This past Christmas (2010), Aidan claimed that the only present he wanted from Santa was horseback riding lessons. Mike and I have taken all sorts of lessons growing up, but horseback riding is definitely not one of them (and believe me, I would have traded piano lessons for horseback riding lessons!). So when Aidan requested horseback riding lessons as his Christmas present, we felt a little nervous about what we would be getting ourselves into if we allowed Santa to give Aidan this gift. As I looked into signing Aidan up for horse riding lessons I learned that he needed to be at least 5 years old, and that he would not be able to start until the spring session which began in February. When I told Aidan that he would have to wait a month before being able to enjoy his Christmas present, I was slightly hoping that he would change his mind and ask for something else…but he didn’t. So when February 2011 came, Aidan began horseback riding lessons.
For horseback riding lessons, Aidan is required to wear long pants, paddock boots (horse riding boots) and a riding helmet (not a bike helmet). He looks so cute geared up! I remember the day of his first lesson, we arrived at the horse center, I opened the van door, and Aidan said, “Ewww….what is that smell! It’s so stinky!”. “Get used to it” I said, “because that is what your lessons are going to smell like”. We went to the office to fill out paper work and find out which horse Aidan had been assigned to ride that day. As I filled out the paperwork, Aidan kept asking the receptionist “Can you give me a big horse, I mean, like a really big one! One of the biggest number ones” (I just kept shaking my head and mouthing “no” behind him). The receptionist told us that Aidan was going to ride Pumpkin that day and that his instructor would meet us at the stall. When we got to Pumpkin’s stall Aidan whined “This is a small horse!” “Are you kidding?” I exclaimed “this horse is taller than me!” “No, look at the number” Aidan said as he pointed to the stall number “it is one of the smallest numbers. It’s a small horse. I wanted a big number horse.” I then laughed as I realized that Aidan was associating the size of the horse with its stall number. When Aidan’s instructor showed up she taught both of us how tack a horse (frankly I have felt much more comfortable changing diapers) and then she had Aidan lead his horse to the riding arena. For his first lesson she and Aidan worked on:
· * How to mount the horse
· * Proper way to hold the reins
· * Riding posture
· * How to make the horse stop and go
· * How to pull the reins to steer the horse
It is all very interesting for me to watch, and exciting for Aidan. Caleb, in the beginning, was unhappy that his brother got to ride and he didn’t. During the first few weeks when he saw Aidan take a horse out of its stall and lead it to the arena, he would fall on the floor pouting, “Horsey, own mine. Horsey own mine” (“My own horsey”). I eventually solved the problem by bringing a couple of carrots for him to feed any of the horses his wished during Aidan’s lesson. Aidan is currently working on making his horse trot while posting, and is most eager to get to the “galloping” stage after he develops some strength in his "two-point" riding posture.
No comments:
Post a Comment