Wouldn't you know, that horse was quiet as a mouse on the lunge line, and warmed up great in the ring, so I said why the hell not. Off we went into the wilderness all by ourselves, no roly poly Arab to accompany us ;) Lucy was such a good girl. She spooked a few times, but they were the "pat the ground" spooks, not the big bolting blind panic spooks. I played it as safe as I could and left her rope halter on under her bridle, and attached a 21' lunge line to the halter. I held the looped-up lunge line in my left hand during the whole ride. My plan if I fell off was to let go of the reins but hold the lunge lune, which would give her some space to do her thing if she needed to, but the halter would give me some leverage to hold on so she couldn't run.
Amazing how my way of thinking has developed...it was an unfortunate necessity after November's disaster.
Out on the trails, we passed a young man riding a bike. Lucy gave the whole situation the hairy eyeball, as if she had never seen a guy on a bike before. This man was so nice and considerate, though. He stopped his bicycle, got off, and gave me right of way on the trail so that I could get the horse by him without anyone getting killed. He was so kind. Believe it or not, a lot of people would just keep on trucking by without realizing or caring that they were putting everyone involved in danger. I thanked the man and Lucy even let him pet her.
Today's ride was VASTLY different from last night's ride because last night:
-I rode in the indoor
-I rode BAREBACK
-I almost got bucked off like 50 times
-the first few attempts at a canter were borderline disastrous
-as soon as she pulled the first nanosecond of a dirty move, she got her head whipped around and found her nose squished up against the side of the indoor. when you've got no saddle or stirrups to hold you on the horse, there really is no room for playing nice!
Anyway, it wasn't pretty at first, but I got her to cooperate enough to do a nice little polite canter in both directions and then I cooled her out and got out of there so fast it wasn't even funny ;)
Sounds like a fun trail ride! Very smart with the lunge line. Glad you didn't have to use it :)
ReplyDeleteIt's a good thing he stopped and gave you right of way. The people who would keep on trucking by are the people who need to be read the riot act. We used to go trail riding at a multi-use trail and you'd see walkers and bikers out. One time, we were riding, and a guy on a bike came up practically behind us. He got read the riot act.
ReplyDeleteThe rule of thumb is wheels to heels (or hooves) So if someone was trucking along past you, you could yell at them for it.
Of course, thanking those who comply and letting them snuggle with ponynoses is just good for fostering good kind thoughts to horse people.
Wow, well first, my hats off to you for riding bareback in the arena, in such circumstances, I don't even want to anymore. Secondly, congrats on a great trail ride, I like your idea of a munge line. I used to bring a long lead rope, but the lunge line makes a lot of sense.
ReplyDeleteThat middle pic of her is darling. Such sweet eyes! I tell you what, you are way more brave than I am! I dont think I wouldve had the guts to go out into the woods myself on Lucy :)
ReplyDeleteOh Lu Lu, she's a baby. I'm so impressed with you guys, especially where you were after the accident. You've come so far! :) <3
ReplyDeleteGood you got to sneak in some rides in the midst of your work stress!
ReplyDeleteNice to hear of some polite trail users - so many of the people I encounter on trails (cyclists or otherwise) will either ignore us or do something to provoke a spook. Hearing about someone as respectful as that makes my day. Glad the solo ride went well!
ReplyDeleteGlad you got out there and that Lucy was so good. The lunge line is a great idea :) I think you'd probably love the security of a mecate rein with her.
ReplyDeleteHow great that a lone trail ride turned out great. She's braver than MANY! I hear you on the work stress front..lunch? What is that? Oh a meal you cram in while driving/calling clients back in 10 minutes in between appointments??? Yea....
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that guy was so nice and polite. Too many people expect a horse to be perfectly behaved and don't understand that things like bikes can be terrifying. (I know my horse for one has a big problem with bikes). I'm glad to hear Lucky was so good for you're solo trek, hopefully she keeps it up.
ReplyDeleteThere's nothing like time with a horse to forget all about work problems! At least for a while...
ReplyDelete