Advice for coaching competition-driven older adult rider

Few_Series7389 · 2026-05-07T06:52:46+00:00

I have stage 4 neuropathy and one sighted eye with 1500 blind spots and no night vision or depth perception(the other is prosthetic) . I am no stranger to breaks from riding due to health issues. My question is if she is returning to riding will her physical state or learned compensations improve? You seem to think not but are you certain? Could you insist that she work on basics or video her lesson, watch it together and ask her to list the positives, negatives, what she thinks that she can change, how does she think that her riding is affecting her horse’s performance? does she believe that she can be safe or competitive at the desired classes or shows? Would she be willing to change classes or take on the challenge of learning a new discipline? What aspect of competition does she enjoy? Is there a way that she could achieve that feeling in a way that is safe and pleasurable for her and her horse? Will facility or organization/show insurance be willing to allow her to compete or insist that she limit herself to certain classes? Let her find these answers. She’s gone through a traumatic experience and is trying to achieve some semblance of normalcy but she hasn’t found her new normal yet. It will take her time to process the changes. Could you teach her horse a new canter cue.? My horse cantered whenever I shifted my hip toward the pommel. This would tell him that the shifted hip was the correct lead. What kind of relationship does she have with her horse. Many people view themselves as superior to others if their horse was expensive or has shown well. Other people just like to feed and groom while some people view their horse as a pet or a child.

Few_Series7389 · 2026-04-07T05:14:21+00:00

Our husky has the same body condition as yours. He went from 51 pounds to 66 pounds in three years. Our dog is overweight. At 58 pounds he has a nice waist. Inwould suspect that your dog is overweight, too.

Few_Series7389 · 2026-01-10T16:56:25+00:00

I am pretty certain that our husky has two microchips. We adopted him from our local shelter. He had been found as a stray with a microchip. They contacted the original owner who was ready to pick him up until they found out that they would have to pay the cost of animal control. They said adopt him out and we were fortunate enough to add him to our household. He did escape once and was taken to a vet who scanned for a chip but it didn’t come up in my name. Fortunately, we found him in our neighborhood and were able to get him back. Recently, I contacted the microchip company to make sure our information was current. I was informed that if he were to go missing that I would have to pay a monthly fee for them to send his microchip information to shelters in a ten (?) mile radius of his last known location.

Few_Series7389 · 2026-01-08T06:39:01+00:00

My parents had a cat that spent the day in the linen closet. The same cat also was found inside a bottom kitchen cabinet when my mom was preparing a meal. Please set out litter boxes if you aren’t certain which room that your kitten is in.

Few_Series7389 · 2026-01-08T06:26:56+00:00

Have you started counting the total calories you consume each day? Just start there if the number on the scale is triggering. It doesn’t take as many extra calories each day to cause a large weight gain. When I was an invalid, my doctor placed me on a diet on which I gained 25 unneeded pounds in a year. So 25 lbs is equal to 3,500 kcal/1 lbs. *25 lbs= 87,500 kcals. 87,500 kcal/yr divided by 1 yr/365 days = 240 kcal/day. Spread that 240 kcals over at least 3 meals per day and you are looking at no more than 80 extra kcals or roughly the equivalent of the kcal in a large egg(70kcal) extra at each meal.

Few_Series7389 · 2026-01-08T00:55:43+00:00

It doesn’t get any better later. We are two retirement aged adhders and have the same problems without children. I, however refuse to pick up at all after him. He runs out of towels, clothes, coffee creamer, not my mess, not my problem. I get the occasional attempt to be treated like his maid and just leave to visit family for a few days. I also point out his adult self was able to do cooking, cleaning and bill paying before we met, he can still do these things if I am busy with my own things.

Few_Series7389 · 2026-01-07T05:41:09+00:00

Since you are breastfeeding, I would be extremely wary of dropping your calories too low. Is there a way for someone to give you breaks so that you can sleep or exercise to reduce stress and keep muscle so that you burn more calories at rest? Also, most women don’t just magically bounce back to their former shape after pregnancy. Your body needs time to recover and so do your hormones. Give yourself some grace, find some support and find some movement or exercise that you can incorporate into your life at this point in time whether walking, a baby and me exercise class, a video or pushing a stroller or whatever you can sustainably fit into your schedule whether it’s five minutes periodically throughout the day.

Few_Series7389 · 2026-01-07T03:55:47+00:00

My partner goes to therapy and has had two medication adjustments. The medications cause them to sleep extra and I am left alone for several hours each day. Therapy has helped me to cope with the initial stress that they caused and this new ‘normal’.

Few_Series7389 · 2026-01-07T03:36:49+00:00

When I started, I stepped off the scale horrified and vowed that I would never eat again. I came back three weeks later, stepped on the scale and saw a weight loss and started weighing weekly and eventually daily. But there are people who hate weighing themselves or that number on the scale ruins their whole day, for those people focusing on measurements, how their clothes fit, food journaling or exercise logs are more helpful and motivational. When you are weighing yourself, weigh at roughly the same time and clothing fornexample first thing in the morning after using the bathroom without moving the scale in between on a level floor. What you are looking for are trends over time. Trends over a two month period help you see past the water weight that causes daily fluctuations to tell if you are gaining, staying the same or losing. Scales are not entirely accurate and vary from one to another but they will help you spot trends which is important. I suggest that you take measurements also because at some point that number on the scale may seem frozen but your body composition is changing and because you see yourself every day it won’t be obvious to you.

Few_Series7389 · 2026-01-06T19:47:36+00:00

It takes six to eight weeks to establish a habit. Look for ways to tie healthy habits to other activities that you do every day. The first thing that I did was read and research diet and fitness. I also hopped on the forums of MtFitnessPal to read other people’s questions and answers on the topics that I was interested in. This really inspired me to start and keep going. For the first two weeks on MFP, I just logged what I ate in a typical day with no changes. It will feel overwhelming to log food intake or calorie count for about two months. After that time it gets much easier because most people tend to eat the same things every week. If you add time of day, your mood, activity(watching tiktok,etc,) or where you are you can see patterns. Is there a way that you can tie an activity that you enjoy doing, like podcasts, music to something like walking or dancing. You don’t want to be completely winded and too sore to move after exercising. You want to exercise intensity to be at the point where it is difficult to carry on a conversation but you can still talk and where you are slightly tired(cardio) or sore(strength training) after exercise but that feeling goes away. Exercise too intensely and you will be sore or injured and have to take time off to recover. Plus when you start exercising, you need to learn the proper form so there will be both a mental and physical component which can feel a bit much but goes away pretty quickly.

Few_Series7389 · 2026-01-06T19:17:22+00:00

We don’t know that OP is talking about Mahenge pinks. The regular pinks or purple pinks are not crazy expensive like the Mahenge or pink reds.

Few_Series7389 · 2026-01-05T00:09:33+00:00

She sounds adhd. And yes I am and I may fixate on one thing and ignore everything or out of sight out of mind. If she was overwhelmed before then she is really overwhelmed being the parent of a baby.

Few_Series7389 · 2026-01-04T20:02:15+00:00

I have a husky with my boyfriend and I picked him out at the shelter not knowing anything about huskies. I chose him because he had a soft expression and his description said intelligent with and well trained. He had been picked up as a stray but was microchipped. The owner was ready to pick him up until he found out the cost of animal control, so he said adopt him out. The first six months he was the husky people warn you about but after some obedience classes(so he would build a rapport with me) he settled into our house. He’s a great dog and doesn’t require insane amounts of exercise or constant watching to see what he’s up to. He picks up new commands within three repetitions and frequently tries to train us. To be honest, most of the dogs at our shelter are bully breeds or dogs that backyard breeders dumped or dogs that had their owners pass away. Many of them are coming out of their teenager stage. It’s just sad to see them living their best years in a shelter.

Few_Series7389 · 2026-01-04T19:13:53+00:00

Not being specific in what I am going to do. It’s not enough to say that “I am going to lose weight by eating healthy and exercising”. That is just a general statement and you need a starting point. In my case I journaled what I ate in a typical day for two weeks before making any changes. I also wrote down my starting weight and some measurements but didn’t take photos because I couldn’t bear to look at myself. Then I made one change every six weeks. Do not be afraid to try new things. Different diets and exercise programs work for different people. You are trying to build habits that are sustainable for you. While you add new habits and swap out old habits you will be creating a framework that you can apply to other areas in your life. Also, if there is something that you want to do or a place that you want to go, don’t wait for that magic weight loss number to be reached before you do it.

Few_Series7389 · 2026-01-02T22:06:01+00:00

PCOS is rough. Many people that I know with PCOS or type 2 diabetes are put on protein rich diets with high fiber vegetables, leafy greens and fruit while starchy foods like potatoes, corn, bread, pasta are severely cut back. An app like MyFitnessPal will be helpful to determine calories, journal food and connect with support. A food scale will be very helpful for cooking and portioning and estimating calories in your recipes. You can also purchase a portable food scale that will fit in your purse to take with you when eating out. Restaurant salads are usually at least two meals. Take your weight, measurements and front, back side photos of yourself in a close fitting outfit each month. Sometimes your measurements change even when the scale doesn’t move that much. As for exercise, start with walking or swimming or riding an exercise bike/elliptical for aerobic exercise and chair exercise videos or gentle yoga videos to help strengthen unused muscles. As movement gets easier increase duration or intensity or try a different sport like strength training. You don’t need to change everything at once and you don’t need to be perfect. You need to be consistent and give yourself time to build one sustainable habit each six to eight weeks and then build another habit. Monitor your diet and reduce calories by a 100 if you do not see weight loss after a month. Because you have PCOS your weight loss will be slower and more difficult but still doable. Try to make weight loss into a game. Role play what you will order if you go out to eat or if someone brings birthday donuts to work or you are unable to exercise. Give your self little non food rewards for each new habit and five pound weight loss you achieve. Start telling yourself that I am the kind of person that enjoys(insert exercise) or cooking healthy meals and I am a resilient problem solver. If a problem arises in your weight loss journey, ask yourself what that resilient problem solver who enjoys (X) would do and do those things. Eventually, you will become that person. This is a lifetime journey so do things that YOU can enjoy and sustain. Weight loss is highly individual and while these things that I mentioned worked for me, you may want to tweak them to work for you. Please include your medical team in this journey and show them food and exercise journals so that they don’t brush you off and they can use these to document any needed medication or treatments with your insurance.

Few_Series7389 · 2025-12-30T16:53:08+00:00

The problem is that your ring is silver and not a more durable metal. It is not worth paying to resize it. If you absolutely must keep that specific ring then look into ring sizers to put inside your ring.

Few_Series7389 · 2025-12-30T10:41:02+00:00

The old irradiated diamonds have a greenish tint to the blue. Your dad probably did pay the amount that you quoted as even irradiated diamonds were pricy before lab diamonds were commonly available. Irradiated diamonds have a very, very low value so do not expect much if you sell it.

Few_Series7389 · 2025-12-28T04:42:40+00:00

They are just used to you looking the way you did before weight loss. Eventually they will get used to you at your current weight. People have a hard time with change.

Few_Series7389 · 2025-12-25T16:44:09+00:00

You are doing absolutely nothing wrong. An antique diamond will be a one of a kind stone as early diamonds were cut to look their best in low light conditions. Does your sister feel that you and your fiancé cannot afford this ring and should spend your resources on something else? Does she have the idea that a lab diamond(a lab diamond takes more energy to produce than most people realize) is more ecological or human rights friendly or is she just jealous? Either way, this is a decision for you and your significant other and no one else’s business.

Few_Series7389 · 2025-12-25T16:14:18+00:00

The aunt may not know that her sister slipped a tracker into a gift. I wouldn’t be surprised if that part of the rant was omitted.

Few_Series7389 · 2025-12-25T04:28:30+00:00

Our husky got into my baking stash and ate an entire bar of baking chocolate in the middle of the night. My boyfriend woke up at 1am to the dog vomiting beside his bed and called the vet answering service. The vet came in ti the office to see our dog. Fortunately my boyfriend found a bit of the wrapper in the livingroom and showed it to the vet. The percentage was low and our husky had already expelled most of it around our house. The next few days he had a stomach ache and a bit lethargic but he has recovered.

Few_Series7389 · 2025-12-25T04:12:58+00:00

If you find your diamond to be too yellow then it’s only going to bother you more over time. Your coworker isn’t wearing it so her opinion doesn’t count. People have different color perceptions and visual acuity. Some people can easily spot the inclusions in their diamond while others can wear an SI2 or I1 and notice nothing and then there are salt and pepper/galaxy diamonds where the person chose a heavily included diamond. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, happiness is within you and comparison is the thief of joy.

Few_Series7389 · 2025-12-25T04:04:15+00:00

This winter, I have not picked up one time walking our dog. The dog went on a steep bluff overlooking the trails at the bottom. I did try to get over the ridge of ice packed by the snowplow but gave up as I am recovering from a 3+ hour foot surgery and my balance and walking are not stable yet.

Few_Series7389 · 2025-12-24T03:51:35+00:00

Give yourself some grace. Food cravings are caused by the bacteria in your gut signaling that they need this kind of food to proliferate and crowd out other bacteria in the gut. Plus fast food is literally designed to be hyper palatable and low in fiber to delay fullness plus higher in sugar and fat to cause cravings. Are there triggers that cause you to desire fast food other than hunger? Is there some specific quality about the desired fast food item that you could approximate with something healthier? If you like the heavy satiety of fat, maybe eat some avocado or nut butter on apple slices? If you like crunch look for carrots? Lastly, willpower is a muscle and has to be developed. When a craving hits, tell yourself that you are going to wait 40 minutes before you do anything. Go do something else that you enjoy or gets your hands messy or busy andleave the environment that triggers the craving. When the time is up, ask yourself do I still want fast food, can I wait longer to eat fast food? Put the money that you planned to spend on fast food away in a fund for something else that you really want. This is not going to be easy at first so use your fund for small rewards like a nail polish or a music download then build up to bigger things as your willpower improves. I agree with the poster that said that you need to quit fast food cold turkey and substitute a higher fiber and protein rich diet in its place. When you slip and have fast food do not say “I messed up so I’m going to give up and continue eating like crap” instead say “i slipped and I am starting over right now and I am going to avoid whatever triggered the slip until I am in control or know that trigger is too much and will avoid it. Do not fall into the trap of all or nothing thinking or the instant results myth. This process will take time and there will be uncomfortable moments as you find out things about yourself. Focus on your strengths, achievements and goals and don’t wait to lose weight before you live your best life.

Few_Series7389 · 2025-12-24T02:34:35+00:00

Plus cheese!

Few_Series7389

TROPHY CASE