Missing Out...

This is torture. Having to go back to riding only once a week, I am now restless and upset :( Last week, I could ride Saturdays and Tuesdays. Now that I'm back to school, only Saturdays. I'm sick and tired of school, assignments, lecturers and my schoolmates. Horses are so much better companions. My classmates are just disgusting. And you know what's funnier? Horses don't even speak English. My classmates do and I hate listening to them... Surrounded by stupidity now :( REALLY not happy. I hope this doesn't add to my depression problems...

Differences in Horse Gaits?

Wow, this is irritating. There are millions of videos on Youtube giving you 'how-to's to everything you need to know about horses and riding them... or so you'd think.

My parents are finding it hard to differentiate between a trot, canter and gallop. I'm having trouble remembering what the different types of each gait is and how it looks too. So off I go looking for videos. Simple enough, right? There SHOULD be a few videos on how each gait is different, and how each gait has different types of movement.

But no. Theres only ONE video that shows the difference in the trots and even then, it's not obvious enough for a non-rider to understand. Why in the world are people posting videos of them sitting on a still horse and just TALKING about it?! Is that going to bloody help ANYONE?! Hell no!

Is this a really difficult request? Just a series of videos to show the difference? I'm tired of looking already. If anyone has found videos on the differences between horse gaits, I'd be really appreciated.

~ An annoyed new rider

Seventh Lesson Brings Unexpected Knowledge!

So I decided to brave it and go for a ride today. I'm glad I did too! Until now, no sign of anything red lol.

Today's horse was Dibbie. Once again, I had difficulties getting her to get into a trot and to stay trotting till I tell her to stop. I seem to have this problem with every other horse I've ridden... except the first horse (Mr. T, I think) and Siti Mas, both of which I haven't had the opportunity to ride on my own. Maybe it's cause I'm not a full rider yet? Maybe they're all testing me, to see if I could actually become a rider and be the one in charge? I'm not sure what to think. Next time I ride any of the 5 I've ridden so far, I hope things change. For now, I'm quite happy to switch between all the horses and see which I like best :D

Dibbie was pretty hard to ride. She doesn't respond to whip waving, whip tapping or even heel tapping. To get her to trot everytime, Mazlan (today's trainer) had to be the one waving the whip. He says it's cause she knows that I can't control her very well and so, she's bullying me... =/ Meanie horsie!

I learned quite a bit today! When the horse is walking, I've finally realised what a friend (Thanks for all the help, Jess!) meant when she told me that horse riding is also about abdomen exercise. Mazlan helped me understand what all the trainers mean when they say 'Relax' and 'Push with your back'. I could follow the horse movements really well now. Was almost as if I was swaying with the horse. I wouldn't say 'As one' yet, because I haven't gotten to know the horse well enough. I also learned to urge the horse into walking without words and without tapping. Just need to 'push' at the saddle :D I haven't been able to stop her in the same way, by just leaning back though o.o For some reason, she just ignores me when I try to make her stop with just my body language. Good news though, is that I'm paying a lot more attention to horse body language. I can now recognise signs of unhappiness compared to stubbornness and laziness lol.

There was a short moment where I did the sitting trot perfectly :o It was just as I was preparing to do the rising trot. My body was sort of like a snake and my butt kinda stayed in the saddle. It wasn't like before, where I bounced up and down like a doll. I think this is what Mazlan was saying about me needing to soften up. It's pretty amazing, what a short moment of not thinking about doing it can do. It was like automatic, as if it was by instinct. I really hope I can do it again on my next ride.

We did mostly rising trot today. Mazlan is really pleased with my progress, apparently. Other than my heels needing to be kept down (I might be having a problem with the boots for that) and the fact that I couldn't really continuously trot because Dibbie kept stopping, my rising trot is doing really well too! Although, for some reason, I was really tired today, even while riding, and that's not very often. I usually feel ecstatic enough to last me the whole ride and only start wobbling a few minutes after dismounting. I'm blaming it on my uneasy sleep last night :( I kept waking up every now and then. I suppose breakfast wasn't heavy enough either. Oh well.

One other thing I've learned today was pretty unexpected o.o Dibbie kept stopping at the start, not because she was stubborn, but because she had to do a short business XD Once she stopped, I felt her two hind legs spread out... Her entire hindquarters dropped a bit and a second later... the sound of water splashing into sand >.<

And at another point, she stopped in the middle of a trot. The moment I tapped her with my heel, I heard the sound of a splatter... Looked behind and her tail was held high... yes, she was doing a big business at that time! XD When she finished, she went back to walking. That was a weird but very knowledgeable event lol

It also looks like I have a designated trainer... sort of... maybe... I think... Both times that Mazlan taught me, he and his group of (we're guessing) volunteer trainers are always commenting on me being a fast learner and what Mazlan is gonna teach me next week o.O Does that mean Mazlan likes teaching me or something? lol. Well, he says he's gonna bring me into the main arena next week. Looks like I'm gonna be getting lessons on how the main arena works :o Yays! I seriously don't mind. Eventhough Mazlan seems to be attached to his phone like a teenager haha. With him, I progress REALLY well and fast. Distracted Mazlan or not. Maybe that's why they call me a fast learner :D

Dad says I need to buy a short whip and a dressage whip O.O I was like "Wat... why? I can just borrow theirs. I don't need a whip yet... Maybe when I can ride on my own without a trainer, we'll go get me whips, but right now, we really don't need to spend more..." I'm the one riding and spending all his money on riding gear + lessons and he's suggesting MORE unnecessary gear?! *facepalm* Sometimes, I don't understand my parents. On one hand, they complain about me choosing to love horses instead of the cheaper maintenance dogs. On the other, they're asking me to spend more... WTF?! -.-

Being A Girl Sucks

WARNING!
Might have terms and graphic descriptions that might turn your stomach.
If you're squirmish of reading about female stuff, skip this post lol.

So I'm actually supposed to be releasing the red fountain of life yesterday. Only time I experienced one of the symptoms I usually get, was on Tuesday... But no red fountain. And no other symptoms... WHERE ARE TEH SORE BOOBS?! This has me torn. My parents and I avoided booking a lesson on Saturday because I was due on Thursday. It's now Friday afternoon and nothing at all. Nada. Zip. Zilch. To call mum and tell her to book a session tomorrow? Or to leave it in fear of everything going downhill DURING the ride? *sigh* Just by being a girl, gives you stress. Don't like... :(

Sixth Lesson! And a bad ride...

Happy New Year all! Sorry about the slightly late update. I haven’t been feeling very good. While this is probably the best New Year I’ve ever had, it wasn’t the best riding experience.

Today, I was scheduled with D’Alonzo again. And this time, I got to ride him. I was actually supposed to ride D’Alonzo last Saturday, but he was being very naughty apparently, and I was put on Mamat. So today, I found out what the trainers meant by naughty. I don’t think he’s naughty though. I’m not sure what his problem is. For one, the main body language I noticed while riding him, that told me it wasn’t just ‘naughty’, was that his ears kept folding back. Not totally flat on his head, but it constantly faced me, as if he was angry. The trainers told me to whip him really hard everytime he stopped moving and to jerk back on the reins if he fights back and bucks. But guess what I find? He moves faster if I only wave the whip around, anyway. And if I actually whip him, he bucks... There was even one time where the trainer took him by the bridle and whipped him 3 times... really hard. While I was on top of him, yes. Needless to say, D’Alonzo went in circles, trying to avoid the whip.

I can’t bring myself to whip a horse hard. I just can’t. In no way is hurting a horse to make him obey is necessary. I don’t know how they do things when training a horse, but D’Alonzo has been riden MANY times, by MANY riders. I’m pretty sure he’s already trained. And if ALL of those riders whipped him hard... Ouch :(

Another reason why I think D’Alonzo just doesn’t like being riden, is when the trainer guided him out of the ring when my session was up. I thought I was supposed to dismount and lead him back to the stables, but D’Alonzo just continued walking and I kinda rode him back. And the strange thing was, whenever he walked in the ring, he walked really slow. But once on the track back to the stables, he sped up o.o The walk became an active walk, as if he was eager to get back to his stall.

All I can say is, whatever I learned on Mamat with Mazlan, the Saturday trainer, has gone out the window... well, kinda. D’Alonzo stopped very suddenly a lot. Everytime I was ready to practice whatever Mazlan taught me, he stops. Everytime I’m ready to stop, he doesn’t stop. And then there was the problem with the trainers. The trainer I was scheduled with today, wasn’t feeling well. So I had to wait an entire half an hour after my session was supposed to start, for another trainer to take over. Everything went okay-ish... until he shifted me to the main arena ring. There was another trainer there with 2 riders. Mother and daughter, I presume. He shouted over to my trainer and all of a sudden, I was made to join the 2 riders. My ride went downhill. Not only could I not do much, because all D’Alonzo had to do was follow the other two horses, but the trainer spent most of the session observing. All we did was rising trot and a tiny bit of sitting trot. My progress suddenly depends on the other two riders. If they couldn’t keep up, I’m forced to stop. If I couldn’t keep up (due to a slower and stubborn horse)... well, I fall behind. I definitely do NOT like group lessons. Nothing went right today. It was not a good day at all.

Good news though, I managed to mount from ground up again :D This time, trainer taught me to stand next to the horse shoulder and twist the stirrup around. I guess D’Alonzo is also a smaller horse. I learned a tiny bit more about control today. D’Alonzo doesn’t seem to have common sense o.o He went off the track quite a lot. Mamat followed the ring well enough, but D’Alonzo acted as if he would slam into the fences if I didn’t direct him away. I think I’m doing quite nicely in turning a horse around too. I find that tiny gentle pulls on the reins is perfect when doing slight turns. Longer gentle pulls when making a sharper turn. I also understand what the trainers mean by looking up and forward. It takes a few seconds for a horse to actually make a correction when following a path. So looking down at the immediate track isn’t exactly going to help. The trainers didn’t make much comment on my posture when doing the rising trot, so I guess I’ve managed to improve there. I’m pulling my shoulders back and putting my heels down a lot more, since I wasn’t gonna be getting reminders, what with 2 other riders to care for *rolleyes*

I can feel myself softening when doing the sitting trot, but I can’t seem to keep my hands still o.o They jumped up and down along with me! >.< Meh, I want to ride Mamat again, with Mazlan teaching me. :( There were so much bumping on D’Alonzo that my thighs are sore and bruised now. *sigh*

Oh, and I got more pics :) I’m working on creating profiles for the horses so that I can recognise them. Right now, I can’t tell which is Ruby and which is Royal ._. Both are dark and both don’t have distinctive markings. Siti Mas has some very very VERY light brown patches on her neck and body. Other than that... complete brown horse. Oh dear =/ They also repainted the stalls, so the names were removed. I’m gonna have to wait till the names are put back up to get more pics.

Oh yeah! Was a bad day for the parents too, imagine that XD Dad has been happy to go to the club for one thing, and one thing only. Nasi Lemak LOL! It’s a Malaysian dish, google if you’re interested. Unfortunately, they only sell Nasi Lemak on Saturdays haha! And for mum, she was looking forward to eating Maggi Goreng (Fried Noodles), Indonesian style. They cooked her dish... and sent it to the wrong family... That family was so stupid as to eat the extra dish anyway. And the cook finds out that he was out of noodles and mum couldn’t eat! Hehehe, there was no breakfast for the parents today xD

Fifth Lesson!

Apparently, the best and fastest way to teach me is to:

1. Teach in fluent English
2. No lunge ropes

Today, my trainer took me to a ring where using a lunge rope is not possible. It wasn't a round ring, but a sort of rectangular ring with curved ends. The middle is another rectangular ring with curved ends, but filled with grass and a couple of trees. A small grazing area xD

I learned faster than any of my previous lessons today. Rode Mamat again. He's so pampered. <3

Anyway, since Mamat wasn't on the lunge rope, I had to act fast and at the snap of the finger in order to ride him. There was no trainer standing next to me and controlling the horse with the lunge rope. Trainer stood at one corner of the ring and stayed there, shouting reminders and guidance at me. I have learned to use the reins well. Still need practice, but I can now turn the horse around, guide the horse to where I need to go, slow the horse down and of course, stop the horse. I tried being gentle and not jerking the reins, but I don't think it can be helped sometimes =/ Mamat is very stubborn, I had to be really firm with him. It took real effort to make him slow down, and many times, I had to pull the reins so hard that he stopped completely... *sigh* Silly Mamat.

I was also given a whip to hold today. Damn, those things are hard to hold with the reins and everything >.< Don't worry, I never whipped Mamat. I find that I don't need to, just wave it around where he can see it and he speeds up XD I must say, much easier than kicking his sides. I'm still having trouble with the stirrups and keeping my heels down =/ I keep tiptoeing... And everytime I kick a horse into moving, my boots goes right through the iron! Thank goodness for my heels! -.-

More good news though! My rising trot improved a helluva lot! I didn't even think of my butt and knees today. I landed softly everytime, rose nicely everytime. My back was straight. Only thing I concentrated on today was my shoulders and my heels. Rising on the trot is starting to become natural! :D

Walking is improving too. Really need to get it into my head that my shoulders need to be back, chest proud and heels down D:<

Still have a lot to improve with the sitting trot. Apparently, once the trot starts, my torso stiffens like a branch and I start bouncing hard, which causes me to lose balance. I gotta let go and relax the way I managed to do in walking. Trainer says I'm definitely softening and I could feel sitting trot getting easier, but I have quite a while to go yet.

I really like today's trainer. His English is fluent enough for me to understand without needing to think and he gave me a whole lot of tips that the other trainers didn't bother giving me. Like the softening of my torso, the other trainers would just say "Relax"... Who doesn't know that! >.>

He also speaks in a REALLY loud voice :D Which is good! Mumbling can't be heard when you're on a horse, guys! I definitely had fun today. It was an excellent ride. For me that is. Two girls fell off their horses today :( Ouchie! Luckily, no serious injuries. Also, I have pics!




Hmm. My toes stuck out quite a bit here. Was concentrating real hard on heels lol.

No Pain, And Definitely Gaining!

So it's been 2 days since my ride on Christmas. I felt a bit sore on my thighs from the saddle an hour after finishing my ride. But guess what? The soreness went away about 8-12 hours later and until now, I still don't feel sore anymore! Woot!

Now I really can't wait for the next ride on Saturday! I'm finally getting fitter, yay! :D *celebrates*

Fourth Lesson!

First of all, Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it! :)

Today was a different trainer. I like him. He speaks English, damnit XD Which is a good thing because I think in English and if the trainer speaks in Malay, I have to pause to translate it in my head... And today's horse was Siti Mas again. I find that she's a bit on the lazy side... or way too gentle for my liking? Then again, I feel like she's grumpy too... Or fussy... lol

So today, I learned more about balance. My rising trot was no longer in sync with the horse as compared to the first 3 lessons, but that's because this trainer didn't help in counting the 1,2 beat for me. (As well as Siti constantly slowing down >.<) Which makes me think: I've become dependant on the trainer to help count my beats, which is bad. But I'm new at riding, so I guess that's normal. I hope I can get it right in time, afterall, this is only my 4th lesson. But I'm certainly improving in my sitting trot and balance. Not perfect, and still a long way to go, but getting there :D

I also learned to do more with the reins than making the horse stop. I tried out what I know about English style of riding and found out that I have to pull pretty hard to make a horse turn O.O I still have a LOT of work to do with the reins. I kept pulling on the reins to keep balance... That might even be why Siti kept slowing down o.O And I can't seem to multitask well enough. Not only do I have to concentrate on my balancing, I have to concentrate on keeping my damn heels down, on leading my horse, on sitting up straight... Oh dear. I might have been having a wrong sense of balance even when standing on the ground. I keep leaning forward and slouching. I thought I got rid of my slouch finally, but I guess I'm also not standing straight up and proud (shoulders back).

My knees were killing me today. For some reason, I've been getting sharp pains in the middle of my knee joints. It started last lesson but was worse today. I felt it at EVERY rise when doing the rising trot. Seriously hurts. Sharper than last lesson too. Trainer says it's cause I'm not used to the constant movement yet. Told my parents that I might have to get knee supports ._.

I also find that I much much prefer breeches to jodhpurs. The jodhpurs wasn't body fitting. Although stretchable material, it was loose... and itchy... Meh.

Overall, today wasn't an excellent day. It wasn't bad (trainer iz aweshum!) but it wasn't excellent. Btw guys, do you think I should start being more firm with the horses? I've been quite gentle with them. Didn't want to make them feel like I'm underestimating them and have them dislike me! D: But it's as if gentleness doesn't have an effect on them, as if I'm one of the flies that lands on them >.>

Well, I hope you had a nice Christmas. My day wasn't the best, but it was waaaaaaaay better than the usual family meetings... which tend to be omgsoboring XD

No Pain, No Gain ~ Part 2

Oof! My muscles hurt! xD I guess an hour of riding does hurt. I don't feel horrible though, like I did after my first ride. But the pain is only telling me one thing. And that is: I am finally getting fitter. Soon, I shall be able to climb up stairs without much effort. Wheezing up staircases is horrible, I tell you!

Next ride: Tuesday! Yes, on Christmas! :D Some people would think this sad, that I'm not visiting family instead and exchanging presents. Honestly? Riding is the best present I've ever gotten. Ever. If my relatives wants to give me a gift, get me session tickets! XD Or heck, even cheaper, buy me a whole bundle of carrots and apples so that I can feed the whole stable LOL!

Third Lesson & A Scare...

Today was my 3rd ride. Today's trainer was the same as the first ride, so I didn't learn as much as I should've :( This trainer seems shy and nervous. As if he didn't know how to teach and talk to someone. He kept avoiding eye contact by looking at the ground and speaking. He talks too softly and is overall just awkward... *sigh* I really prefer the 2nd trainer :( Wonder if I could ask for him when I go for my next ride.

Basically, it wasn't a good ride today. And no, it wasn't because of riding for an hour this time. Mamat, the horse I rode today was super tall. Had a whole lot of difficulties mounting from ground up. Finally managed, but I had to grab hold of the saddle as if I was climbing a mountain D: Mamat is huge k! >.<

And then, I forgot to wear my gloves before riding and kinda scraped off my skin on my knuckles from chaffing against the saddle... I don't even know how I did that >.> Mum gave me my gloves halfway through though, so I managed to protect my knuckles from further scraping.

We went there late today. Or rather, on the dot. Had to rush to braid my hair and put on my boots. It's why I forgot my gloves... And so, no pics... sorry guys. You'll have to wait till Tuesday (Xmas lol) when I ride again :P

Well, at least the ride wasn't a waste. I DID learn quite a bit today. Learned to balance better and getting the hang of rising trot slowly. I was also taught to hold the reins properly. For the moment, all I know how to do is to pull back on the reins to make the horse stop.

Riding boots definitely make things easier, but I think I really need to learn how to prevent the stirrups from sliding back :( Everytime I kick the horse or do rising trot, my leg lifts from the stirrups and they slide back. It's really irritating >.< But at least my helmet doesn't stink from OTHER people's sweat LOL! :D

Oh yes! Also, I have now felt how it feels like when the horse gallops, bucks and canters. We shifted paddocks because the sun was starting to scorch. And I suppose Mamat wasn't used to entering a paddock with a rider on his back. Upon entering the 2nd paddock, he suddenly lunged into a gallop, then started bucking. When I finally got him under control, he cantered around a bit before stopping. It was a bit fun, but OMG SO SCARY XD I was so lucky that I was holding the monkey grip (strap attached to saddle) while we were switching paddocks. Otherwise, I'd probably be in the hospital with a whole lot more injuries D:

Second Lesson & Gear Shopping ~ Part 2

I MOUNTED THE HORSE FROM GROUND UP!!! And here I thought it was gonna be difficult...

Learned sitting trot, how to arrange the stirrups before and after riding, how to kick the horse :o and how to urge the horse to move. Also, how to lead a horse properly :D Next week, I'll be riding for an entire hour! Parents didn't let me ride for an hour on the excuse of overdoing myself... and then they get told by the trainers that what I learn sticks more if I ride for TWO hours every week LOL! I was like "I TOLD YOU SO AHAHAHA" >:3

So we went shopping after my ride :D The vendor kept running out of stock, so we decided to go find another tack shop in another club. Bought a new helmet, another pair of riding pants (breeches, first one was jodhpurs), new pair of ankle boots and a new pair of chaps.

Now we need to go buy more socks (my old school socks are dried up and no longer expendable XD), maybe a couple of bandanas and fix up my extremely long jodhpurs so that they can fit into my boots ^_^

I think it's safe to say that I have my bday and Xmas presents already, hehehe. Membership + First 6 Lessons + Pants + Boots + Helmet + Chaps + Riding Book: RM 1, 304

Not THAT expensive, now that I think about it o.O I expected to have to spend 5k+ lol. The boots we found were only RM160 :D WAY cheaper than the vendor who sells them at RM300 D:

Actual Riding Boots Maybe?

My dad has finally realised that I need actual boots for riding... Cause of safety reasons and all that. He told mum last night that 'simple canvas shoes' can't be used. And he's right, I have no idea where mum got the idea that shoes that can be bent in half is good for riding...

So they started looking online for tack shops in KL... and found one near dad's office... Good news, right? Not for my dad XD He decided to call them up to enquire about prices. A riding helmet costs RM200 min. That's children's helmet, btw. At max, they can go up to RM1k+. HOLYSHEETIT'SJUSTADAMNHAT!!! The vendor is selling helmets at RM180... (not children's)

So he figured that the vendor at the club is selling VERY cheaply already :D He didn't even dare ask what the prices for boots were. If the vendor is selling the ankle boots at RM300, that tack store probably sells them at RM500+. Note, I said ANKLE boots... Not the tall ones that reach the knees... You only really need those tall ones if you were going on a horse show or something.

I'm trying really hard not to get my hopes up, but I can't stop thinking about it. Theres a chance that he's gonna buy me those ankle boots now :D

Good news? Oh yes, but not for dad... muhahahahaha >:3

No Helmet...

:( The blue riding helmet that I wanted was apparently broken. So I'm not gonna get my own helmet until new stock comes in...

:(

Gear Shopping ~ Part1

Just bought a pair of riding pants :D Stretchable material, so I should be able to climb up a horse easily now! Damn jeans refused to let me lift my leg high enough to put it on the stirrup! D:

Tomorrow, dad is gonna buy the riding helmet that I want ^_^ They had the blue colour I liked but it wasn't with them at the club today, so dad reserved it for the moment hehehe.

Gonna look around at shoe shops to see if there are any similar boots. RM300 for a pair of riding boots is too much, unfortunately :( But good news is that dad found a pair of black gloves that are actually for riding bikes (not bicycle) and it's only RM5 XD I think it's pretty perfect for protecting my hands when holding the reins!

So RM180 (membership) + RM180 (3 hours lessons) + RM189 (pants) + RM189 (helmet) + RM5 (gloves) = RM743

I spent RM743 for my birthday :D That's not even counting the boots/shoes that I gotta buy! Muhahahahaha! Not counting the next 3 hour lessons I'm gonna buy after my 5 tickets left are used either >:3

Ow, ow, ow...

Ow. I just found a spot on my palm that hurts so bad... I must have held the saddle straps too tight :(

No Pain, No Gain!

*wince* When they say 'no pain, no gain', they really mean it. I can't even sit properly now D: My butt, my thighs and my calves hurt so bad...

But omg, it was so fucking worth it! >.< I can't decide if I like this pain or I hate it...

A Dream Come True...

SUCCESS!!!

I am now a member of DARC. Today, I told my parents, "Since it's my bday and we have no idea where to go, I wanna visit that horse riding club you were talking about... after lunch..."

I didn't say anything about paying the membership fee *ninja* But dad paid... AND I CAN RIDE HORSES EVERY WEEK NOW WHOOOOOOOOOO!

First lesson today was the rising trot and balance. It was awesome. Though my legs and joints fucking hurt right now >.>

Gonna go back there on Saturday to see if I can buy actual riding gear :D Might even go for another ride muhahahaha....

Recording my Riding Adventures!

Hi there!

So I've been spamming Facebook with updates on my rides and a friend suggested that I blog them instead. I guess it's worth a try? Dunno, we'll see :D

Have fun reading!

Feath