Fat horse, fat rider and the long winter sick.

Fritha fat and sassy!

It was a long winter, a long sick winter. Evidently somewhere during the many flu bugs and colds I caught this winter, I developed a sinus infection. I had no idea. It wasn't the typical symptoms, I've come to expect. However, it did have the effect of making riding near impossible. I had no energy, body aches, and no balance. Not that I didn't try to ride every chance I had, where I felt even half-way good. I wish now that I hadn't. A winter of poor balance, and uncertain riding have set Fritha and I considerably back.

Despite all this, there were some great experiences this winter.

I had a chance to get someone else up on Fritha, with great results.

I also had a chance just recently to work with Fritha over an obstacle course. This turned out to be a blast. Fritha was willing to trust, and happy to work. I was riding bareback, and using my Crazy Ropes bridle, and loving it. We walked over tarps, we trotted over poles, and we practiced bending around cones. Fritha did really, really well, until nature conspired against us.

It's been a really, really long time since I've fallen off a horse. Over 10 years since I've had a horse fall down with me, and more than that since I've come off for some other reason. Evidently...I've had it coming.

I had no business being on my horse that day. I had hopped on earlier, and realized my balance was still too shaky to ride. Part way through my first course of antibiotics for that sinus infection, and I was feel better, but a properly working equilibrium is essential when riding. But the obstacle course lured me back on my horse's back.

The weather was really unpredictable that day. Sun, rain, even snow and hail. The wind was the worst though, coming in huge gusts that shook the barn. A big gust of wind came howling through the barn, making a horrid noise, and shaking stuff about. It also flapped a small white sign on the other side of the back arena wall up, so that it was just visible. My calm sane horse who had handled trotting over tarps with no problem, spooked at the noise, and the motion. I stopped her with my legs, but the noise continued, and she spooked, and spooked, and spooked. I felt my balance going, and then she spun to get away , and there I went. I tried to use my seat bone against her back bone, to stop my slide, but Fritha is fat from the long winter, and no backbone was to be found. I tried to grip with my legs, but I'm out of shape from the long winter too. I knew I was going down, so I tried to control my slide, letting go, and dropping at the opportune moment to land beside, rather than under her.

I landed rear first, hitting just far enough back that I didn't bruise my tail-bone again. Then my back hit, then evidently my head hit pretty hard. I didn't feel that part, thank goodness for helmets. My legs came down last, and I lay there in the dirt of the arena, with the breath knocked out of me, and thought "Wow, that was embarrassing!" When I got my breath back, I started laughing, and checked to see where my horse had gone. My friend was holding her, and poor Fritha had a look of terrible concern on her face. Clearly she was not expecting to loose her rider in that fashion.

We walked around for a long time, while I was hoping the wind would die down enough for me to crawl back on for a short ride, before I stiffened up so much I couldn't crawl back on. The wind continued howling, and growling.

Finally my friend went and got a lead rope, and I had an even more humiliating little pony ride around the arena, then crawled back off my horse almost crying. Oh I hurt! I made my friend get up and actually ride Fritha for a little, to remind her riding is the norm, not people flying off her back for no reason.

It was an important, and painful lesson for me:
1. That I can't ride with my equilibrium impaired, no matter how much I would like to.
2. That I need to work harder to get myself and and my horse in shape before we really start riding again
3. I no longer bounce back from falls they way I used to. In fact, I no longer bounce at all, more like splat.
4. Thank goodness for helmets.

So the plan.

Fritha and I clearly need lots of ground work. Why ground work you ask? Well, to start with, I may need a third course of antibiotics for this dumb sinus infection. But also, the ground work will give us a good starting point for jumping back into our work for this summer. It will start getting Fritha back in shape, but more importantly, all the walking and running will get me in better shape before I get back in the saddle for serious riding. Not that I'm not planning on getting on her again as soon as I get the chance. Today is a beautiful day *stares out the window longingly*, but I hope I've learned my lessons.

We've got great plans for this summer. Exciting work to do together, and I've very much looking forward to it. Time to step forward into spring!

Happy Holidays!

Wishing everyone a safe and Happy Holidays this year.

P.S. Check out my new saddle!!

Dancing through the snow.

In dreams of white, and winters chill,

She dances

Mane tossed and eyes wide

Snow flying past her side

Grace in movement, then she pauses...

Hey Mom...where's my cookie?

In memory..

Hoof beats on pavement, we're following the white line, homeward bound.

Safe, warm, the sweet scent of horse.

We reach the hill and you ask "Can we?"

The surge, the thrill, the wind in my ears, "We can!"

Then you teach me to fly...

Forced relaxation

It's an important lesson to learn, and invaluable when riding or training horses. How to force your body to relax, particularly when it doesn't want to.

It's a truth of riding that if you are tense, your horse will be tense, but it is also true, that if your horse gets tense, and you tense up with them, they will think they are fully justified in being tense, cue panicked horse!

This is especially true with young green horses.

I had a very good refresher course in forced relaxation this weekend with Fritha. Normally Fritha is a very sweet and willing horse. She is a bit of a worry wort, and likes to take her dear sweet time with things, but she normally doesn't have an ornery bone in her body. However this weekend I was riding Miss Grumpy Horse. Due to many events conspiring against me, I haven't been able to ride her much lately, and she has been feeling the lack.

She started out our ride with a little jiggle in her step, and the occasional hunching of her back that indicated she was thinking of a nice buck.

It was very muddy and slick, so we had to keep our pace to a walk, and it was clear she thought we should at least be trotting. I admit, that in a way I enjoyed her antics. She was striding out beautifully, and had so much GO! However, I knew that the explosion was coming. Cue time to force my back to relax. There's nothing quite like knowing that your very strong and green horse is going to explode soon, for making your body tense up. It's very hard to fight instinct on this.

Several very interesting trips around the back field, including an attempted buck while sliding down a wet muddy hill later, and we were ready to head out on our ride.

Fritha settled down for a while, and I started to really relax. Then we hit a certain corner on our ride, and she was suddenly full of it again. Not sure what it was about that corner that decided her, we hadn't turned towards home or anything, but suddenly she was hunching her back again, and trying to break into a trot every few strides.

I had just moved her away from some gopher holes in the trail, when I felt her hunch her back again. I'm not sure if she was just thinking about it again, or if she was actually going to let one fly, but regardless, something made her trip a little. Her knees buckled a little in front, and then she sat down. So there I am, suddenly much closer to the ground, perched and balanced precariously, trying to keep us both upright, and trying to figure out how to get off so she can get up, without knocking her over. My friend who was riding with us said it was the most amazing looking thing. Fritha was sitting on the ground, with her front legs slightly buckled in front of her, and my friend who had seen the whole thing said she had no idea how it happened.

As I was trying to figure out my dismounting strategy I felt Fritha gather herself, and just stand back up. Cue astonished expressions for my friend and I. That mare really does the most astounding things some times.

So after a quick lameness check we continued on with our ride. Fritha was behaving much better, perhaps because she now believed I had the magic ability to make the ground swallow her half up. Fritha had settled down, but I hadn't. I was tense as a harp string. Cue time for more forced relaxation. Big deep breath, let it out, relax my lower back. All of four strides later, I had to repeat the process.

If there is one thing I hate as a horse rider, it is having my horse go down with me. Now that Fritha was back up and walking, and I should have been able to relax, of course I couldn't. Reaction hit, and my body was pumped full of adrenaline. This is of course all completely normal human reaction. It is also of course completely wrong for what I needed. It took me 8 times to convince my body to stay relaxed.

Once I convinced myself that the danger was over and managed to relax, the difference was immediately apparent in Fritha. She relaxed and went out confidently, listening well. She had gotten her piss and vinegar out of her system, I was relaxed, and she went back to being the dream to ride that she normally is.

We even had our first water crossing. She did wonderfully, despite trying to stop in the middle and roll.

We had a great ride.

Relax.........

Breathe deep..............

and RIDE!

Not to much, not to little.

One of the things that I worry about, is how to maintain the appropriate level of training for the age of the horse.

It's not so hard with Fritha. At 4 she is old enough to do quite a bit of training and trail riding, but all the same, I occasionally have to remind myself that she is only 4, and she has many more years to learn and advance.

I worry about the day I bring home my Barb foal. Will I remember to go slow? Will I go too slow, and not teach enough?

My best (human) friend ran up against this worry recently. That's her lovely 18 month old Friesian colt in the pictures. She started worrying that she wasn't doing enough with him. "Does he know everything he needs to know at this age?" or even "Is there anything more I could be teaching him right now?"

I gave her lots of reassurance that he was right on track, and not to worry. He's a good boy,

very sensitive, very responsive. She's gone through all the ground work with him. He bathes, he stands for the farrier. He's learning all about the clippers. We've even ponied him along with us on some short trail rides, so that he can learn all about the world.

He's a good boy, and she is doing a good job with him, but still she worries. It makes her a good horse person.

So today she got a second (or maybe it was third or fourth) opinion. Sure enough, he's doing great. He's right where he needs to be.

Right now, all he needs is consistant handling, and lots of good quality time with his human. As for my friend, she was much reassured.



I can only hope that when the time comes, and I'm all worried about my Barb colt, "Am I doing enough, or am I doing to much." She will be the one to tell me when it's just right.

I might be crazy

As I slogged through the ankle deep mud picking sodden poop out of Fritha's paddock tonight, I felt a great sense of peace and satisfaction.

Obviously there is something very wrong with me. It was cold, wet and miserable. The mud bogged the wheelbarrow down. The poop was heavy. I was happy.

As wonderful as it is to go for a long trail ride, or to have a great break through in the arena, the daily peace and joy that comes just from being at the barn, and around my horse is what sustains me.

When I was done cleaning her paddock, I gave Fritha a pat on the neck, and she gave me a shove with her nose, as if to say "Hey Human servant, enough pets, I would like my food now", and that made me happy too. Yep, I'm pretty sure I'm crazy.