Horse Sense

Jody is on the ground. I'm wearing the hard hat.

A few weeks ago, I started horseback riding again after about 6+ years of being horse-less. I have no idea why I waited so long, but I did. So with Jody's help, er, kick-in-the-ass, I contacted Lindsey via Facebook, who was just a kid when I left the barn. Now Lindsey is a trainer and works for the owner of KJM Stables and a new barn called, KJM The Farm (previously Aberdeen Stables).

Long story short, Lindsey doesn't troll FB as often as I do, so I called the phone number of the stables--I can't remember my cell phone number, but I remember that number--and Kevin answered. So I had a nice talk with Kevin, and then Lindsey sent me her phone number.

About a week later, I was set to ride Kevin's horse Dooley. Lindsey spells Dooley as Dually. I don't know the correct spelling of his name, but for the purpose of this blog, he will be Dooley.
Dooley has been in a pasture with a run-in shelter. Periodically, he had been ridden by a lady who was a barrel racer. But for the most part he is a good dude who is as out of shape and condition as I am. He's acquired a few bad habits, but nothing that isn't fixable.

The first day that I rode him, every time I picked up the reins he scooted forward with his head up in the air. Walk, trot, and a few canters were all I was able to do. My leg muscles were simply too loose to be effective tools.

Needless to say, I could barely walk for the next five days much less get on a horse. Inner thighs, my friends, my inner thighs were screaming when I sat, stood and walked. I made the mistake of not popping any pain relievers.

The next time I rode Dooley was a week later. He was still squirrely. Every time I tried to pick up my reins, he threw his head up and scooted. We walked around the farm (outside of the arenas) until we chilled. I worked him in the arena just trying to soften his jaw and having him curve into the turn instead of outward. I took three Aleve when I came home. I was able to ride on Thursday, but the weather didn't cooperate.

The third time I rode him, we started by walking around the farm. After I got a feel for the lay of the land (dips in the contours, or soft, muddy spots, low tree limbs, etc.) I kicked him into a trot, squeezing doesn't work yet.
Dooley basically took the bit and went with it.

I like Dooley, but I did mention he had some issues--not stopping is one of them.

He just doesn't listen. This isn't uncommon in horses who haven't been ridden for awhile.

So we worked on a variety of things: stopping, trotting, suppling, softening his jaw, and cantering. Dooley likes his right lead, no matter the direction we are going. His canter isn't smooth to start with, as it currently feels disjointed like he's cross-cantering all the time. So I worked on his left lead canter. My legs weren't strong enough to keep him on the correct lead, but after about five minutes I tried again. He kept his left lead around the arena and a circle. YAY!

Needless to say, we stopped for the day on a high note.

I'll periodically post horse stuff on this blog, but unless we do something spectacular, I don't expect it to be a common topic.

Later, Peeps!