Peace
10th Jan 2004, 04:30 PM
A couple of months ago, Quanah pitched such a fit with me that Cathy (my instructor/barn owner) and I dropped back to groundwork lessons only, while her daughter Leslie (a truly gifted young woman with horses) continued Quanah's ridden work. Finally, last week, Cathy gave the green light - I could ride Quanah again, as long as we stayed on a lead rein. Pre-lesson butterflies, you ask? No, actually it was more like a flock of ravens, thanks. :rolleyes:
So I took kedwards's advice, and set up a "mass extinction" event - three lessons over a weekend. Just before the first, my barnfriend Brenda comes skulking into the barn, pulls a quart canning jar from under her jacket, and pours something that smells like diesel fuel from it into a plastic cup. She and my barnfriend Tammy (who had the flu but was present by cell phone) had determined I shouldn't lose my nerve - but being good Baptists, who can't, after all, be seen buying alcohol in a store, they had procured the home-made variety from a cousin.:cool: Sure takes the edge off, I'll admit, but I'm glad I didn't have to steer.:D And by the next day, I was managing without medication.:)
Then the third day, when I dropped my stirrups to stretch my legs a bit, Quanah stopped dead in his tracks. "What a dear," I thought, "he's worried that I've come unbalanced," so I picked them back up. A few steps later, though, he halted again. Cathy might as well have had the leadrope around the hitching post for all the movement her tugging produced. Then his head started to toss. Hooboy, I thought, I've seen this before. It's Prelude to a Fit, in Eeeeee Major.:eek: Would someone like to get up here and ride him through this? No, no one would. Hooves dig in further, head tosses higher, weight starts to come off the front end. OK, deep breath, relax, concentrate on going forward smoothly - and that's exactly what Quanah does.:) Woman triumphs over recalcitrant beast!:p
Later, when we all went into town for supper, Leslie, asking the blessing, said: "Thank the Lord for the food. And thank You that Sally stayed on the horse tonight." Which produced a rousing chorus of "Amens.":o :D
So now I suppose I have to continue to progress. Who could let such a great support system down? :D
So I took kedwards's advice, and set up a "mass extinction" event - three lessons over a weekend. Just before the first, my barnfriend Brenda comes skulking into the barn, pulls a quart canning jar from under her jacket, and pours something that smells like diesel fuel from it into a plastic cup. She and my barnfriend Tammy (who had the flu but was present by cell phone) had determined I shouldn't lose my nerve - but being good Baptists, who can't, after all, be seen buying alcohol in a store, they had procured the home-made variety from a cousin.:cool: Sure takes the edge off, I'll admit, but I'm glad I didn't have to steer.:D And by the next day, I was managing without medication.:)
Then the third day, when I dropped my stirrups to stretch my legs a bit, Quanah stopped dead in his tracks. "What a dear," I thought, "he's worried that I've come unbalanced," so I picked them back up. A few steps later, though, he halted again. Cathy might as well have had the leadrope around the hitching post for all the movement her tugging produced. Then his head started to toss. Hooboy, I thought, I've seen this before. It's Prelude to a Fit, in Eeeeee Major.:eek: Would someone like to get up here and ride him through this? No, no one would. Hooves dig in further, head tosses higher, weight starts to come off the front end. OK, deep breath, relax, concentrate on going forward smoothly - and that's exactly what Quanah does.:) Woman triumphs over recalcitrant beast!:p
Later, when we all went into town for supper, Leslie, asking the blessing, said: "Thank the Lord for the food. And thank You that Sally stayed on the horse tonight." Which produced a rousing chorus of "Amens.":o :D
So now I suppose I have to continue to progress. Who could let such a great support system down? :D