The Potato
Last week, Leah commented on my stiffness and tension as I was riding Stalker. *sigh*. I’ve been stiff and tense since … well I was like that in the womb. It was a huge bother at the time to my mom and I was in several obstetric journals in 1960 due to the rigidity of my limbs and my worried little frown. No, but seriously folks, my neck’s been stiff since 1973 or so.
Anyway, 33 years past the age of 13 and guess what? I’m still the same way. When I’m tired and getting ready to try and sleep at night, I have to check my body for tension and remember to unclench my teeth. That’s another hope I have for riding, that it will unlock the knotted and clenched pre-adolescent and let her quit worrying so much about stuff that’s bugged her since the tail end of the Nixon administration.
So Leah suggested the sack of potatoes. I stopped trying to sit up so ramrod straight (for now) and simply relaxed. And what do you know? Stalker relaxed, dropped his head and accepted the bit. He taught me a lot in 30 minutes he did, that old dressage boy!
Originally uploaded by RiderOne.
