...Aaaaand We're Back!

Sorry. As I stated in January, ain't much goin' on in the winter, which means I haven't bothered to blog. But for a while I've been itching to put up another post, and I've just stalled because I wanted to post some pictures and videos of how far I've come. Buuuuut I don't have any today. It's ok because you guys will read my post anyway, right? Right? ...Guys?

Well for the one or two readers that are still with me (thanks Mom and Dad?) here's what's been up.

I've started working at a Therapeutic Riding Center every Tuesday, and I love it. It's tough. Some of the horses are as special as the kids who ride them, and of course working with children with disabilities is always a challenge. I really like them though. I work a lot with a boy who is very high on the Autism spectrum and gives me no end of trouble throughout his lesson but always cracks me up. I think he's a lot smarter than he lets on, and he plays games and fools around a lot, but he always has this little smirk on his face that totally warms my heart. I'm hoping that with time he's going to feel more comfortable cooperating and interacting with people. Last night I also worked with another boy who is very high functioning but also struggles with Autism and severe anger management issues. We had a great night. He stayed calm and collected almost the entire time, and he did a great job responding to commands. I feel like he's the type that will get the most out of Therapeutic Riding, and I really hope he learns a lot about emotional interaction from working with the horses.

Now that it's warming up outside, I'm also going to start working with the horses on my mom and dad's farm. I'm hoping to come down once or twice a month throughout the summer and fall to train them. Counting the adorable little baby that was born this past weekend, they now have seventeen horses all together. All but two are not "broken" (trained to be ridden), and very few people want a horse they can't ride, so I've got my work cut out for me. I'm going to be working with the newborn filly, a 6-month old colt (man is he nippy), A two-year old colt, a five-year-old gelding, two mares, and a stallion. The stallion I don't have much hope of breaking, but I have to at least get him the point of interacting properly with people and other horses we're going to have any luck of selling him.

In other news, I'm still doing pole fitness and aerial silks. I might actually put up a video of me doing some pole stuff soon since we are starting to learn some really cool inverts and tricks. Aerials continues to be a constant challenge on my body and soul, but I can now actually do a meat hook!! I'm still mastering the art of getting in and out of it, but I'm really proud of it because it takes massive amounts of strength, which apparently I actually have developed. Hopefully there will be some pictures and videos to come. I'm planning to get a camcorder to observe and critique my movements, so of course I'll post some of what I capture. Til next time! (Hopefully next week, and not a year from now).