I had a great afternoon at the barn. I haven't ridden much at all lately. I honestly didn't even want to. I think I needed to have some time out of the saddle after having two bad falls in a row, but today I found myself really wanting to ride. I decided to get the Western saddle out and ride around the barn's property. I even got brave enough to take Lucy for a little adventure through the woods behind the barn, where we saw two deer who exploded out from behind a thicket of trees in grand style, and Lu gave them the hairy eyeball but didn't do anything stupid. She was surprisingly AWESOME today and some of my faith in her was restored. "Keep that up, chicky, and we might be able to enjoy some real trail rides soon," I told her. There's a hunter pace next Sunday that Claire and I are interested in attending but I am slightly apprehensive about Lucy's ability to keep her brain in her skull, and I think that those feelings are warranted. She hasn't exactly been the model of bomb-proof equines lately.
Anyway, she was awesome on the ride tonight. I even got brave enough to take her across the street to a small development that I used to take her to when I first got her. She was perfect. She didn't mind some cars passing us, she didn't spook at the "scary" house with a dog that always runs out and barks at us, and she didn't mind people out in their yards. I was so pleased with her.
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| All ready to head out. She looks so tall here! |
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| About to enter into the woods behind the barn. |
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In the development across the street.
She was so calm and happy :) |
After she was cooled out and put away, I got in my car to drive home. My car has been on "E" for two days but I have been slacking big time about filling the gas tank up. I am 25 and have been driving for almost ten years, and I have NEVER done this before....but my car actually ran out of gas in the barn's driveway! I was so embarrassed. It couldn't have picked a better place to die, though. My barn owner had a can of gas at his house so I walked over there and sheepishly asked to use some of it. He had a chuckle but saved the day by letting me use some of the gas! He is so awesome.
It was enough gas to get to the closest gas station so that I could fill the tank all the way up. Phew! Crisis averted and lesson learned.
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| .....woops. |
I thought I was going to run out of gas the other day. Eep!
ReplyDeleteAt the risk of getting my face ripped off by the masses (and this is usually not something I'd advise):
Maybe you could bring some Ace with you for the hunter pace and only give it to her if she starts losing her brain. It worked for the wedding dress thing, right? That way you'll give her a chance to be good, but won't have to miss out on a good experience if she's edgy.
Whew, when I saw the title I thought it was in reference to something with Lucy. Glad to hear it was just your car (that was easily fixed) and you had a great ride today.
ReplyDeleteLucy does look very tall in that picture!
Haha! I totally ran out of gas for the first time too, about 6 months ago. I felt SO stupid but luckily I was also just out of the farm's driveway and borrowed a little gas. So glad to hear I'm not the only one!!! And I agree with Dom, I'd bring some Ace in case she's a nut so you can still enjoy the day. Once she does it once and realizes it was fun, you won't need it next time.
ReplyDeleteHa! Love the running out of gas--it's so something I would do. I haven't yet, but the day is coming. I like to see exactly how far I can go...
ReplyDeleteHmmm interesting idea re: Ace. I probably won't do it for a few reasons:
ReplyDeletea. She tends to get a bit belligerent coming out of it
b. It only lasted for an hour or so when we used it for the photoshoot
c. this hunter pace will be about 3 hours
d. she tends to behave herself well off-site (like on the Goddard Park trails) and really the only reason I am a bit apprehensive about this trip is the wide open spaces. Lucy thinks wide open spaces = RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!!!!
But as Claire mentioned yesterday at the barn when we were chatting about this, she'll be with Boe, who is a model citizen, and we'll walk through the fields if we have to.
I do think it's funny that she's better behaved on trails than in fields.
I may look into the herbal calming supplements, like the one-time use tubes of them that Dover sells. She is no longer on SmartCalm Ultra's daily dose.
Just checked back here cause I was curious - if you want to try an herbal paste, I recommend Perfect Prep EQ or SmartCalm Ultra. Perfect Prep takes longer to take effect (give it to her 2 hours before you are going to get on) and lasts about 6-8 hours. SmartCalm will start working quicker (45 minutes), but will wear off in about 3-4 hours. Neither one will make her sleepy or dopey, just more focused and less anxious.
ReplyDeleteThanks Marissa! That is really helpful. I'll try the Perfect Prep, I think.
ReplyDeleteA Hunter's Pace...how fun! Could you take her as a schooling and not compete? Just to get her used to showing, the other horses, different environment, etc?
ReplyDeleteShe DOES look tall in that Western photo!
Curious-does your lesser use any different tack on Lucy? Does Lucy pull any of those stunts on her as well? Just wondering if it's a tack issue, or something...although I'm SURE you have thought of that.
Funny that you titled your post this way. I ran out of gas once on the highway and got stuck for 3 hrs until someone brought me some. I haven't done it again (yet) but I can't tell you many times I came soooo close and ended up chugging into a station on fumes. I know I'll do it again one day. Guess I don't learn so well!
ReplyDeleteI've heard great things about Mare Magic calming them in general, not just when they're in season. Erin is thinking of putting Jabby on something. You guys should compare notes.
ReplyDeleteOzzy thinks fields mean it's time to run, too. Then again, that's my fault.
I hope you go and I hope you have fun.
Kristen, great questions. My leaser uses a Prix de Nations saddle that was also fitted to L by my saddle fitter when I bought my Stubben. Lucy pulls the same nonsense with her that she does with me, and that fact that she STILL keeps wanting to ride her further proves how awesome she is. Despite all the nonsense that Lucy dishes out, when she goes well, she goes *really* well and is a joy to ride.
ReplyDeleteThough I think my saddle will be due for a fitting by the end of the summer, I don't think Lucy's silliness is due to tack issues.
I'll enter her into the Hunter Pace because it won't really make a difference if she's entered or not, and it's very cheap ($25). It'll basically be the same as an organized trail ride, which we have done before and she was awesome.
Michelle, when I was in HS one of my friends told me a story about running out of gas...as she was pulling into the gas station! How convenient! I wasn't as lucky but if I ever neglect to fill the tank in time again, I hope I can roll into the station just as the engine cuts out lol!
Dom, I wouldn't mind galloping her in the field if she had brakes, but she seems to forget how to stop and that makes me nervous.