Communication Gap

So, as absolutely none of you already know, I'm on a 'diet'. Actually it's not really a diet at all, I'm not eating less, I'm just eating better so it's really more of a lifestyle change. I'm eating healthier- cutting out sweets, sugar, processed foods, fast food, soda, all that nonsense

(This has been responsible for me learning how to cook better- also sometimes the healthy versions of things are way better. Baked fries? Made with egg white instead of oil produces crispier and fluffier fries. Amazing.)

I've also been working out; my yoga class has been responsible in part for this. Our instructor also teaches a class on tighten and tone and total body recall. So we do a lot of planks and ab working moves. It's actually kind of awesome.

When I was working horses one day I noticed that... my legs were kind of sore. And when I was moving feed, it took actual effort to carry them to the barn. What has college done to me?! I'm all soft and out of shape. My muscle mass, where has it gone? I think it's hiding, the sneaky bugger.

This is what prompted my movement into healthier lifestyle choices. I've been looking at the pictures inn  the 'daily motivation' section of The Berry. One theme that always bugs me is the "Don't you want that thigh gap?"

The college girl in me goes: 
But the Equestrian in me goes:


Why?
Because whenever I see the girls with the tiny thighs I look at them and wonder how well they'd do during a sitting trot or riding bareback.

Then I see pictures like this one: 

And then my mind goes: "Ohhh, you mean being bowlegged! Well heck, I get that way when I ride too much for too long."
The other part goes: "Leg gap? You mean that space that's occupied by my horse?"

When I see the pictures that go: 

My mind goes: "Oh you mean the thing with the hay bales and salt blocks and 50 lb feed bags? Yeah I do that!
So now my mind is creating 'the equestrian workout plan'.

It involves reps of:
Full water bucket raises
Hay bale throwing and stacking
Feed bag stacking- as a bonus do over the head lifts.
Jogging: with your horse when it's too muddy to ride. As a difficulty increase, work with a hard to catch horse and a noisy halter!
Arm stretches: use a hard to bridle horse or one who shies away from the saddle when you're tacking up.
Resistance training: Use a stubborn horse- Find a patch of juicy grass and let them graze, then attempt to pry them away from it. (This can also be done with a horse trailer and a hard to load horse)

So what funny ideas do you guys have to add to my list?



*After bathing Kota and scrubbing a winters worth of dirt out of his furry pinto booty, which consisted of a lot of weaving around, I've decided I'm going to skip the gym today.