On a whim, I decided to have my first ride on Fox last night. I got out my long unused helmet, bitless bridle and boots. Fox was a bit fussy with the bridle, tossing his head around. I led him into the arena and over to the mounting block. I slid my leg over his back expecting at least a sidle but he stood still as a rock until I asked him to move off. I don't know what I was expecting but definitely something more dramatic than what actually happened. Fox was totally relaxed, his eyes were soft and he strode out with no encouragement. We tootled around on the buckle a couple of times on both reins then over some poles set up along the centre line. Nothing much, took about 5 minutes but it was such an amazing feeling. Feeling the warmth and the movement. The power underneath me. Wow I've missed riding!
But I am not in any kind of riding shape. My back feels tight, my hips feel closed and my legs high. It's going to take quite a bit of work for me to come right again I think. I will start adding some hip opening yoga poses to my workouts which should hopefully help and really focus on relaxation when I'm riding.
On another note, a friend of mine that I used to think knew everything about horses is having problems with her horse. We have had a serious parting of ways in terms of horses once I started getting my shit together. The first thing is her horse is stumbling a lot. The first thing I notice when I look at him is how long his toes are. Try to mention this to her and she doesn't listen at all just starts on about how good her farrier is. Um, well he isn't. Shortening those toes will do a whole lot to help. Second thing is he moves really strangely. Like his back end isn't working quite right. He isn't lame or sore but his movement is definitely odd. Try and tell her and she doesn't listen, she used to work at a top level dressage barn in the UK, she has ridden more horses than me, she knows more than me, he is fine blah, blah blah. Someone else said the same thing and was shut down as well. Whatever. Now her horse has started chasing her. She thinks he is being playful. Right. Should I tell her what I would do? It involves a big stick and giving him a good whack and chasing him instead. Maybe I should let horsie have a bit more fun first LOL.
Glad you rode! I am missing it too, my mare has been sick for about 3 weeks. I gave her a treatment last week, so I will be re-evaluating wether she is now fit to ride or not... if not, I will give her more time. Toes definatly play a huge part in your horse's stride, flexibility and overall movement. I think her moves as stifly as he does, because the toes are too long... try it with your nails, if your nails are long, it's hard to make your fingers walk without them doing some weird movement... if the nails are short it glides and everything seems to fit. Add 1200 pounds and that nail will be starting to separate from the rest of your finger... which is probably what is happening to her horse's hooves. The hoof wall should usually be much shorter than most of what we see.
ReplyDeleteIf you haven't seen my post about hooves, please feel free to do so... this is my blog address: http://myhorsesdandypearlpeg.blogspot.com/
And here is the link to the blog entry about hooves:
http://myhorsesdandypearlpeg.blogspot.com/2009/11/shod-vs-barefoot.html
So glad that you and Fox are back in business. You had quite a bit of nastiness there for a while!
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about your friend (or ex-friend). I've found that some people really don't like unsolicited advice , it just pisses them off (because they can't possibly be wrong). Sounds like this person is one of those.