{"id":5325,"date":"2019-01-07T22:47:56","date_gmt":"2019-01-08T04:47:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mofoxtrot.com\/viewpoint\/?p=5325"},"modified":"2019-01-08T12:32:46","modified_gmt":"2019-01-08T18:32:46","slug":"bareback-on-fancy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mofoxtrot.com\/viewpoint\/bareback-on-fancy\/","title":{"rendered":"Bareback On Fancy"},"content":{"rendered":"
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  1. Before we begin this account of the amazing adventure today, I would like to mention that it is day five of Question Box Pattern. \u00a0Thank goodness for this pattern which keeps horses going in an circle and helps to slow them down. \u00a0I needed a pattern that barely moved.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Many things contributed to this day. \u00a0I’ve started pursuing the Parelli Levels program. \u00a0They no longer require bareback riding, but do encourage it at this level . \u00a0Plus, I had to do it all my early life in the program with Sage and Velvet. \u00a0 I rode bareback when I first started taking lessons at Pine Dell Farm. \u00a0I was young then, not yet fifty when that started! \u00a0The original Level 1 required bareback riding. \u00a0Now the Level 1 doesn’t include any riding, just the ground games.<\/p>\n

    The stable where i’m playing with Fancy had a barn party with some fun horse contests. \u00a0One of them is called “Ride a Buck”. \u00a0The original concept is to ride bareback with a dollar bill placed under your upper thigh. \u00a0The last person maintaing that dollar bill, gets all the lost dollars. No way was I going to ride bareback in that contest. \u00a0But it had me think of those early years where I was fine with riding bareback. \u00a0Who was I back then I wonder?<\/p>\n

    My student counter part, another Susan, was in the same experience level with me about riding bareback. \u00a0We had not rode bareback for 15-20 years and were yearning to repeat the young years again. \u00a0The nerve of her! \u00a0She rode bareback the day before the barn party. \u00a0grrrrr!<\/p>\n

    My saddle was nestled in a trailer. \u00a0It was still in the trailer from the Sunday cow clinic. \u00a0It would be an effort for me to get the saddle out.<\/p>\n

    I had found my green Parelli bareback pad. \u00a0It is in fine shape. \u00a0It is over twenty years old. \u00a0I love that bareback pad. \u00a0I yearn to repeat the past pre fifty riding bareback.<\/p>\n

    I figured out how to mount Fancy with some clever use of a corral panel. In my young yearsfrom a mounting block, I leaped my stomach onto my horse, got my balance and swung a leg over. \u00a0I might fall face forward if I did that now. \u00a0It took a while to figure out the best option, but I was able to climb up the metal poles, amazingly swung a leg over Fancy and got into the correct position. \u00a0I was on the pad in the middle of her back. \u00a0SCREAM!<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    My body was very upset at me. \u00a0It had little idea of how to keep its self up there. \u00a0I felt like I was standing on a gymnastic balance beam about to fall. \u00a0When I looked down at the ground, I seemed to be dizzy. \u00a0I focused straight ahead. \u00a0My body twitched. \u00a0My legs jutted out every few seconds, trying to figure out my body definition of balance. \u00a0Good Lordy.<\/p>\n

    I decided to ask Fancy to move a step forward. \u00a0She did. \u00a0My legs tried different positions to keep the body in place. \u00a0Scream. \u00a0I asked Fancy to walk a step and stop and repeat. \u00a0I stayed on and it took effort.<\/p>\n

    My body said ask Fancy to walk slowly forward. \u00a0My legs took turns trying to figure out the meaning of life and balance. \u00a0Fancy and I slowly walked the Question Box Pattern. \u00a0When would balance show up? \u00a0My legs were twisting in the non-wind of the indoor arena. \u00a0My heels were down with my toes up. \u00a0Your body requires that when you start riding bareback. \u00a0People call this good equitation.<\/p>\n

    I remembered about sitting on my pockets. \u00a0I sat back and it seemed a little better. \u00a0My legs were still jerking around trying to keep me balanced. \u00a0When would balance be part of my life again? \u00a0I must have twitched up there for ten minutes at Fancy’s slow walk. \u00a0Thank goodness Fancy walked slow. \u00a0I wondered what she was thinking up there about my body shifting. \u00a0Fancy has never experienced a beginning bareback rider. She is used to balanced human beings.<\/p>\n

    I felt better, but still unbalanced. \u00a0I asked Erin if the young girls who come for their first lessons riding a horse move their legs around trying for balance. \u00a0Erin responded yes. \u00a0It’s a normal occurrence when you ride bareback for the first time or after 17-18 years! \u00a0ha<\/p>\n

    Twenty minutes or so had gone by. \u00a0I decided I wasn’t going to fall off. \u00a0I made the risky decision to have Fancy move up into the flat foot walk. \u00a0WHAT!? \u00a0The flat foot walk is easier to ride than a walk? \u00a0How can that be! \u00a0Heaven is real. \u00a0The footfalls of the flat foot walk are\u00a0shorter than a walk and steady. I was able to relax and enjoy life. \u00a0We fell back into a walk again and my legs needed to swing around to get the balance again. \u00a0How can going faster be smoother than walking? \u00a0This is a miracle.<\/p>\n

    Fancy went up (without my permission) into a fox trot. \u00a0Oh my. \u00a0This is easy to ride also. \u00a0I’m still in heaven. \u00a0Fancy decided to argue with me on what gait to be in. \u00a0She also wanted to zip into the middle instead of staying on the Question Box Circle. \u00a0Zipping into the middle made my whole upper body struggle to stay in place.<\/p>\n

    After about thirty five minutes, I felt a inner thigh muscle decide whether or not to cramp. \u00a0Oh goodness, not now! \u00a0Bravely, I rode on. \u00a0The upper thigh heard my prayer and decided to stay supple. \u00a0Fancy and I stopped, backed and stood still many times. \u00a0Now we are at forty minutes and \u00a0stopped. \u00a0My body decided it wanted to lay on Fancy. \u00a0My rear scooted back and I laid my upper body on her withers and neck. \u00a0This is what a young kid would do. \u00a0I’m young again. \u00a0However the leather hold strap of the bareback pad was uncomfortable. \u00a0I managed to set back up and move my rear forward to balance.<\/p>\n

    We zipped around for a while longer and I told Fancy this was enough. \u00a0She was thrilled. \u00a0I dismounted from the corral panel and stepped on the ground. \u00a0I tried to walk. \u00a0Ouch, Ouch Ouch. \u00a0My very upper inner thigh muscles are rarely ever asked to do anything. \u00a0It appears that these muscles are used when riding bareback. \u00a0Scream<\/p>\n

    I am a broken lumpy cowgirl trying to disguise myself as that young red-haired girl riding her black pony, Cricket. \u00a0Parents knew not to let little girls ride in a saddle until they learned how to ride bareback. \u00a0I’m not there yet, but the memories have made the muscles work. \u00a0I’ll be young after a few more rides!<\/p>\n

    Yee Haw!<\/p>\n

    Fancy is such a perfect horse for me!<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    PS: \u00a0I cleaned Fancy\u2019s stall after my ride. \u00a0She piles manure on top of manure. \u00a0There is more than I thought! \u00a0I\u2019m also using shavings instead of pellets. \u00a0Shavings are heavier. \u00a0I filled the manure thing. \u00a0Now my biceps are whining. \u00a0 \u00a0I\u2019m shaping up!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Before we begin this account of the amazing adventure today, I would like to mention that it is day five of Question Box Pattern. \u00a0Thank goodness for this pattern which keeps horses going in an circle and helps to slow them down. \u00a0I needed a pattern that barely moved. Many things contributed to this day. \u00a0I’ve started pursuing the Parelli Levels program. \u00a0They no longer require bareback riding, but do encourage it at this level . \u00a0Plus, I had to do it all my early life in the program with…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[114],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5325","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fancy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mofoxtrot.com\/viewpoint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5325","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mofoxtrot.com\/viewpoint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mofoxtrot.com\/viewpoint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mofoxtrot.com\/viewpoint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mofoxtrot.com\/viewpoint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5325"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/mofoxtrot.com\/viewpoint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5325\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5341,"href":"https:\/\/mofoxtrot.com\/viewpoint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5325\/revisions\/5341"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mofoxtrot.com\/viewpoint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mofoxtrot.com\/viewpoint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5325"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mofoxtrot.com\/viewpoint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}