Of course his opinions are important!
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Iām so glad you had a good ride! All your hard work is paying off.
Rebecca
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Above I said I thought that the Incrediwear stuff was made here in the USA. I was wrong. I got in deep into their site and finally discovered that their stuff is made in Taiwan.
Sorry for the misinformation.
Shannon did not come out yesterday, she woke up with sniffles and did not want to give me a cold. So I sat on my ASC, 5 times, 2 minutes each time, with three or four hours between sessions. I did not feel tiredāuntil this morning when I woke up tireder than usual and I was moving VERY slowly. The muscles of the core of my body were TIRED. Yep, getting riding fit at the speed of a snail.
When I got the ASC I thought it would be easier on my body than riding a horse or using the HH. I was wrong about that, just sitting on it, maybe moving my pelvis a little bit, gets me tired, much more tired than just sitting in a chair which makes me tired anyway.
Today I got up on the HH for 5 minutes. It is getting easier for me to adjust when my husband told me I was off center. I even managed to sort of get up into 2.point. I balanced myself, I did some āwalkingā, and I got tired.
Tomorrow I am resting up for my lesson on Wednesday.
I do not understand why riding a horse for 30 minutes plus helping with grooming and tacking up, riding in a car to the stable and back home, and walking to and from the riding ring, makes me so much less tired than using my riding simulators for 5 minutes or so at home, but that is how it is working out for me.
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Maybe the connection to and joy from a real, live horse overpowers everything else??
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In the Victorian Age, and earlier, there was a saying that āthe outside of a horse is good for a manā. Could it be that the horseās skin microbiome has organisms in it that help us physically?
In my eternal search for Far Infrared radiation horse and human gear I went ahead and ordered three of the human Incrediwear things for myself. I bought the Body Sleeve, the Shoulder Brace and the Circulation Shorts. They came yesterday, I put them all on for the daytime, took the Body Sleeve and Circulation Shorts off for sleeping. I kept the Shoulder Brace on for sleeping (it wonāt get wet if I have an accident with my urine) because lately every time Iāve laid with weight on my right shoulder I can only stand it for a few minutes before it just gets to hurting too much to get to sleep. Last night I could lay on my right shoulder for twice as long.
The Circulation Shorts are helping with my hip bursitis, and my Body Sleeve is helping me keep my back muscles from hurting. It is too early to tell for sure, but since the Incrediwear people say that their stuff can be worn 24/7 I am giving them an extended try-out.
My body is giving me this feeling that I might end up preferring the Incrediwear stuff over the BOT and Fenwick stuff. All three of them work, each one uses a different metal/mineral for the Far Infrared Radiation, which leads me to wonder if each metal/mineral gives off the Far Infrared Radiation at different wave lengths that hit different depths of muscles in my body.
Right now I wear the Fenwick Neck Gaiter and Head band, the BOT wrist brace, fingerless gloves and Neck Dlckie, and the Incrediwear Body Sleeve, Shoulder Brace and Circulation Shorts. Of course when I ride a horse or get up on my HH I have to take all this stuff off. If I wear it on a horse they refuse to take what to me is proper contact, āleadingā with the tongue and talking to me with their tongue, plus my balance gets worse. So I donāt wear
this stuff on the horses.
Growing old is not for sissies. Most of us end up hurting a lot more than when we were young. For me and my husband the Far Infrared Radiation gear makes our lives MUCH more pleasant in our seventies.
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My lesson was not that great today. MJ had been in 3 W/T classes on Saturday and he was still not feeling quite right. Thankfully he was quieter in the cross-ties, but again he took exception when Debbie put his hoof socks on, his knees tend to hurt if bent too much, too long.
He is shedding, so I used my StripHair grooming tool, and I had to clean masses of hair from the Schimmel brush.
Today started off in the 40s and there was a stiff breeze. I woke up with sore joints so it wasnāt only MJ that felt off today. It started warming up when we got to the ring so one butt blanket came off as well as my jacket, we probably should have kept them on because in 10 minutes a stiff North breeze, nice and cold, started blowing. One horse in the next paddock was getting spooky watching the dogs go after something in the brush. Not the ideal day for a relaxing ride.
After a short posting trot I told Debbie MJ was way off, not nodding as such but each footfall felt different from the others. After that we just walked and did some āpracticeā at standing still while he checked it all out. He did not want to extend his stride though he eventually warmed up some. After 30 minutes, literally right at 30 minutes he started flinging his head emphatically for the first time in the nearly two years Iāve ridden him. I dropped contact, had Debbie check his bits, and finally looked at my watch when it became clear to me that MJ was ātellingā us to end the lesson so he could get out of the cold wind (even though he peacefully stood in the cold wind earlier.) We had been riding for 33 1/2 minutes (my usual lesson is 30 min.)
I took the insole out of my right boot to test if my balance is really better. I only had to re-center the saddle once a tiny bit. My right stirrup felt longer but I was able to adjust. I seem to be improving with my balance with just 5-7 minutes a week on the Home Horse so long as my spotter keeps an eye on the bubbles in my bubble balance and tells me when I am off balance because I cannot consciously feel when I am just a little bit off balance. I have to hear it from an authoritative source backed by real evidence. Apparently my body is learning what my brain is not capable of learning right now, my body is keeping my saddle centered most of the time now at a walk and trot.
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Iām sorry you and MJ had an off day. It is good that you listen to him to know when he is off.
I hope you arenāt too sore and you an MJ can get back to enjoying your rides.
I was thinking that the next time he tries this head flinging he will get a somewhat different response from me, especially if it is warmer. Today I just did not have the energy to keep contact through all the vehement head gestures.
Once in a blue moon is allowable, twice in less than a year it can become a horrible habit. He IS a lesson horse.
Debbie messaged his owner (the father of the girl who learned to ride and show on him) about MJās age. MJ may be 21, the guy said heād look for MJās papers. Debbie was not happy to hear this, because if this is true MJ was 2 when he originally came to board at her stable and Debbie does not believe in riding 2 year olds beyond the very basics. Someday we may learn his real age. My comment was if MJ was around 30 he was in excellent shape for his age, but if he was around 21 he is in HORRIBLE shape for his age (navicular [treated], and a bum knee.)
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Iām with you, riding 2 year olds is so hard on them. What breed is he?
QH, and because of his build we think he is an Appendix. He has a brand, and the brand is a sort of offset MJ, thus his name. He is the only horse at the stable who has his name on his haunches.
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I love quarter horses. Mine was such a good girl. I would love to have another one.
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Today I got ambitious, and I will see if I end up paying for it.
I sat on my Anywhere Saddle Chair for 5 minutes, one session. I just sat on it, trying to keep centered and trying to keep my torso and head in the proper position.
I experimented with moving my eyes without it affecting the ASC. If I moved my head I could feel the results as everything under me moved. If my head moved down when I looked down I almost felt like I would fall off the front of the ASC as my weight āoverloaded the forehandā. I will be continuing practicing this as I know it must be irritating to the horse when I move my head even if I am just glancing in one direction.
I did not get too tired, I even managed to vacuum a little bit afterwards, and so far I have not felt terribly tired.
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That is great!
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Shannon came by today. I had sort of a hard time getting out of bed when my alarm clock went offāit was dark outside!
Shannon came out late (she did call me) and while I was waiting I sat on the ASC for 5 minutes.
When Shannon arrived I got up on the HH with her help, and I was planning on just 5 minutes. I lost track of time, I rode the HH for 13 minutes the first session! After around 20 minutes of resting I got on again, the second time I ended up riding it 7 minutes. Most of the time on both āridesā I just sat there keeping the bubble on the balance centered which is getting easier for me even though I took most of the shims out around the semi-spherical base of the HH. I used the stirrups mostly the first time and āwalkedā some and I sort of got up into two-point but it was not pretty. Then I put my feet on the base and did 2-point and a little bit of posting.
So all together I got 25 minutes of āridesā on my riding simulators, pretty good for the first day of the spring forward time change. This is the most I have been able to do in a day for months, I guess my body is hoping Iāll be so tired that I will fall asleep easily tonight instead of tossing and turning for an hour.
Right now my long term goal is to work up to 30 minutes in one day on the simulators, with long breaks between sessions. When I get to that I will aim for 30 minute sessions without any breaks but it may take me a while to get there.
I feel exercised! I am also feeling tired, but I earned it today.
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Yes you did earn it! Congratulations!
Yesterday my tiredness caught up with me and I HAD TO take a nap which lasted around 30 minutes.
This morning between the time change (I tried to get to sleep at 10 PM, HAH) and working so hard on the simulators yesterday I overslept an hour and a half.
At least when I woke up I felt rested. Another thing, for the first time in many years I did not hurt when I woke up, and so far today I have not had to wear any BOT, Fenwick or Incrediwear gear, and I have yet to start hurting. This is a BIG change from normal!
I am resting today and tomorrow. I want to have enough energy for my riding lesson on Wednesday.
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I hope you have a great lesson!
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When I heard the weather last night, below freezing for sure, I remembered that I had used the Fly Rider sheetās neckpiece on a previous lesson horse for the cold, bitter winter winds. So I dug it out and figured that with the Incrediwear neck sleeve MJ would be more comfortable in the cold.
It was below freezing when I woke up, and there was a bitter cold wind blowing from the north. I made sure I had both of his butt blankets too (BOT on the bottom and a Shires one over it.)
I got to the stable early. One lady cleaned out his hooves, and then I got to work cleaning all the dried mud off his lower legs, then when Sam, Debbieās daughter, passed by I asked her to put MJās Incrediwear Hoof Socks on him, then we stretched them so they covered his knee somewhat.
I did my usual currying with the Strip Hair and had started with the Schimmel brush when Debbie arrived. She took over the brushing while I brushed his mane and head so I could put on his āhatsā. By the time we put his butt blankets and his neck piece on he acted like he felt coddled and listened to. He was much more cheerful today.
And the wind was cold even though the temperature warmed up some. MJ happily huddled under his various warming clothes and he did not ācuss us outā as heartless, cruel people when we led him out into the cold, cold wind, unlike last week.
I mostly walked. When Debbie suggested we trot I was walking to where I wanted to start trotting but MJ had heard, and understood, what Debbie said and voluntarily gave me a nice even trot a little early. Yeah, he had obeyed Debbieās words but there is no way for me to tell if I unconsciously gave him a tiny leg aid so I let it go, he did not do it immediately after all.
MJ was so much happier today. His leg joints felt better, probably since he had a full week without being ridden, and we had listened to him about being properly āclothedā during cold, windy days. He gave me a pleasant ride with nothing like the difficulties we had last week. He accepted contact with the bridoon just fine. I had thought to keep contact with just the curb bit but just did not do it. When I got home and changed I realized I had put my BOT back brace on since my back was giving me a fit. I was going to take it off because the horses do not like to keep contact when I wear the Far infrared radiation gear. I guess it was so cold that my nervous system did not degrade too bad, but I do not know what MJ would have āsaidā if I had taken up contact with the curb.
MJ was fully involved with our conversations when Debbie and I talked about him, giving little snorts to show agreement with what we were saying. It is nice when the horse joins in the conversation, especially when he agrees that all was going well with our ride.
My balance seemed fine, I was not shifting the saddle to the side even when we did turns in place. My timing of my aids was also good. My longer sessions on the HH last Sunday seemed to help with my endurance some today.
It was not all smooth sailing. MJ, again, did not want to extend his walking stride. It felt to me like his back was a little bit stiff right behind the saddle, not bad as in pain but there as being a little stiff. I got up into 2-point a lot walking around trying to get a decent walk out of him and he finally moved well enough to get praise from Debbie.
When I remembered to check my watch we were 30 seconds beyond our normal time, and this week MJ did not immediately ātellā me āhey, we are through!!!ā when we were past 25 minutes like he did last week. He did not fling his head at all, he was not mad at us for making him work in the cold, and he was a pleasant lesson horse today.
Debbie finally got to see MJās AQHA papers, he is nearly 25, born on July 4, 1998. I am now wondering if foals born on July 4 learn really early that fireworks going BOOM is nothing to worry about. MJ is a pretty unflappable horse, if he is not cussing us out about making him go out in the cold without enough warm āclothesā on.
I did not get to feeling tired while I rode, I do not know if this is because my body is getting fitter or if the bitterly cold wind kept my body temperature down enough. But now I am feeling tired, at least I earned it today!
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It sounds to me like all your hard work is paying off.
Rebecca
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