I'd thought it was supposed to be warm & sunny today, but apparently not. The day started out in Brigadoon mode. Thick fog lowered over the countryside, cutting us off from everything else. In spite of what the weather service had told me this morning, it did not start to lift at 9 (it was actually closer to 11 when it cleared enough to actually see the road from the barn), which was very disappointing.
Diane came out to help with chores, and we mucked stalls whilst attempting to breathe in the pea soup air, running back & forth between barn & compost heap in occasional drizzly mist. Once we were done with the mucking, it was time for her son Connor's very first lesson!
Being his first, we spent it entirely on the ground, learning about grooming, moving around horses, and how to lead them. Gimli is his lesson pony and, for all that he can be wriggly and impatient about getting to the treat portion of events, he is good with kids and just the right size for someone small to work with.
I find it amusing how hard it is to convince kids that they really can push hard with the brushes when they groom a horse or pony. No matter how many times I say, "you can press really hard, he likes that" they always want to skim the grooming tools delicately over the pony's coat. I suppose it's just a comfort-level thing that takes time. It's hard to really dig in and put your weight behind the brush strokes when you're still at the stage where you're worried about being stepped on.
Getting to lead Gimli around a bit helped Connor with that particular worry a bit, I think. He did get his foot stepped on in the process of trying to keep the pony away from a tuft of grass, but he was having such a good time that he was laughing whilst telling me about the pony stepping on him. I don't think Gimli actually put much of any weight on Connor, or even stepped on more than the very edge of his shoe, but it was a good way to show him that it's not the end of the world if the wee pony does step on you.
Connor also found it very impressive that when he stopped moving and said, "stop," Gimli would stop and stand there with him. Quite the confidence booster to have a pony who is much bigger and stronger than you do what you say!
Anyway, I'm excited to have a new student, especially a young one. I like teaching adults, but it's fun to really introduce the little kids to riding and working with horses. I hope he likes it enough to stick with it for a while, not just so I can earn a little extra money to buy things for the barn and actually feel like a professional again, but because I think it's a great hobby for a kid to have. It teaches self-confidence, encourages them to get outside and do something, and teaches them to treat other creatures with respect and kindness (or it should, anyway, if you're teaching them properly).
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