n [ˈprəʊgrɛs]
1. movement forwards, esp towards a place or objective
2. satisfactory development, growth, or advance she is making progress in maths
3. advance towards completion, maturity, or perfection the steady onward march of progress
4. (modifier) of or relating to progress a progress report
5. (Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Biology) Biology increasing complexity, adaptation, etc., during the development of an individual or evolution of a group
6. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) Brit a stately royal journey
in progress taking place; under way
vb [prəˈgrɛs]
1. (intr) to move forwards or onwards, as towards a place or objective
2. to move towards or bring nearer to completion, maturity, or perfection
[from Latin prōgressus a going forwards, from prōgredī to advance, from pro-1 + gradī to step]
While I don't feel like we've made much progress in terms of fitness or training, Riley and I have progressed by definition. This photo doesn't give much of an idea of that, but even with all of the setbacks we've had since I first purchased him, I feel like we have moved forward. He looks better (he's gaining some muscle, a tiny semblance of a topline, and he's carrying himself properly instead of a bit inverted) I look better (chair seat is gone, my shoulders are going back to where they should be and I'm not riding defensively all the time) -- I have hope that we will continue to move forward and progress and that we will paint a very nice picture one day together.
The nice thing about documenting every little thing is that you can really start to see the incremental change. Not everyone enjoys that, but I love seeing how he and I become more of a team every time we see each other.
People always laugh at me when I ask someone to take photos of me riding or I take a million photos of my horse every time I see him-which is *almost* daily-but I LOVE seeing how far we've come and love looking at the riding photos to see what I need to improve on. :)
ReplyDeleteWww.Sittinginthesaddle.blogspot.com
I know! Also, I can't get enough of seeing pictures/video of us together. I keep analyzing every little detail! I'm going to follow your blog!
DeleteThanks, I appreciate it! :) The details are great, the pictures and videos have helped me so much!!
DeleteThe two of you look so much more relaxed in the second photo. Just a softer feel, but I'm sure a lot of that has to do with building such a strong relationship.
ReplyDeleteTotally... I had ridden maybe 3 times that year by the time I tried him! I was VERY rusty (I still am!) -- but we're starting to understand each other.
DeleteHe's looking good, definitely filled out more and looks like he's growing up! And you can never have too much documentation of you and your horse :)
ReplyDeleteWow the photos show great improvement! This is where obsessing over the small stuff is actually healthy and helpful - able to show improvement even amid the hoof and other issues you've been dealing with.
ReplyDeleteI love seeing change too!!!
ReplyDeleteLooking awesome!
It's so much easier to track your progress when you can actually see it. Even when I start to feel down about making progress, I can look at the pics and be like "oh yeah, well at least we're not doing THAT anymore."
ReplyDeleteOr the opposite. ;) You guys are looking great.
I can deff see progress, I think you guys look awesome together! So what if you perhaps haven't spent as much time as you'd have liked in the saddle since you bought him, that's horses for you - sometimes these things just happen. But I'll tell you this for nothing, the bond you have made through groundwork and general being there for Riley through the slog of what you've been through with his feet - that relationship will stand to you as you look to further that bond through under saddle work.
ReplyDeleteI too love photos & videos, it is just a pity that I rarely have anyone around on the ground to take them of me - it's so handy to have something concrete to look at & examine to see where you want to improve.
Thank you for shharing this
ReplyDelete