Round pen canter success! It took poles in the round pen. I had them about 2″ off the ground. We clattered thru the poles at a pace and that undefined gait, we gaited horse people just love…the anti-rythym gait. We had some actual canter steps and we stopped before she broke out of the canter. I fed her a big Winnie’s cookie crumb every time she cantered. Then I decided perhaps we could go for half a circle at the canter. It took a while for us to canter at all…and then she cantered an entire half the circle. I immediately got off and gave her a Winnie’s cookie. Do you think she’ll remember that it was the canter that got me off her back and a Cookie? You be the judge!
We left the round pen. After a short time of eating grass, I climbed back on again and we went up “canter hill”. We went up “canter hill” several times without cantering. Oh well!
We were on our way to a wide open flat grassy 40 acre riding area! Yee haw!
Then we spent about 2 hours in the 40 acre field. Her emotions rise like a huge orchestrated creshendo! She was nervous almost all the time…she got more nervous as time went on. But we were always able to stop and eat. She was able to back up about 1-2 steps whenever we stopped. Her body was so tense that she locked up every time we tried to back. She tried really hard to head in the direction of the barn-worse when she got more nervous. I did everything in the book of lateral flexion while we were going.
We probably looked like a dapple bay round ping pong ball as we zipped up and down the field…and across the field…to the stable and away from the stable.
This is the first time that this hasn’t made me nervous. I actually had a good time dealing with this. In the past when Sue and I have rode in the 40 acres, I could take it for a while and then my fear would creshendo up. The first time I rode her in the 40 acres by myself…well I thought I was lucky to make it back alive!
During the last and worst of our journey up and down the 40 acres, I felt like she could run away with me. Then I thought…why not! This horse doesn’t CANTER!! How bad could running away with me get? I let her go really fast several times without asking her to stop and back too soon. Of course she was emotional and was doing a flying pace. She would have made any Icelandic horse proud!
Sue was ringing wet all over. She had foam on her head where the bridle goes. Some of the wetness was emotional and some of it was exhertion. It was an 80 degree day in the Kansas City area…without humidity. We love days like this!
We did calm down enough to make it into the big ourdoor arena where I got off. If I rode this horse everyday like this, she would be Whippet-Thin!
I’m thinking Sue is related to an onion. You peel something off and there’s still more to puzzle about underneath.
At least she’s smooth. And she loves me.