Blast from the Past...
I have to make a confession here, and announce that my recent falls off of horses have scared me. Or scarred, me, whichever you prefer.
After Zydeco moved back home and was treated for his injury, he needed some excercise. He was ready to ride last Monday.
I rode him on a hack and he was generally OK, if not a little crazed. There is nothing I can stand less than a crazed horse, and so when he swung his head from side to side and skittered, I leapt off him like SuperMan and wept quietly into his neck.
After I had wept for a period of time, my mother quietly asked me what I wanted to do. What I wanted to do was put him back in the barn, and so that is what I did.
I know that I need to make some decisions here, and I'm not sure how to make them. I have always been weary of horses, scared that they will pitch me to Heaven's End, and now that it has happened, I am more scared than ever.
And so, I did the only thing I could think of to do. I called in another rider.
Adam is a longtime friend I have, and he has made it to fourth level dressage riding. For those of you not in the know, that's pretty freakin' good. Like, I'd kill to ride at the fourth level. I don't even think I've made it half way to the first level at this point.
I wanted to see if Zydo's behaviour with me was due to my riding, or due to some other factor. So Adam saddled him up and rode him until he was in a frothy lather of sweat. And Zydo did all the things that he does with me and more, the head tossing and the skittering hither and yon...
But Adam was able to sit it through and deal with it.
So this is my new goal as a rider, to suck it up and deal with it, to not leap off of Zydeco's back and weep when he takes a sideways step.
Zydo moves back to my coach's farm on Monday, now that he is back to his old self again. I have another show coming up in September, and I need to ride him like I own him so that the two of us can compete together.
It is all about the baby steps when it comes to riding... getting over the fears and qualms that I have, and moving forward onto something better.
Bring it on....
After Zydeco moved back home and was treated for his injury, he needed some excercise. He was ready to ride last Monday.
I rode him on a hack and he was generally OK, if not a little crazed. There is nothing I can stand less than a crazed horse, and so when he swung his head from side to side and skittered, I leapt off him like SuperMan and wept quietly into his neck.
After I had wept for a period of time, my mother quietly asked me what I wanted to do. What I wanted to do was put him back in the barn, and so that is what I did.
I know that I need to make some decisions here, and I'm not sure how to make them. I have always been weary of horses, scared that they will pitch me to Heaven's End, and now that it has happened, I am more scared than ever.
And so, I did the only thing I could think of to do. I called in another rider.
Adam is a longtime friend I have, and he has made it to fourth level dressage riding. For those of you not in the know, that's pretty freakin' good. Like, I'd kill to ride at the fourth level. I don't even think I've made it half way to the first level at this point.
I wanted to see if Zydo's behaviour with me was due to my riding, or due to some other factor. So Adam saddled him up and rode him until he was in a frothy lather of sweat. And Zydo did all the things that he does with me and more, the head tossing and the skittering hither and yon...
But Adam was able to sit it through and deal with it.
So this is my new goal as a rider, to suck it up and deal with it, to not leap off of Zydeco's back and weep when he takes a sideways step.
Zydo moves back to my coach's farm on Monday, now that he is back to his old self again. I have another show coming up in September, and I need to ride him like I own him so that the two of us can compete together.
It is all about the baby steps when it comes to riding... getting over the fears and qualms that I have, and moving forward onto something better.
Bring it on....
posted by Amanda at 21:43
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