But first, more from last Saturday. Saturday afternoon, after studying for hours and hours (statistics, ugh!!!) I decided to text Marie and see if she was at the stables. She didn't answer but I figured she was in the middle of a lesson and I went down there anyway. When I arrived, I saw Eclipse being ridden around the ring - I was right, I thought with satisfaction. Parked the car and got out and didn't see Marie in her usual spot on the gazebo by the arena. She wasn't in the arena either. Odd, but her truck was there so I asked the stable owner, who was watching the girl and Eclipse zoom around. He tells me that Marie's in Pennsylvania all weekend. Hmm, guess the barn owner and Marie have something worked out, so I feel dumb because she's not there and leave :)
But, I'm not going home without horse time so I head over to see Bourbon. He's out in the pasture with his buddies, and of course he's standing as far away from the gate as possible. When I got close, he stopped grazing and starting walking towards me - then he seemed to recognize me and turn away! Great. I wasn't going to chase him so I walked toward his shoulder and he let me catch him. Half way through the pasture, he let's out his 'where are my friends' whinny - that's right, we were still in the pasture. Bourbon, I promise I'm not a horse thief. I decided to groom him real quick before anything else, so we walked over to his stall. C has one of those Aussie tie-rings, so I put the lead rope through and turned around to get the brush bucket. That's when Bourbon decided to not only pull back but to rear up while doing it. The rest of the grooming was uneventful and we walked to the round pen. He had clearly been desensitized to a rope and stick, so we worked on walk/trot and changing direction. He has never really been taught to stay out of someone's space - actually, I guess you could just generalize and say that he's never been taught to give to pressure. His butt kept getting closer and closer when he was going around. He didn't feel the need to get out of my space when I asked, while lunging or leading. When he was going nicely, I put him back out.
When I got back in the car, I asked C if he's ever pulled back or reared up before. Not in a long time, she said. Another hmm. Pretty sure I asked if he had any quirks or bad habits. How long's a long time?
So, I've been contemplating. Bourbon is (slightly) disrespectful when you're barely asking anything of him - what happens when you turn up the pressure? I thought on it until this morning.
My lesson was scheduled at 10. I rode Dixie again, and she was wonderful. After warming up, we did a schooling level dressage test, then an equitation test. I was doing alright until Marie asked me to trot around without stirrups, first sitting then posting. I was sliding all over the place on the turns, and would have to point my toes down and grab with my calf. It was messy. Marie said I was looking alright, but I fessed up. It's something we're going to have to work on for sure. Then she said I could have my stirrups back and gave me a course to cover, in two-point. For anyone who doesn't know, riding in two-point really works those back muscles. I think I did the course twice. The first was very sloppy, the second was better because I had a better leg position. After the course, Marie sent me off at a trot when poor Dixie just quit. No amount of squeezing was getting her back into a trot - really, my legs were screaming by the time Marie asked me to walk her to the gate for a drink. Marie rinsed her legs and belly with water and we tried again, but it was just too hot and humid and Dixie was too pooped to go on. We got her un-tacked and walked her into the barn for a cool bath. So, I told Marie about coming out on Saturday and found out that she had never given Jim (stable owner) permission to let anyone ride her horses while she was gone. To say she was livid is an understatement. She asked if I was sure a few times and now I wished that I'd looked closer on Saturday, but I didn't. That being said, Eclipse is pretty easy to spot because he's got a golden-brown color to his coat instead of the usual red-brown. At this point, I'm hoping I was mistaken and the barn owner is not a raging d-bag.
And I asked her about her opinion of Bourbon. She doesn't think it's a good idea, basically the same reasons I was thinking. Bourbon needs a full training tune-up, not just attention. And I'm definitely not comfortable riding with a twisted wire snaffle. I realize they have their place, but I've never used one and would be afraid I'd unintentionally hurt him. So, she suggested I wait until she's able to contact Doll's owner (the little QH mare). She enjoys attention, and I really liked her. Crossing fingers.
No comments:
Post a Comment