Today was amazing. Well, if you don’t count the fact that it’s the beginning of January and still a little cold for my taste. And if you don’t mention that today was my husband’s first time to get bucked off a horse. It was sunny with no wind, a Sunday afternoon, and he said we’re crazy if we don’t go for a horse ride today. So we did. Here’s how it went:
I saddled up Daisy for our daughter to ride. She loves that horse. I’m happy Daisy has a rider who appreciates her. She’s a girls-only horse…she really dislikes men for some reason.
I told her to be sure and pet Daisy a little before I put her up in the saddle. My dad always told me to pet the horse a little so he knows who you are before you just go get on. If you’ve been the one to groom and tack up, it’s not that big of a deal, but otherwise you need to introduce yourself. Just bringing a kid out of nowhere and throwing them up in the saddle is a little presumptuous, in my opinion. So we always say “hi” and pet them a little before getting on their back.
So far our daughter has never been frightened or hurt by a horse. I’m thankful for that, and want to keep it that way as long as possible. When you start out fearless and progress with no interruptions to your confidence, it makes a lifetime rider out of you. I had the very same start, and so when the time came that I did fall off, got stepped on, had the saddle turn under the horse’s belly, and even drug along the ground under the horse, the my confidence and love for horses was never shaken.
I saddled the new buckskin mare for myself. Yes, she’s still lacking a name. And not as gorgeous in winter as she is in the summer, but her demeanor makes up for it. Never have I met a sweeter horse.
So we started out through the cornfield, the buckskin happily leading the way, with Daisy and her cargo in tow. Daisy is the boss of the herd, and my buckskin mare is at the bottom of the pecking order, but she didn’t fuss at having Daisy following so closely on the lead line. She wanted to trot a few times, which resulted in surprised squeals from my daughter.
And we had to stop a few times. Here we are checking to see “why” we needed to stop for a minute. Not the best moment to take a picture, but it did give me time to get the camera out of my pocket.
So that segment of our afternoon went beautifully, and Daisy chalked up another good ride in her book. My girl went off to play with the farm cats, and my husband asked me to saddle a horse for him.
Cowboy Dad has been riding Milo quite a bit recently, and unless every horse goes along for the ride, it can be kind of tricky keeping Milo going. He is sweet on the mares we left back at the barn, so his attention was constantly on turning back towards home. My husband said let’s walk down towards the south fence, and then when we turn east we’ll try trotting. I figured that was a good plan, since we’d be heading away from home and the horses needed the exercise.
It didn’t turn out too well, because when me and the buckskin started to trot, Milo started to trot really fast and then went to crow-hopping. Cowboy Dad did alright,but eventually was mostly on one side, so he bailed and half fell, half jumped to the ground. Milo took off then, snorting and prancing and stepping on his reins.
With a little help from the buckskin mare (I wasn’t helping much, mostly snapping photos, and wishing I had caught the real action shot!) my husband caught his horse. Milo was spooky and ornery, almost acting like he had a guilty conscience and knew he was in trouble. But we never punish a horse for such a thing, because by the time you catch him, in his mind all you’re punishing him for is for allowing himself to be caught again. You just have to take the blame yourself and get back on.
So after a little walking, a little talking, a little tightening of the cinch, we were ready to go again.
And this time Milo behaved much better. I thought Cowboy Dad was pretty awesome to get back on and keep riding.
He even agreed to take some pictures of the mare and me.
She wasn’t really wanting to stop and pose, we were riding along the river bank, which drops off steeply and it made her a little nervous.
But it was a beautiful day to ride, and I ended up riding for most of the afternoon. The mare didn’t get fussy or try to get home in a hurry. She is very calm. Very laid back. Really easygoing. She pretty much made Milo look like a train wreck.
See, in horses, disposition is everything. Milo has much more experience under saddle than she does. Daisy has more than either of them combined. But Daisy isn’t trustworthy….I’ve seen her buck like a rodeo bronc with a trainer friend of mine. So I never really relax around her. And Milo has this ornery barn-sour streak that just makes him difficult to deal with. Granted, it could be ridden out of him if he were worked steadily for six months. He would be a fantastic little horse with regular riding. But this mare that I’ve ridden maybe six times is pure gold because she has a good disposition.
I let our youngest sit on her back for a little while before I put her away. He is usually reluctant to ride and very cautious around the horses. But he loves the buckskin mare. She carried him patiently around the farm for a few turns, never minding that she’d already been ridden quite a bit and had done her share of work for the day. She put a smile on his face that matched the one on my own. It was a wonderful day with the horses.
{ 1 comment }
Sounds like a fun day!