[alabama]

My SO rode with me for the first six months or so that we dated. I really thought he'd be a trainwreck since I don't see him all that coordinated on the ground. However, he and the horse he rode got along really well. And the horse he rode was the more difficult of the two he had to choose from. For whatever reason, they worked.

But then the new trying-to-impress-you relationship morphed into I-really-don't-want to-ride all day on Sat/Sun, I don't think he's ridden in years. He works his ass off around the farm, feed, can blanket/unblanket, etc. That works better for me anyway. I see him at work every day. I like time to myself.

[PNWjumper]

Cute boys (horse & human)

My DH rode on and off for the first year we dated. He's really athletic and was brilliant on a horse. Sadly the shine of dating wore off and he stopped trying to impress me, so his chaps and paddock boots hang in my tack room waiting for a tall friend or my son one day (that's wishful thinking right there!). The rider in him did show back up when I was towards the end of my first pregnancy and I was trying to prep a gelding to go out on a lease. I would ride my horse for 10-15 minutes and then he'd get on and ride for another 15-20 min. It was fun and I *almost* wish he'd take up riding again!

[Graureiter]

That gives a whole new meaning to the term "on-line" dating.
He is improving nicely.

[2DogsFarm]

Points for the new BF!

I turned DH over to my trainer when he wanted to learn and it worked out great.
He learned to ride and we avoided any head-butting.

When he got his first horse we worked together and it was more like The Bickersons than Ozzie & Harriet : }
Still ended up fine: he horse-showed & evented with me.

[thatmoody]

They are both adorable! My daughter is teaching her SO to ride, and he's LOVING it. I'm so impressed with both of them - her large pony is too small for him, so she's working with one of the BO's old horses to slowly condition him, and he's a real trouper! You can tell that he really likes being back in light work, too . I think they're both keepers!

[Beau's mom]

Very cool. Alph seems to like his job too. You got a good thing there!

[caradino]

I was grinning ear-to-ear watching that! Your SO is doing GREAT!! What a good guy, I love how he is trying to get into "your world". Very cool.

My DH was already a rider when we met, but in a western saddle and he was not very experienced. He now gets english lessons from me on my pony and we have so much fun! We have a "best friends" type of relationship and he is very humble when it comes to things he doesn't know, so teaching him is not a problem at all. Here he is "jumping" a crossrail:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ti7LXCRJ6A

[SarahandSam]

Sending this to Kevin at work...

[pony grandma]

hahaa someone who remembers The Bickersons!! The comedy album from the 50's was it Ralph? and Blanche? We loved the cruise ship sketch.

Loved the video of your guy! Made me smile. I had a GF who got married, first time at 40, to a guy who took up riding and 'bought the whole farm' so to speak. He really got into the tractor and haying and took up eventing with her. They even bred TBs and raced them. And he fixed up a big motor home and they truck out to the East coast once a yr to volunteer work at Fair Hill.

There is hope for a few of you out there! Gramps is still picking up hay and hauling sawdust and fixing fences!

[Superminion]

Love the video! I'm sending you DH!

[BuddyRoo]

Good eggs, both of them!

couple of thoughts....get that guy some half chaps so he doesn't hurt his calves in the leathers with jeans. ouch!

Also, since your guy is going kind of WP trot speed where there's not a lot of suspension "tossing" one into the post, you might talk to him about how he only really needs to come up about an inch and then spend the leg energy coming down lightly.

I only learned to ride English as an adult and I had a stock breed type. There was such a huge difference in posting on her vs on some of the "more suspension" types. In those cases, your effort is spent sitting down gently not try to toss yourself up. It really helped me when a trainer finally said that she didn't need to see daylight between my butt and the saddle at the post...just a little up. So much less effort and more comfy!

Oh the joys of being a beginner adult!

Seriously, what a good egg. Your horse seems to actually enjoy babysitting and your SO seems to have the heart to give it a good shot. Riding on the longe isn't exactly a secure feeling. Takes a lot of faith in the horse and the person on the other end of the line. Bodes well for all of you.

Best wishes!

[ChocoMare]

He's a keeper!!!

[CVPeg]

Ditto what Chocomare said. Future looks good!

[Fillabeana]

I love how Alph trots along without much bounce while your SO is having balance/posting issues, and then steps it up to a real trot when SO gets the hang of it.

[belgianWBLuver]

That gives a whole new meaning to the term "on-line" dating.
He is improving nicely.

Agreed! cute comment too.

One word - Keeper!!!!

[oliverreed]

Keeper!

[Kate66]

I'm amazed that he advanced so much in 5 lessons. One thing that made me smile too was that it reminded me of these weight loss ads (bear with me here!) where they lose loads of weight and then look fabulous, but in reality they've also finally got make up and good clothes on - because - your horse had a haircut in the middle. So it starts out in lesson 1 with a long mane and sort of plodding around but by Lesson 5 the horse has a nice trim mane and is really starting to move out with him.

Fun to watch. He's a keeper!