Thursday 25 February 2016

An...Interesting Outing

Last night was jump lesson and prep for this weekend's outings.

I brought Bridget in and immediately wondered if we were going to have one of 'those' rides. Little mare had a big time grumpy face on and was really put out about having to stand in the cross ties. That's really unlike her as she's normally quite cheerful and content to stand for hours to be pampered. She was driving me nuts with her wiggling and pawing and ear pinning (then being SUPER offended when I corrected her) that I opted to just walk away and watch my barn mate's lesson rather than pick the fight Ms B seemed to so desperately want. After her pony time out, she seemed grateful to see me again, and stayed relatively well behaved while I tacked her up.

She warmed up feeling a little icky - really trying to run through my outside aids and generally feeling stiff and sucked back. Really getting offended when I (quietly) made corrections. Oh, and tons of nasty mare faces at the other horses in the ring. I was starting to suspect Ms B was bringing her best A (for Attitude/Ass*!@E) game to ride...then the other horses left and my lesson began.

And pony well and truly lost it. The other horses were in the barn, dinner was being served and oh, the drama. Long story short, we could not jump without bucking and bolting, we could not trot without sucking back and leaping sideways, we could not canter without it being a rodeo. Even a walk proved a challenge, with pony wanting to either stop or bolt off (and get hugely offended by any use of leg or rein) We checked the saddle, we checked the bit/bridle, I removed my spurs. Still...SO much offended pony drama. (Why is Ginger the one I'm selling, again?) Really, really unlike Midget and I was honestly starting to get a bit worried. After much inspection, EC was of the opinion pony was just feeling fresh and very, very naughty.

We managed to end on a somewhat good note, with a fairly calmly executed cross rail. The halt after would normally be of such rudeness we'd go again, but it was substantially better than the previous hour and we had to find somewhere 'good' to end! EC's comment: "We have to find somewhere good to end, I don't want you going home hating your horse and then abandon this monster here with me!" ;)

End Rodeo Win/Loss Tally:

 T ~ 20
 B - 1 (Yep, first fall in what feels like a long time)

I don't feel secure enough yet over fences to time a good release with sitting up after the fence and sorting out a rodeo within the first stride. I was ending up getting dragged forward/not sitting back quick enough about half the time, and that one time I ended up over her shoulder and in the dirt. Good lesson for me in how to ride fences defensively and always keep those heels down!

Since this obviously wasn't great prep for the show, we're going to have another lesson tonight. And oh boy is she getting worked before hand!



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10 comments

  1. Replies
    1. There are days when I seriously wonder WHY I ever thought mares were alright :)

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  2. aw i'm sorry T, sounds like a crummy ride (love the illustration tho!). hopefully tonight is better. there seem to be many reports of mares not really feeling fabulous right now, perhaps Bridget was feeling a little hormonal?

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    Replies
    1. That's the theory we're hoping for...please let this not be a permanent thing!

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  3. Ouch! I hope your lesson today was better!

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  4. The pony'tude is strong with this one!! Hope your next lesson finds her more willing to get down to work!

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  5. Mares! My girl was extra sassy last night. Either she's coming into heat or all blogger mares are banding together to make us question our decision making. She actually nipped my hand when I was texting while we were handwalking... um excuse me, you're not paying enough attention to me here!
    Rebecca (backinthetack.wordpress.com)

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  6. Oh dear, wild pony! Hope she's on her best behavior for you tonight (and for the show) :)

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  7. Naughty little minx. Tell me why I bought a mare again?

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