Spook, Trot, and Canter…..Oh My!

This is the second installment of a 3-part post, sharing my experiences and thoughts, from the Walk/Trot/Canter/Trail Ride Class I participated in on Saturday.

Atta Bay is probably more in line with the type of horse I’m looking to buy. Even though she’s more challenging, she’s fun, too. She’s much happier out on the trails exploring and doesn’t much care for arena work at all. I never got to trot Atta Bay, on my own inside the arena, because when I asked her for a trot, she rushed forward, crow-hopped, threw her head in the air, and rammed her front feet into the ground. So we walked.

I was so disappointed and couldn’t help but wistfully watch L riding Rosie at a walk, and wishing I were trotting her around the arena instead.

But Colleen hooked me onto a lunge line and she did manage to help me get Atta Bay into a trot, but it wasn’t pretty. Because we were trotting in such a tight circle, I had a difficult time posting because of the centrifugal force and the weakness in my gimpy knee. So after 10 minutes we called it quits.

(Please ignore that left foot. I’m still having issues with keeping the heel down on my injured leg. It just doesn’t stretch and flex the same way it used to. beh!)

(Oh! And, don’t laugh. I look like a puffy Michelin Man because I’m wearing a long sleeve shirt, a fleece turtleneck sweater, a fleece hoodie and an insulated denim jacket. I was toasty warm, though. hehe!)

 

But after lunch, we took an hour long trail ride out on the flats and gentle rolling hills around the northwest side of the property, and then we rode back to the arena to drop off some of the other riders who decided they didn’t want to ride some of the more challenging trails on the southern and eastern sides of the property.

The rest of us, a small group of just 5, headed out onto those trails, and when we arrived at the Eventing Field, which is basically just a huge field of about 40-50 acres with jumps, a water challenge and an obstacle course, we all talked about doing some trotting and cantering. Colleen asked if I would be comfortable trotting or cantering, and I said sure! I didn’t know if Atta Bay would be willing, but when the other horses began trotting and then cantering, I asked Atta Bay to trot and she did. Quietly and willingly. I even got her up into a canter several times. And it was so fun!

Our little group cantered and trotted over that entire field, up and down steep hills, down into the obstacle course and then through the trees surrounding the field. What a blast!

Of course, I paid for it Saturday night with those sore shoulders and back muscles. But when Atta Bay is out of the arena, she seems more willing to go faster and is much smoother. I was rather envious of Christine’s new gaited gelding and Loetta’s Paso Fino mare. How nice to just sit up there with no jarring motions from the horse, while you hardly even move.

But I could tell that Atta Bay had fun, too. She much prefers to be out on a trail ride than stuck in an arena. Me, too! hehe!

Ok, so what other challenges did I conquer?

Well, as I’ve mentioned before I still use a 3-step mounting block to get up on a horse. Between my hip dysplasia and my gimpy knee, I just can’t mount easily and quickly without discomfort, to me and to the horse.

But after lunch on Saturday, everyone wanted to saddle up the horses at the stables and not go back to the indoor arena, which is where I left my mounting block. There were several large boulders around the stables, probably left there not just for decoration I assume. They were the perfect size and height for using as a mounting block. But I’ve not done anything like that in over a year.

Christine, a friend and fellow horse rescue volunteer, wanted to use one for mounting, too. So she encouraged me to try mounting from one. She even offered to hold Atta Bay while I did it. I must admit that I was terrified at first. The kind of fear that makes you freeze up like a deer in the headlights. But with Christine’s support and me yanking up my big girl panties, I finally hauled myself up there from that boulder. Whoohoo! That was a huge step for me as I’ve been so reliant on my mounting block that it was actually holding me back from trying other forms of mounting assistance.

Another big challenge I overcame that day was my fear of a horse moving sideways. I fell off Baby Doll over a year ago when she teleported sideways very quickly 5-8 feet. That incident cost me a painful surgery to replace a severed ACL and a year of healing and rehabilitation. And I’m still not 100%.

So, you can imagine how fearful I am about any horse that I’m riding, that jumps or steps sideways very quickly.

Well, this is what happened on Saturday. Our original group of 9 riders and horses stood mounted outside the arena, waiting for the huge garage style door of the arena to roll up, when all of a sudden the sound of the door rolling up so quickly startled and spooked everyone’s horses. I happened to be the closest to the door actually, and Atta Bay danced sideways into a snow-filled ditch, but I had control of her and never felt afraid. I know! It shocked me, too! I even started laughing afterwards. Although I think it was just because I realized I was still in the saddle and not on the ground instead. haha!

Colleen happened to see what happened and congratulated me and seemed to be happy with the way I handled the situation, too. Whoohooo!

(Check out that look on Atta Bay’s face. lol! She was not happy. She was very impatient to leave the arena and follow the rest of the group outside on the trail ride. But one of the other riders offered to take my photo, so I hung back and told that mare to ‘Hold your Horses, Girlie!”)

To Be Continued…………….