Koda earned himself a break after two days in a row of arena work and trail adventure. If you missed my recent early November posts, here are links to day one and day two.
You may recall I mentioned Brad had a goal, better said a gift, and suspected it was to get Koda ready enough that I would feel comfortable riding him during my birthday week. I didn't bug him ask for it, this time it was his idea. It was a very sweet surprise, as I had pretty much given up on riding this year. He was not only determined to find time, but patient and supportive with my never-ending hesitation.
I decided to cancel b-day dinner reservations on my day, because virus spread continues high in our area. Instead we stayed home, enjoyed rare November weather in the 70's and had a wonderful day in my favorite place = home. Brad surprised me, took the day off work and made breakfast. Yep, I am spoiled!! The plan was to work with the horses again. I told him I was ready to ride, but he wanted me to ride Cierra first. I did, while he lunged Koda. Brad briefly rode Koda first, before I got on. Riding Cierra felt awkward. I have ridden her before, but not much. Cierra was looky. She is used to getting to work, not lollygagging with a rider who isn't completely sure she even wants to be riding. I tried not to be nervous, walked around a bit but didn't stay on long. I felt like a duck out of water.
Cierra
We traded horses, and I rode Koda...my own horse for the first time in what feels like forever. 2 years and 4-ish months to not be exact. That is a long time! I really thought I would be so excited, happily emotional and love it - but, I wasn't any of those things. That was unexpected. Being in the saddle didn't feel like my happy place anymore :(
Koda
Oddly enough, riding Koda felt awkward too. I think I forgot how to ride!! Oh yea, heels down, sit back on your pockets, don't be tense, look where you want to go etc...good grief I think I need basic riding lessons again!! Koda didn't do a single thing wrong, and yet once again I felt like a duck out of water. Maybe I wasn't meant to ride? Maybe those days are over for me?? Where did "that feeling" go? I didn't ride long, but I did it and survived to tell about it.
Brad decided to try ponying Koda just for fun. It has been many moons since my boy was ponied. At first Koda was like "you want me to do what?!" It was short and sweet, but Brad had a bit of fun and they all did good.
Two days later we tried again. I was looking forward to riding Koda, and in a much better state of mind. This time Brad lunged Koda for a bit, then I asked to step in and lunge him. Know we do light lunging, and I look forward to the day we can once again skip this part. I hate lunging (even free lunging) and it didn't feel good on my injured shoulder. Meanwhile, Cierra waited by the rail. Much to Brad's surprise, I rode Koda first. I felt a lot better in the saddle, and we had a nice ride. Mostly walking with a little trot mixed in. My least favorite Koda gait. His trot is choppy, but he has the smoothest lope. Someday, I will float on my Koda cloud again...baby steps. He is totally ready to go at a lope, but I am not.
Brad & Cierra in-between Koda ears
I am keeping our arena rides short on purpose. Not only do I not want to get sore, I want to keep it sweet. Brad wanted to ride Koda after I was done, so we switched and he um rode Koda out the gate! I hopped on Cierra and walked her around in the arena areas she got looky with me last time. We watched Brad and Koda ride the field like they've done it a hundred times, and then much to my surprise they went down a fresh bordering untrimmed trail Brad blazed a day ago!!
Brad & Koda in the trees, between Cierra ears
our new tree line trail
Between the arena (on left) and the barn
I declined taking a turn on the new trail & field ride. Koda and I sat around for a bit watching Cierra & Brad explore the general area.
Koda & Aurora-sponge square pants
(sitting on the mounting block)
Koda: "are we done yet"
Brad and Cierra riding to the back of the barn
Later on the same day, I got what I asked for my birthday: to clean the junk up at the bottom of our property left by previous owners. You can't see it from our house, but I see it every time I hike the trails - which is often.
we loaded the tractor tires full of crap
Old mowers, shutters, metal you name it, tv etc. All this, and Brad had removed a refrigerator plus other large items the previous year. There is still some clean up left, but the major eye sore junk is cleaned up and about to be gone!
a rare sight, Koda alone sleeping in the shelter
I think my boy was still tired from previous days activities!
soaking up the sunshine before the rain
(Koda, Harmony, Nemo and Cierra standing watch)
We took advantage of the last day of warm beautiful weather, and rode a third time. Three times must be the charm, because I had fun and forgot to take photos. This time I did it all myself, lunged then rode Koda. He is being a sweet well-behaved boy. Brad snuck some poles into the arena. Love going over poles! I sang a silly song as I trotted around them, walked and side passed over the poles. It was a nice ride.
Truly the perfect gift.
3 comments:
The third times the charm! I'm so happy for you that you finally got to ride. Sounds like the perfect birthday gift. Happy Birthday! It's understandable that you felt like a fish out of water, its been a long time since you were in the saddle. You really just have to get used to it all again and I'm sure you don't need lessons. Your instincts will kick in and you'll be just fine. Take it slow and stay in your comfort zone for as long as you need to. Don't rush it. Koda doesn't care and you shouldn't either. Again, so happy for you.
Love all the pictures and your sleepy happy herd. That was a lot of crap to clean up, amazing how much people leave behind for someone else to take care of. But you made a big dent in it and it will all be a memory soon enough.
Yay you!
Happy belated birthday too!
One thing that comes to mind is doing the Masterson Method on Koda- just do the bladder meridian, it is very simple to do and the horses get so relaxed. Not only that, it puts you in tune with your horse, as you have to pay close attention to his responses to find his trouble spots, and you have to be patient while he processes the release. It also helps you to remember to breathe... so many times when we are anxious we don't breathe properly and it affects our horses. When I did this last time on Gussie, I found that if she was taking a long time getting the release, I could take a couple of deep slow breaths and bingo! she would release. It's amazing how sensitive our horses are to the slightest things.
Yes, third time clicked!! Every ride feels more comfortable. Trying to build back up, and not assume I can do everything I used to do right away.
I will look up the bladder meridian. No clue why I've never looked into the Masterson Method. It is represented every year at Midwest Horse Fair. Koda instantly turned into butter with previous body work, like a big ol' baby.
Thanks for the Birthday wishes and sharing "the ride" with me!!
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