Animals

This Post will focus on the animals in our life. Gidget has been hiding a lot lately, so she's not pictured below, but she still sneaks in stealth cuddles in the morning and is just as loved as always.
Caly and Mina have bonded and formed an evil alliance. Dave and I are convinced that they will attempt to overthrow us any day now. Just look at them...definitely plotting.
In horse news, I can always tell when I'm going to do something new and interesting at a riding class: it's when I forget to bring my camera. This week, when I showed up for my 'astride' lesson, I got to try out a new horse. A HUGE horse. Meet Tonka, a Belgian horse ( as in the breed, not the country...picture a Clydesdale). His hooves are about the size of dinner plates.It's not the best photo, but here I am on Tonka. He has one of the smoothest trots I've ever had the pleasure of enjoying in an English Saddle. I actually managed to make it half way around the indoor arena at a trot today (this is big news because I have major posting problems...I raise my arms up when I lose my balance, which makes the horse stop). My instructor told me I have very nice posture this week, so I'll file away that little gold star. Getting off of Tonka was an adventure in itself. It was like jumping off a skyscraper.
The side saddle lessons are coming along too. I'm currently trying to learn to keep my hands down (see reference above). If I make it through a class without being told 'put your hands down' I'll get to upgrade to one of the Thoroughbreds. Sandy is a nice horse, but he's over 20 and is the 'kiddy ride' horse. It would be nice to get on a horse that's a bit more eager to trot.
Yay!!! Here you can see that I'm getting my posture right!! My back is straight, my head is up (I look a bit snooty, don't I?), my right foot is pointed down, and my left heel is down. All is as it should be, though my hands should probably be even lower...hip level.
And another small step in Side Saddle world - meet the 'right leg.' I'm referring to the cane I'm carrying. It's a cane, not a crop. I tap the horse with it (on the right side) whenever I would usually be squeezing my right leg to convey an instruction.

So, there's my random 'animals' Post. Enjoy!