What I Learned from Mowing the Lawn....

Thats right. I said mowing the lawn. Well, not really the lawn, but the area where I ride. So here is my story...

Yesterday, around noon or so I decided I should re-mow my riding arena. It was becoming rather over populated with those really tall white flowery looking weedy things. Also, the area that I hadnt cut before because it was freshly bush-hoged was becoming slighty unruly. Out comes Mr Mower!

Now! Even just getting out to the area to mow was a challenge. Not only had the weeds and things grown up in my space, but in the entire feild that was bush hogged not long ago, making the trail out slightly treacherous for poor Mr Mower. A few false starts, a few run ins with stumps I couldnt see and tangles with fallen weedy things and we were finally in the clear! On to mowing. Straight lines around the edges now, you want it to look nice. Off we went. Nearly off I bounced!

This is basically just a grass field. A soft grass field, as in the spring, most of it is a swamp! So under all those weeds is a delightfully strange cushion of mossy looking stuff, which means Mo puts a lot of foot holes in the ground. Which means that riding around on it, on a vehicle with wheels, is not particularly comfortable! Bounce bounce boingy bounce.... it is jaring to say the least. UNTIL!

Im riding my little mower along, bouncing, my back is starting to become sore, its starting to annoy me, when I start to think, what does Linda always say about pain in your body while riding? It represents a BRACE! Well now... since Mr Mower cant exactly move his body in a way to show me I am bracing, I just start experimenting with pushing more through my lower back like I would in a pushing passenger lesson. OOOHH ! Better! Better but not perfect. Hmmm.

More experimenting. Then I start thinking about dressage riders sitting those huge magnificent trots, which leads me to thinking about contact, which makes me think about Finesse, which sends me to the Game of Contact and what Linda was telling us about engaging our core, pulling your belly button to your spine and doing the "Michael Jackson" with your hips. Why not? I was trying other fluidity techniques on my metal horsey, why not some finesse riding? So I did. And! Miracle of all miracles, all my pain went away! I could move with the mower seat and not bang on it at all! Whooo!

At first I would get it and then lose it and have to find it again, but as it went on [over an hour of mowing the arena] I got to where I could hold it and not have to be so concious about holding it. Really cool. Now if only I could be as successful on my REAL pony, Id be pretty excited!

Either way, I was pretty amused. Finesse a la lawn mower, Go figure. Independant hands, feet and seat. Egage your core!

Such are the bizzarities I come up with while frying in the sun on the lawn mower...

:-)
S