First, I got April and Erica got Sonny. I have decided that - on days that all horses are available - Sonny will be on the bottom of the list. He really is coming along great and with just one day of work every now and again, he will be just fine. Plus, he's still being used for lessons; I think at least two works a week (lessons) is fine for him, yes? Anyways. I saddled and bridled April.
I got on and walked her three laps (yes, I did count, and yes, I did remember, all just to tell YOU) then started trotting. Erica was trying to get Sonny to hold his head down while walking; no small feat nowadays. April and I trotted a while, got collected, and just... rode. I love April; she's one of those horses that takes just enough effort from you, but if you need it, she'll relax and just go with the flow for you. She's so low maintenance. I love her so, so much. There's nothing not to love. When we cantered, and we did circles, she responded just right to my legs, listened to every little signal in my voice, and every little twitch in my fingers. Oh, if every horse was like that. She is like a dream. If her sides were a little less touchy, she'd be perfect. There is no horse like April, and I know that everyone thinks their horse is the best, but April isn't mine. I'm not biased. Sure, I grew up riding first April's mom (Emmy) and now quite frequently April, but that doesn't mean I"m at all biased. If anything, I prefer my barrel racers to my HUS horses nowadays.
I decide to do a 'balance test' for myself; you could call it a balance test, or a posting test, or a rhythm test. I simply asked for a nice, collected trot from April. I posted on the correct diagonal, did a few circles, and then - without looking down - signaled for a canter on the correct lead. We cantered down the rail, and when we reached a corner, we circled on that end, then on the next rail, came back down to a trot. My challenge was picking up the correct diagonal on the first try. Rinse and repeat as necessary, all without looking down to see diagonals, leads, leg position, etc. It's a 'feel your way through' thing, I guess you could say. If you don't know the feel of your horse, you should do this exercise to get used to it's faster gaits (e.g., not walk). I found it quite useful in getting my body re-tuned to April after a long break from not riding her. We wound down the ride with a picture of Erica in her retarded multi-colored getup:
{Please ignore bad camera quality. Tis a phone picture.}
Next, Erica picked Mallory and I picked Pete. Ugh. Well.. Where to begin about this ride...
Before we got on, we set up a jump just past the middle of the arena, so that on the end, if you circled, the part of the circle off of the rail would have the jump in the middle. We set this up often, especially for Pete, and especially in the winter. After walking/trotting/cantering once each way, with lots of trot serpentines and canter circles to get rhythm and beat back into his movement, Erica went over the jump at a canter with Mallory. Now, Mal's canter is more like a gallop; her trot like a canter; and her walk like a trot. Mal has two gears: "REALLY FAST" and "really slow". Most of the time she's in "REALLY FAST" gear. They flew over that jump, at least three times. While they did that, I tried to get Pete to bend. We did tiny circles, then stood still and I got off and flexed his head to both sides. Then I got on, backed him, and asked him to bend again. Gradually, it worked.
Then came our turn to jump. Trotting both ways was fine. We started off a little rough, but eventually we got okay jumps. I really need to work on my jumping position, that's for sure. I kind of just went with him over the jumps and concentrated on him rather than on the actual position thing, which is probably best for him right now. The, cantering. One way, it was alright. Going to the left was terrible. He jumped out on me, and then, on one jump, he stopped dead in his tracks. Leaped a foot too high. Then stopped dead in his tracks again, causing me to bounce REALLY high on his back and my butt lands right on the edge of the saddle. It still stings.
After that, we got off, stuck them in their stalls, and I hayed while Erica started bringing them in. Everyone got inside except Tarzan, Dakota, and Joe. Everyone got locked up tight and snuggly, then Erica and I watered and went to have our traditional hot chocolate. When I took Zan (without leadrope, halter, or holding onto him) across the arena to his stall and locked him up, something cool happened. Before I shut the door, he pushed his head against my chest and then looked at me in the eye. It was a magical moment, just me and my baby boy again. It made my heart ache for him. I miss riding him and spending time with him so much, it seems impossible.
What are some moments of heartbreak you've experienced?
2 comments:
The last time I saw Annie, the first horse I really really loved, was really hard for me. I knew she was leaving, I knew I might not ever see her again, so it was hard for me to say good-bye without getting myself worked up. Fortunately, though I was mainly riding Missy by that time, so it made Annie's departure a little easier for me. I do sometimes miss the horse, though...
Sound you mostly had a fun time:)
That's very sad:( Everyone misses their old horses - especially when they had to say goodbye. I think sometimes that it would just be easier if "goodbye" wasn't in the question. At the same time, everything in the long run is easier when you can hold onto a memory of their face the last time you saw them...
It was fun! Can't wait to do it again:)
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