Wow, so much respect to you for doing this! I always wanted to learn to ride*, but reading your experiences really de-romanticizes everything and is making me think it's not something i want to do all that much after all.


* My 2nd stepmother had a horse that she boarded fairly close to my dad's house. Her whole family was involved in horses. I'm still angry at myself for never asking her to teach me, but also remain disappointed that she never asked if i wanted to learn. I thought it'd be a nice way to spend more time with her (i liked her a lot! i've liked ALL of my dad's wives, LOL) and get to know her better. But then she wised up and left my dad. Oh well. :(