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| Breakfast time! |
Yep, I rode Ruby today. Nope it didn't go as well as I'd hoped, but it didn't end with disaster either so things are good. We did the usual prep this morning, then I wanted to see how she'd go in a side-pull and a bareback pad. It was very cold and windy...why yes, I am grateful that I didn't break my neck. Ruby let me mount up from the mounting block fine. She stood very quietly and let me rock around, dig through my pockets, and snap a picture. Then I asked for forward movement - wait, you want what?! She started backing a few steps. She turns towards the goat's pen...and walks through me asking her to turn away from it. Hmm, maybe I should get down and try this in the round pen (I know, I know - and I'm not telling my Mom or my husband that I did this). Hop down, grab mounting block, and head to the round pen. Lunge a few laps to make sure she's listening before we try again. Walk up and make sure that we have steering, things are a go. Mount up, fine. Ask for forward movement - what?!? She backed a few steps, then swung to the left. Anyways, to make a long story short I think she was a bit on sensory overload. I was using my voice (walk, trot, ho just like when we lunge), my legs, my seat, and my hands when asking her to move, turn, stop, etc. She could feel every movement I made because she was in the bareback pad. It was also cold (low 40's) and windy, and probably too soon but now I know what we need to work on. I know she's ok with movement and noises coming from her back when I'm mounted, and I know that she has basically no steering in the sidepull (still stumped on that one because she was doing great from the ground). After a few minutes I decided to steer to and stop at a particular clump of grass and call it good. We have lots to work on! In the meantime, have I mentioned how gorgeous she is?
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| Before going into the round pen. |
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