Obviously, though, if you fall while riding BAREBACK, - oh, and you can't jump high enough to get on your horse's back without stirrups/mounting block - it's a bit challenging to get right back on again.
Yesterday, instead of getting to the barn before 4:00 pm, I got there before 8:00 pm, meaning I got there at about 7:30. Great, right? Well, yea; sort of. I had an awards banquet to go to, so I couldn't get to the barn to join Claire's lesson. I hear she rode April, though! =D
When I got to the barn, I went and grabbed Zan - literally, I ran up to him and grabbed his mane before he could run away - and brought him inside. Lunging time! As per my instructions from Erica, I only lunged for maybe 15-20 minutes. I have to say, it was really good. Zan didn't act up, and followed my verbal instructions quite nicely. Maybe, just maybe, I could've lunged without the lunge line. But that's a bit dangerous. So, no, we won't try that. After lunging, I threw the saddle on and got on Zan with very, very little movement on his part. Progress!
I walked him around for maybe three minutes, and then got a good trot going. When I was satisfied, I walked him a few steps, reversed, and trotted again. Other than his head moving around a ton, our trot looks very nice. Erica came out of her appartment (I'd told her when I was bridling; she wanted to watch me!) and took me through the paces.
The walks were okay. We still had a MAJOR stopping problem - and by MAJOR I mean way worse than usual - but we were okay. The trots were very beautiful, and Erica adored them. When we cantered his good way, we got the wrong lead the first time, but I stopped him, switched leads, and continued on. I worked hard on slowing him down. Thankfully, usually (nowadays) I ride with soft hands, so when I need to use the bit harshly (or a bit harsher than normal), Zan responded. When we went his bad way, it was HORRID. Okay, that might be an overexaggeration. But it wasn't very good. AT ALL. I think I got more worked up over it than Zan did. But we kept getting the wrong lead, and once when I cued Zan to canter his head basically hit a pole! Ouch! (Yes, I felt very bad about that one.)
I only rode for a grand total of about a half hour. Amazing, isn't it, how much can happen in just a half hour? Isn't it strange that I - the person addicted to riding horses - could ride for ONLY A HALF HOUR? Well, yes. It is both strange and amazing. =)
After I rode, I quickly took the saddle off of Zan and Erica put a pretty show halter on Zan, along with a chain. I worked on showmanship and a bit of halter - that includes pivoting, stopping, backing, setting up, patterns, etc. - and learned a LOT. I learned that I walk/run funny - like a chicken! Erica and I had lots of laughs about how I run. Erica and I, after I got bored of working on halter/showmanship, were messing around.
Erica got on Zan bareback and I led her around the arena. Some of our antics included acting like we were in saddle club (Erica being the kid, me being the person leading in the horse), riding bareback, and...
PUSHING EACH OTHER OFF OF THE HORSE!
I tried to jump up on Zan bareback, but that didn't work very well. So Erica gave me a leg up and 'led' me around the arena. We trotted a bit, walked a bit, and then... suddenly stopped! Erica stopped Zan and leaned against his shoulder. I wasn't expecting her to do what she did: grab my leg, swing it around, and push me off of Zan! Bad girl, Erica!
We had loads of laughs. Her pushing me off of Zan led to a whole lot of pushing each other off of the horse. It was loads of fun, and when Dad picked me up, I was laughing so hard my sides hurt.
I feel like I'm Erica's 'follower,' sort of how Mallory is my 'follower'. Mallory always does what I do, follows me in the field, etc. I always do what Erica does, and follows her around.
11 days until the horse show! This year is going to be a brand new start for me at horse shows. With a new horse, another year under my belt, and a great instructor right by my side, this should be a good year!
Remember to smile all the time and eat peppermints like the horses do! Have a happy week!
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