Okay, so I need some extra motivation. I didn't even realize that I did until someone posted a thread on COTH about a weight loss clique. I didn't even read through all of the posts until I jumped in and joined. Then I went back and started re-reading what I had skipped.
It looked like everyone was joining a website called SparkPeople. I began looking around, and am thoroughly impressed with the site. It's free to join, and allows you to track what you ate, how much exercise you got, how much water you drank and other goals. You can use their goal suggestions or create your own. You are rewarded for staying on track with points. You are given meal-plan suggestions that you can chose to follow or not. They have weekly weigh-ins. They have options where you can chose to track your blood pressure, blood sugar, mood, sleep quality, and stress level, if you so desire. This is like the "WebMD" weight loss site on steroids. I love it.
My favorite part about this site? They have an extra "community" aspect. Members can join "teams" where everyone on the team is working to accumulate points. This is EXACTLY the motivation I need. When I am working out for me, myself, and I, I don't get very upset if I have to miss a workout or two (or ten). When I have a team that needs my points, I feel SO guilty for not pitching in, that I tend to become an overachiever.
So, the kind ladies on COTH started a COTH team. So far we have 17 members. I am so excited to have some form of a support group- especially since they are all horse-people, too, and they understand exactly what I am trying to achieve when I say "I want to lose weight to become a better rider."
I joined the site last night, and today is my first full day of my new "lifestyle makeover." If you'll excuse me, I have to go walk my dog so I can get an extra point for my team...
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Monday, July 12, 2010
When to push, and when to let it go.
This has been a big deal in my brain lately, and it has to do with training. What circumstances do you push the horse, and what circumstances do you just "let it go?"
When I had one horse, everything was a training opportunity. NOTHING got past me. I was a discipline Nazi. And my horse was well-behaved. now that I have multiple horses, I let more things slide. I pick my battles. There are some things that I am firm on and others that I let slide. And you know what? My horses are still well-behaved.
I cannot pinpoint what things I let go and why. There are times when I ride when my horse has a "lightbulb moment" and does a new thing, or something really really well. In some circumstances, I hop off and let them be done. In others, I ride it 2 or 3 more times to make sure it wasn't a fluke before I get off. I cannot tell you what the basis for my decision is. I like to think it's instinct. It could just be a subconscious understanding of the horse that I've gained over countless hours of working with them.
Katie has a habit of finding something that annoys the horse, and then making point of continuing to do it until the horse either gives in, or it morphs into a huge training issue. She has a particular fascination with rubbing horses' noses and playing with their nostrils. I don't know many horses who actually enjoy this- most find it a rude invasion of space. I used to insist that the horses always accept everything I do to them, too. Nowadays, I have more respect for my horse. If they dislike it, I respect them enough to not do it unless it's necessary. And in return, I fully believe they respond BETTER to the respect. I have yet to have a horse NOT hold still when I really really needed them to.
Case in point: my mare is weird about her face being messed with. She tosses her head and lets me know, as politely as she can, that the face is off-limits for petting. However, I can bridle her. I can put her fly mask on. I can rub fly spray around her nose. She holds still and we can easily get on with our daily lives without incident. When she got a large and nasty cut on her forehead, she stood politely while I doctored it for the next few weeks. She still doesn't like me simply petting her head. And I respect her enough to only do so when I have an actual reason. I think she recognizes that.
When I had one horse, everything was a training opportunity. NOTHING got past me. I was a discipline Nazi. And my horse was well-behaved. now that I have multiple horses, I let more things slide. I pick my battles. There are some things that I am firm on and others that I let slide. And you know what? My horses are still well-behaved.
I cannot pinpoint what things I let go and why. There are times when I ride when my horse has a "lightbulb moment" and does a new thing, or something really really well. In some circumstances, I hop off and let them be done. In others, I ride it 2 or 3 more times to make sure it wasn't a fluke before I get off. I cannot tell you what the basis for my decision is. I like to think it's instinct. It could just be a subconscious understanding of the horse that I've gained over countless hours of working with them.
Katie has a habit of finding something that annoys the horse, and then making point of continuing to do it until the horse either gives in, or it morphs into a huge training issue. She has a particular fascination with rubbing horses' noses and playing with their nostrils. I don't know many horses who actually enjoy this- most find it a rude invasion of space. I used to insist that the horses always accept everything I do to them, too. Nowadays, I have more respect for my horse. If they dislike it, I respect them enough to not do it unless it's necessary. And in return, I fully believe they respond BETTER to the respect. I have yet to have a horse NOT hold still when I really really needed them to.
Case in point: my mare is weird about her face being messed with. She tosses her head and lets me know, as politely as she can, that the face is off-limits for petting. However, I can bridle her. I can put her fly mask on. I can rub fly spray around her nose. She holds still and we can easily get on with our daily lives without incident. When she got a large and nasty cut on her forehead, she stood politely while I doctored it for the next few weeks. She still doesn't like me simply petting her head. And I respect her enough to only do so when I have an actual reason. I think she recognizes that.
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