Kiss, Cluck & Snap

Three things I apparently cannot do!

Kiss, Cluck & Snap ...

I know that I should "cluck" to trot ... I was doing it wrong all along, but now I think I've got it figured out.

Kiss to canter ... when did this start?  How did riding horses change so much from when I was younger ... what ever happened to "Giddy Up"?  I have a hard time making the kiss noise ... have searched the internet for a "kiss sound whistle" ... please someone make one for me!!!

Snapping doesn't have to do with horses, just another odd sound I am not able to make!

All I can say is thank God Sunny is a forgiving horse ... I swear he shakes his head, looks at me and says, "Do you have any clue what you're doing?" and then I hear his heavy sigh ...

Lady Godiva

Okay, just to clarify I did NOT ride my horse naked ... but I did ride him bareback today.  This was definitely one for my bucket list ...

As a kid I adored riding through the fields without a saddle ... but as an adult, I wasn't sure it wouldn't be fatal!

But we did it!  I was able to get on with a mounting block and it was fantastic!  Of course it's been a long time since I rode bareback, and if Sunny even sneezed, I'm sure I'd be flat on my butt in the ring ... but he didn't and I enjoyed my ride of a lifetime.

Thank you Sunshine, you are by far the "man of my dreams"!!!

Move Your Feet

Apparently, you CAN teach an old dog new tricks!

Whenever a horse got 'nervous' in my past, I would make him stop so I could figure out what was wrong ...

What I have learned now is that "moving forward" is the best medicine ....

The May flies were horrific this afternoon and I would have liked nothing better than to end the ride and get the Hell Outta Dodge ... but Sunny decided he didn't want to walk to the far, scary end of the ring tonight ...

So I tried to get him to walk to the scary end, and he wouldn't.

So I tried again to get him to walk to the scary end, and he wouldn't!

Then I started to imagine what he might do if I MADE him walk to the scary end ... like buck, rear, run away (remember, Sunny's never done ANY of these things with me before, just in my anxious imagination!)

And that's when it hit me, to use the knowledge that I'm learning from reading, talking to seasoned riders, lessons, etc ...

I made him TROT to the scary end of the ring ... and he did!  And we lived!

And I told him he was a good boy, got him out of the MayFly zone and "drank a beer"!

What Horses Can Tell You If You Just Listen

What a great weekend Sunny and I had!  We had two perfect rides, a lesson in lunging (it's been a long long time for me), a bath and some hand grazing.  He was just awesome, I wasn't anxious and the weekend was FABULOUS!

I had a great lesson yesterday, not with my trainer, but with my horse.  While riding in the ring, I noticed that Sunny was doing different "little things" ... not staying on the rail, being fidgetty, trying to turn, but not really going anywhere and I had to ask myself, "What am I doing that is confusing him?"  And then I had an epiphany:

I talk to much!

When I'm riding Sunny, I am constantly having a verbal dialog with him.  I'm asking him to walk, trot, canter, whoa ... but I'm also just talking:  Good boy, great job, you're such a good boy, you're fine, etc.  I'm pretty sure I'm talking non-stop to reassure myself that things are going well.  But what's really happening is Sunny's trying to figure out, "What is she asking me to do?"

I'm going to practice riding silently.  I'll still cluck for trot, kiss for canter and ask for a "whoa" ... but the rest of the "blah, blah, blah" has GOT TO GO!

When I admitted my amazing insight to my husband, he agreed ... HA!  Maybe I'll practice living silently from time to time, too!

Hug Your Horse A Little Tighter

I arrived at the barn with just enough time to distribute a carrot or two to the love of my life!

But the horses in the next stalls tug at my heart strings, so of course I always bring extra carrots for Ali and Storm ... only Storm's not there ...

I knew instantly that Storm was no longer ever going to be there ...

Rest sweetly my friend ... I'm glad that for the last few months, you have had lots of carrots, a few homemade oat/peppermint candy treats and "luvs" ...

I will hug Sunny a little tighter and speak to him a little sweeter ... and I will promise never to forget you my friend ...

I know that God has a soft spot for majestic animals like you ... and I'm guessing He has a never ending supply of carrots!

God Speed Storm!

xoxo