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Horsie Ride....
Mar. 30th, 2003 10:58 amI haven't posted anything here in a while. That's mostly because I haven't ridden anything in a while. But the sun did poke its head out of the clouds and the snow melted away for a while and I did get to go and ride on Saturday. This post is several weeks late but hopefully I got the date right.
Anyway, my friend Trish has offered on several occasions to allow me to ride her horse, Leaps, while she exercises him on a lunge line. I finally took her up on the offer under the inspiration of reworking a half-coif for her and making a new half-coif out of aluminum that doesn't leave little black rings.
It was a lovely ride out to the barn and as Trish had told me many times, Leaps was a big horse. 16 hands is what she told me. After Trish had finished cleaning Leaps, it was time for exercise. So she saddled him up and we walked out to the ring.
Now, let's remember I've ridden all of two horses and trotted only once. So we were going to keep this to walking. Mounting the horse proved to be my first difficulty as Leaps decided to side step away from me. Luckily, I didn't get caught in the stirrup. Okay, I can't hesitate when doing this. So up I go.
Then Trish walked Leaps out and start Leaps walking in a circle. If I was frightened of being on a big horse, this didn't help me much. I had no control and had to have complete trust in Trish and Leaps to not kill me. Okay, so that didn't come right away but I didn't show it. I certainly had trust or I wouldn't have been on the horse. Just not complete trust. They did a good job of curing me of that and by the time I got off the horse, I was fine (if not sore).
Trish gradually let the walking circle get bigger. My guess is Leaps responds well to voice commands so as Trish was talking to me about things like trotting, Leaps would occasionally go faster and she would slow him right down again. Its a frightening experience and with nothing to hold on to, I had to remember not to clench with my legs as Leaps might take that as a signal to go faster. I didn't fall off so we must have done just fine. Trish gave me some exercises to use and helped me with my foot position in the stirrups. All in all, it was a great experience but I still wasn't ready to be on a trotting horse with no reigns. Not that the reigns would have helped, but I would have thought they were helping. Its like the "oh shit" handle in a car. Let's face it, grabbing it isn't going to really save your life. It just makes you feel better.
Getting off the horse was tricky for me too. I'm not very flexible so I can't leave one foot in the stirrup as I dismount or I'll rip a few muscles out of my groin. So I need to take both feet out, swing my leg over and slide down the horse, all while hoping he doesn't decide to move.
I learned a lot. Mostly I learned that you really have to trust the horse you're riding to know what its job is and do it properly. I also learned that if I turn my whole body in the direction I want to go, the horse will probably move that way too. This is going to become more important as I move forward.
I stood with Trish while she lunged Leaps. I wondered how she kept from getting dizzy and mentioned this. She said it had never been a problem... and then began to get a little dizzy. Oops. Still, I think she got it back quickly and I was the only one in danger of falling over.
It was a great day. I learned a lot. I rode a non-school horse even though I was just a passenger and not a driver. It was great.
Afterward, I went down to Quick Farm to see if I could talk to Sally about starting up lessons again. She wasn't there and I wasn't hanging around as I had someplace to be. But shortly after this, the snow hit again and I've been waiting for nice weather and melted snow. The weather seems nicer now (three weeks later) and I need to get in touch with Sally so I can start riding again.
YAY! And thanks again to Trish and Leaps.
Anyway, my friend Trish has offered on several occasions to allow me to ride her horse, Leaps, while she exercises him on a lunge line. I finally took her up on the offer under the inspiration of reworking a half-coif for her and making a new half-coif out of aluminum that doesn't leave little black rings.
It was a lovely ride out to the barn and as Trish had told me many times, Leaps was a big horse. 16 hands is what she told me. After Trish had finished cleaning Leaps, it was time for exercise. So she saddled him up and we walked out to the ring.
Now, let's remember I've ridden all of two horses and trotted only once. So we were going to keep this to walking. Mounting the horse proved to be my first difficulty as Leaps decided to side step away from me. Luckily, I didn't get caught in the stirrup. Okay, I can't hesitate when doing this. So up I go.
Then Trish walked Leaps out and start Leaps walking in a circle. If I was frightened of being on a big horse, this didn't help me much. I had no control and had to have complete trust in Trish and Leaps to not kill me. Okay, so that didn't come right away but I didn't show it. I certainly had trust or I wouldn't have been on the horse. Just not complete trust. They did a good job of curing me of that and by the time I got off the horse, I was fine (if not sore).
Trish gradually let the walking circle get bigger. My guess is Leaps responds well to voice commands so as Trish was talking to me about things like trotting, Leaps would occasionally go faster and she would slow him right down again. Its a frightening experience and with nothing to hold on to, I had to remember not to clench with my legs as Leaps might take that as a signal to go faster. I didn't fall off so we must have done just fine. Trish gave me some exercises to use and helped me with my foot position in the stirrups. All in all, it was a great experience but I still wasn't ready to be on a trotting horse with no reigns. Not that the reigns would have helped, but I would have thought they were helping. Its like the "oh shit" handle in a car. Let's face it, grabbing it isn't going to really save your life. It just makes you feel better.
Getting off the horse was tricky for me too. I'm not very flexible so I can't leave one foot in the stirrup as I dismount or I'll rip a few muscles out of my groin. So I need to take both feet out, swing my leg over and slide down the horse, all while hoping he doesn't decide to move.
I learned a lot. Mostly I learned that you really have to trust the horse you're riding to know what its job is and do it properly. I also learned that if I turn my whole body in the direction I want to go, the horse will probably move that way too. This is going to become more important as I move forward.
I stood with Trish while she lunged Leaps. I wondered how she kept from getting dizzy and mentioned this. She said it had never been a problem... and then began to get a little dizzy. Oops. Still, I think she got it back quickly and I was the only one in danger of falling over.
It was a great day. I learned a lot. I rode a non-school horse even though I was just a passenger and not a driver. It was great.
Afterward, I went down to Quick Farm to see if I could talk to Sally about starting up lessons again. She wasn't there and I wasn't hanging around as I had someplace to be. But shortly after this, the snow hit again and I've been waiting for nice weather and melted snow. The weather seems nicer now (three weeks later) and I need to get in touch with Sally so I can start riding again.
YAY! And thanks again to Trish and Leaps.
