Nervous Nellie

It's been a month since I've been on the back of a horse so E and I took a quick trip out to the barn today so I could ride. As we progressed in the tacking-up process, I became more and more nervous about climbing on - which kind of surprised me. But I made myself go ahead anyway. It helped my confidence a little that he performed well in the round pen prior to saddling up.

Once we started, I kept Curly to a walk, which he then frequently tried to turn into a stop. He was not minding my (admittedly often imprecise) cues and made me work at steering him. But I persevered and ended up where I wanted the majority of the time. I could see that I need to work on being more consistent. I found it hard to keep all the things I needed to do in my head. Riding is hard!

I was happy that he didn't try to catch up to Monte or try to break into a trot when E and her horse passed by at a faster speed. Of course, I should have known he'd stick to his walk; it's not exactly like he enjoys going fast or doing arena work in general.

Curly was sweaty when we finished but I think the heat of the day had more to do with that rather than the intensity of our riding session. :-)

At the end of the short ride (25 minutes), I was still nervous but I had shown myself that I could do it....and that I wouldn't necessarily fall off. Overall, a success.

Bath time

A clean Monte, sporting his new fly mask

Today was bath day for our boys. Curly has not had a hose-down for at least a year now and Monte, being white, looked like he hadn't had a bath for over a year! The initial rinse water was muddy brown when we started but with a little soap and elbow grease, both horses were shiny and clean in no time.

And as is usually the case, we were almost as wet as the horses by the time we were done.

Dismounts and demanding respect

E learned a new dismount technique last Thursday - unintentionally. She has just begun cantering on Monte during her English riding lessons and her seat is not very steady yet. As they were coming down the arena something happened and she lost her stirrup leather; it completely came off - which it is supposed to do in a fall. E lost her balance and slipped out of the saddle and off the horse. By the time he had stopped, she was standing next to him with her arms wrapped around his neck. Tears of frustration and fear were beginning to fall as her instructor walked up to her, cheerfully saying, "Congratulations! You just learned to do an emergency dismount at a canter!"

Yeah, but did anyone know how to do CPR to restart her mother's heart?

Anna told E that it really is easier to start learning this skill at a walk, then trot, first. ;-)


Curly has enjoyed the life of pampered pasture pet lately. I haven't ridden him in forever but I hope to change that this weekend. I do take him into the round pen at least twice a week, though, and I make him move his feet while on the lead line every time I move him back into his stall. He is no longer just released back into his run because he has been showing a lack of respect, trying to run over me when we head in and out.

He and I work very well together in the round pen - but I am still very awkward when trying to get him to move on the lead line. Friend T helped out on Thursday by snapping a whip just outside his run when he wouldn't move out around me. Curly really hopped to it whenever that whip was making its popping sound. He's obviously felt the sting of it somewhere before! I think I will need to learn to handle a whip and lunge line at the same time - and soon.

I want it all!

It's so hard on nice days like today to decide what to do - stay home and hang out with the family, doing a few yard chores and playing with the kids, or go out to the barn and hang out with my horse-family?

Ultimately, I decided to stay at home today. But I have to admit that every once in a while I would think, "I could be riding Curly right now!" And heaven knows, I need the practice....but weeds also need to be pulled, laundry needs to be washed and games with the girls need to be played.

Overall, it's been a great day....adding a little horse time would have made it absolutely perfect.

Attitude adjustment

The farrier came out to reset Curly's shoes yesterday. To the casual observer, Curly appears to be well mannered while the trimming and shoeing process is taking place. But in reality he is quite naughty and is constantly leaning down on whatever foot/leg the farrier is working on. Very passive-aggressive! He even willingly lifts the hoof when requested, but will immediately begin exerting downward force once you have your hand under it. Eventually, he pushes hard enough that you just have to drop the foot.

By the third hoof, our kind-hearted farrier had had enough so Curly was put to work with the lead line and made to do some turns and backing and other movements for 5 or 10 minutes, all meant to refocus and re-adjust his little attitude. He quickly learned that it really is easier to just do your job to begin with!

I think a small portion of the problem is that at the end of each farrier session, we have always released Curly back to his stall/pasture. So he wants it all to end as quickly as possible so that he'll have his freedom back. Yesterday, I had E change this expectation up a little by making her work with him in the round pen as soon as the farrier is done. Hopefully that will help keep Curly from "running back to the barn" before we are really finished with the job at hand.

Scratch

Second 4-H show of the season was yesterday...and E decided that she and Monte were not quite ready for the competitive arena yet, so she scratched. We trailered the horse out to the venue anyway to help him get used to the hustle and bustle that accompanies a show.

I expected Monte to be nervous but he surprised us all by calmly taking it all in, only pawing at the ground when he got a little too bored at the trailer. E rode around with the other girls as they warmed up their horses and he again did better than we expected. He was attentive to her and she felt safe and in control the whole time.

I think they are beginning to form a good bond. He's got some of the reactive nature that I would expect in an Arab, but he appears to be a willing partner in most respects. Plus he's just so darn cute!

Lacking confidence

Monte and E had their first trail ride on Saturday. Unfortunately there was a steady rain during much of it - and as we all know, Monte doesn't do mud very well!

Turns out that he doesn't do trail rides in general very well. E had problems with him spooking as other riders came up on him from behind, plus he became nervous each time they left the actual trail. She also had to lead him over a shallow flood channel; he refused to walk through the water while she was riding.

I was supposed to participate on this ride, but when it came time to go I decided that my back wasn't quite up to snuff yet. I wonder if Monte would have been calmed by Curly's presence on the trail. Having a friend (or at least a familiar face!) lead the way often helps when you are in a new place.

We'll be taking more rides up at Bennington over the summer, partly because it's fun, but also to help Monte gain more confidence while out on the trails.