Miracle of Miracles! Lucky Star has been impulsive the last three rides we’ve had. He’s been impulsive up to the canter. I can get Lucky to trail walk, flat foot walk and fox trot without too much arguing. We have come a long way. However, the canter was not in Lucky Star’s play book.
On this day, Lucky Star wanted to goooooooo! I’m not quite used to this version of Lucky Star yet. These past three rides, Lucky seems to always want to go fast the first time we ride on the rail, which conflicts with my normal desire to trail walk on our first steps away from the mounting block.
Later during our ride when I’m ready to canter, Lucky Star is not. The last two rides in an arena, I got him to canter about two-three canter steps both ways of the arena. This is always near the end of our training session. Once I get three steps of a canter both ways, I leap off and pet him extensively. I’m grateful for those three steps.
I was planning my strategy before this ride. I decided to let him go fast when we start our session on the rail . My reasoning is…”I’ll do anything for a canter”.
I mount and we do our mandatory exercises which consist of backing, side passing, turning on the hind and forequarters. We do some figure eight and circle activities. Lucky Star and I are ready for the real deal on the rail..
Lucky Star gets on the rail and expresses a great desire to speed up. His head is up. His back is hollowed out. He is poised for an off balance take-off. Surprise! I let him him speed up. We go faster and faster till we get into a RUN. I call it a run because there’s no legal name for this gait. He’s cantering or galloping but there’s no rhythm. Every leg is cantering or galloping, oblivious of the what the other three legs are doing. A canter is a three beat gait. A gallop is a four beat gait. Lucky was not doing either. This is a bumpy gait which leaves the human body guessing at where the suspension is coming next. My human body loves rythym because I can balance and stay in the saddle. My human body is starting to fear this helter-skelter bumpy run. I signal Lucky Star to slow down. He ignores me. Usually, Lucky slows down to a sudden unasked stop when I’m enjoying going forward. Did you ever learn to drive a clutch vehicle? You start to let the clutch out; The vehicle speeds forward; You let the clutch out all the way; The clutch hates that and stalls the vehicle to a sudden stop. That’s what riding the normal Lucky Star is like. This is not the normal Lucky Star. It’s more like an out of control 1952 one ton truck where the accelerator is stuck and you are traveling down a bumpy gravel road.
Lucky Star was on a high headed, hollow back mission. I convinced him to slow down to a stop and we did this very same act two more times. Yee Haw!
At the conclusion of rocket three, I went back to my normal plans. At the end of our session, I ask him to canter and he did. Going to the left, he cantered about 10 steps before his legs got confused and we lapsed into our non-canter run. I leaped off, petted him, treated him and we finished the session with a long grazing session..part of it in a tire!
Lucky Star is a character! I love him!