In Which Nicole Takes Up Ballroom Dancing in the Darkest Hour Before Dawn: September 15, 2007

Gives the phrase “dancing with your horse” a whole new dimension. Not sure this is what Guérinière had in mind…

It helps to have a sense of humor about the mare, and in a lot of ways writing about her is cathartic (read: keeps me from strangling her when she’s an ass), but it’s hard to not place some sense of self worth on the mare and her training.

Dressage is both financially and time consuming. Some months, I fork out more on Nicole than I pay for my home mortgage. I’m hardly driving myself into debt, but when I think about how I spend money hand over fist on the mare, and think about how alternatively I could enjoy a lovely beach home, or go to Europe 3-4 times a year, some part of me wants some justification for the financial liability I’m bearing.

It’s easy to say, “hey, I have a good job, make a good living, and gosh darn it, people like me, so really, if I suck at dressage, I’m not an overall loser.” But when you invest a healthy portion of your income, and spend a portion of your day in the pursuit of improvement, and when Twinkle Toes decides pseudo ballroom dancing is more fun than dressage, some part of your sense of self and ego is going to be at stake.

I'll say this though: When we have an influx of Mare Moments, as we've had the past 2 weeks, it tells me that something is about to improve. When we had our last slew of Mare Moments, last July, when we came out the other end, we had a more balanced canter, something that was pleasant to ride.

I think the Mare Moments are in response to additional expectations (such as increasing the amount of canter I ask for) and the building of muscle to meet those expectations. When I get to the point where I'm about to call in the professionals to ride her for me, I know now that it's "the darkest hour before dawn."