stop shifting around in the saddle since my legs are so weak. At least a rode a real live horse today!

My posting trot was pathetic, I felt like I was shifting around in the saddle.

ETA: I also conditioned my Crosby PDN with the Passier Leather Balm. I am so lucky that this saddle was made with the old type of saddle leather that actually absorbs conditioners rather than letting the conditioner just sit on the surface top and bottom. This will let the saddle better adapt to the new configuration without causing damage to the 45+ year old leather.

[3PonyFarm]

Glad you got to ride! Rest up!

[Jackie_Cochran]

As I laid in bed thinking about my lesson on Wednesday my mind desperately tried to come up with solutions to not having a horse’s barrel between my legs when I ride my Home Horse.

I have all types of extra tack on my saddle racks, including quite a few saddle pads/corrective pads that I am not using now at either stable. After thinking and looking at all that gear I picked out, to put on the wooden seat of the HH:

Fenwick Western Pad, (longest one) folded in half along the spine. This I draped over the seat of the HH so the spinal fold is in front.

My ThinLine Contour Pad right on top.

Then, to top it all off, my Total Saddle Fit Western Squish pad, put on normally. This one extends a good bit to the rear. We will have to move the HH further away from the wall and furniture so I can mount and dismount.

Since my heels have been hitting on the HH platform when I post or 2-point I had raised the height of the HH seat by one hole, which meant I could put the double bridle attachment on with the stabilizing screw cap. However when I saw how thick those piled up pads are I immediately knew I had to put the HH seat height back to the old, lower hole or else I would not be able to get on. I had been looking forward to a more stabilized bridle attachment but right now my LEGS are my main problem.

I hope Shannon will come out tomorrow, if she does not my DH is here and will help me. Shannon understands the supreme importance of the rider’s lower leg at a level that my DH cannot since he does not ride horses. I will desperately need GOOD feedback to improve!

I sure hope this works, especially since all those nice pads have not been in use. That money has already been spent. I am just trying to make do with what I already have.

I also conditioned the saddle I use on my HH, Crosby PDN Wide Front that was made around 50 years ago, when they still used leather that ABSORBS conditioners. Yes, I will have to wipe off the excess but this leather absorbs conditioners very well unlike some of the more modern saddles I own. I did this to save this precious saddle’s leather when it adjusts to the the widening of the saddle platform.

[Jackie_Cochran]

Shannon came by today and helped me ride my Home Horse. I rode it for 20 minutes today.

With all the pads it was sort of difficult to get on, which got the saddle off center, but my thighs no longer felt like they were floating on thin air.

I started off with the posting trot with my feet in the stirrups. I did 2 sessions of this.

I balanced in 2-point with my feet in the stirrups, barely getting off of the saddle. I also did 2 sessions of walking for 20 strides in 2-point.

Then I got tired of my knees being over the knee roll so I lengthened my stirrups one hole. That got my knees behind the knee rolls.

Most of the time I was walking with my feet in the stirrups. Shannon said that I kept my lower leg reasonably steady whatever I did in the saddle.

It was nice to have more between my thighs and I felt somewhat steadier in the saddle. I did need Shannon’s help to get my right leg over the cantle of the saddle when I got off.

Shannon got on then. She also liked the feeling of having more between her thighs and not feeling like all her leg was floating in thin air.

I will not be surprised if my gripping muscles hurt some tomorrow because my thighs were spread more than usual for riding the HH.

[NaturallyHappy]

I can’t believe you could stay on a stack like that!

[3PonyFarm]

Good workout!

[Jackie_Cochran]

I did not get a lesson today so my DH helped me ride my HH.

I changed my padding on the HH. I removed my Fenwick Western pad and used my ThinLine Contour pad as the base layer. On my Total Saddle Fit Squish Western pad I put the bridge shims on the outside of the pad–the shims’ top have velcro on them and they stuck fine to the rather coarse fabric of the pad. I put the shims further down than they would have been too.

I lasted almost 10 minutes on the HH. I started off walking 20 “strides”, balanced, walked another 20 strides, then I did a session of posting for 20 trot “strides.” After that I did 2-point for a count of 20, walked some more, did another 20 strides of posting, balanced some, walked some more, and I did a third session of posting 20 strides.

I got TIRED today.

The change in my pads mostly worked. My upper and lower thighs felt like they had support and even my upper calf felt some support from the saddle. I need to add the rear shims too for Sunday because when I collapsed back in the saddle I rocked back all the way to the rim. At least I felt like I had something between my legs instead of feeling like they were floating in thin air.

I had to take a 2 hour nap because the additional posting made me so tired, but I have to get better with posting again. Maybe on Sunday I will try posting 25 times each posting session for all three posting sessions. Eventually, if I do this enough, my seat on the horse should get better for the trot.

[3PonyFarm]

Good workout!

[Jackie_Cochran]

Shannon came out today. I lasted 23 minutes on the Home Horse.

I started off balancing, then I picked up my stirrups, did a short walk, then I posted 25 times. After resting a minute or so I got up into 2-point for a count of 25, then I “walked” in 2-point for 25 strides. After collapsing back in the saddle for several minutes I managed another session of posting for 25 strides. It may take me a while before I can do three sessions of posting 25 times because this all got me TIRED.

Then I “walked” for 25 strides using my gut muscles, then I rested and balanced, then did 25 walking strides using my buttock muscles to move my HH under me. The rest of the time I just balanced, walked for a few strides, then went back to balancing again. Shannon said that even when I posted I mostly kept the HH centered from side-to-side and somewhat balanced front-to-back.

Then I sat in the saddle and used my upper thigh/crotch muscles to move the HH from side to side 25 times.

Then Shannon got on. She liked my new pad set up of just using the Total Saddle Fit Squish pads with shims under my thighs and another set of shims back where my butt is when I sit down in the saddle with the ThinLine Contour pad on top of the TSF pad. With one less pad Shannon was able to get all of her feet, including her heel, to rest on the HH platform. She LIKES having something more substantial between her thighs and upper calves too because this makes the HH feel much more like a horse instead of just having thin air under her legs.

Putting these two pads on the HH makes it so much more useful to me for getting my leg muscles exercised and fitter.

Now I just have to work on increasing my endurance in the saddle.

[RMJacobs]

I was tired just reading this! You go! You are amazing.

[3PonyFarm]

Excellent!

[Jackie_Cochran]

I did not get to ride a real horse this past week.

Debbie called me on Wednesday morning because a human stomach bug was going through. I was disappointed but I thanked Debbie for looking after my health.

My DH helped me ride my HH on Thursday. I worked hard (for me) and fast (for me) and I only lasted 13 minutes. I have upped my goals to 25 repetitions or counts, walk strides, posts for the trot, “leading” with one hip or the other for the canter, 25 count for 2-point, then 25 walk strides in 2-point, and using my upper thigh gripping muscles to move the HH from side to side using only my upper thigh. This got me really, really tired.

Today Shannon came out, and as usual I last longer on my HH when Shannon is here.

One bit of really good news for me, because of my new padding system for the HH (TSF Western Squish Pad with center and rear shims on the outside of the pad + ThinLine Contour pad on top) I can now get my feet in the stirrups by myself instead of having to have my spotter go to each side to get my feet in the stirrups. This makes me feel better about it all.

Today Shannon came out to help me. Today I lasted 26 minutes. I started off easy, with my feet on the platform for balancing, a short walk, and a short time balancing in 2-point which took around 5 minutes.

Then I got my feet in my stirrups without help again, walked a little bit then posted 25 times, rested, got up in 2-point for a count of 25, rested, walked in 2-point for 25 strides, and then I sat back down in the saddle and rested by just balancing for a while.

Then, since I am glutton for punishment, I posted another 25 strides with my feet still in the stirrups, balanced sitting down and then in 2-point, then sat down to walk the first 25 strides by using my gut muscles then the next 25 strides using my butt muscles. I noticed that the HH moved a lot more when I used my butt muscles than when I used my gut muscles.

At that point the HH got to lurching under me so I put my feet back on the platform. I did another set of posting 25 times, moved the HH seat from side to side a tiny bit using the gripping muscles at the top of my thighs for 25 times, and then I “cantered”, 25 times for each lead. The rest of the time I mostly balanced. All through this I tried to keep all my inactive muscles relaxed and made sure when I used my muscles that I really relaxed them when I reached my goal and I kept my attention on my position of my head, shoulders, back, lower legs, and keeping my heels down or if sitting keeping my weight in my heel. I also kept my attention on opening and closing my elbows when appropriate.

I am tired. I hope all this work improves my riding enough so that Cinnabar will be happier with me riding him (he does not protest, he is a wonderful lesson horse!)

I hope I get my lesson with Debbie and Cinnabar on Wednesday. I hope I will be steadier in the saddle when I do the posting trot on him again. I cannot expect Cinnabar to give me a more advanced way of moving unless I stop having times when I ride like a beginner.

[3PonyFarm]

Rest up for Wednesday!

[Jackie_Cochran]

I got my lesson today. I rode for 25 minutes. Cinnabar had been trimmed yesterday and Debbie said he was a little foot sore, and that was why Cinnabar did NOT want to move out at all, no way, no how. I did not feel any flinching and his head did not bob at the trot.

I did 2 posting trots for 25 strides. I did a good bit of 2-point at the walk. The rest was walking with me trying (and mostly failing) to get Cinnabar to extend his stride a little bit, he finally did but he was not eager to. He had a reason so I did not get after him much, at least he trotted sound.

Cinnabar, between the Posture Prep down his back and haunches, and the Resona Vibe PEMF machine is acting more like he is getting fond of me, he nuzzled me after we put the Vibe machine on him. Since it was pretty cold this morning (40s F) he was very happy to get his Far Infra-red radiation stuff on. He is shedding but his remaining winter hair was all puffed out this morning. By the time we got him all groomed and tacked up he was looking pretty cheerful about his life. Too bad he was foot sore, maybe next week everything will be better.

My increased work on my Home Horse, helped a good bit by the pads that I put on under the saddle, really paid off today. My posting trot was better since I felt firmer in the saddle and my lower legs stayed stable, it took less out of me to stay up in 2-point at the walk, and after my ride I was able to walk back to the barn a lot better than after my last 2 lessons. Today I had proof that my work on my HH CAN get my riding muscles fitter and help me ride a horse better!

I got TIRED, after I ate lunch I napped for 3 hours, even drinking coffee I just could not keep my eyes open.