That moment

I have a horse who makes me happy. My gelding has been with me for over four years now and sometimes I realize that he is the best horse to have come into my life. He isn’t the most athletic, my old thoroughbred was much more athletic than Bechler is. My mare is a much nicer horse than Bechler. My first horse had a quieter disposition than Bechler. Despite all of this, Bechler is my partner. He will cross the moon for me if we decide to do it as a team. 

Today I was having a rough day. I needed an outlet for my crazy, manic energy, so I grabbed a halter jumped on my big spotted horse. I led him over, climbed our arena fence, and launched myself onto his back as he edged up to the fence. As soon as I got my seat, we were off. We worked on bending left and right without having him brace against the lead rope.  We used other horses in the pasture instead of cones to weave around and as the center of our circles. We rode over our dude obstacles, side passing over the log, stepping up onto the tilting bridge and balancing it then stepping up onto it so it came down to us. We stopped and tiptoed forward one step at a time. We rocked forward, then back off of seat cues. We backed softly then went forward at a fast walk. 

We never broke out of a walk but that walk alone helped wash the anxiety off of me. Being on the same note as that horse helped me be at peace with myself and with the world. This time of year I have a hard time coming down from the summer. In the summer my job required that I am constantly busy and around people almost all the time. This time of year there are things to do, but I can do them at my own pace. I am alone often. Today I saw no other human. I did see forty-four horses. They are quieter companions. I need to remember how to be alone without being lonely. I need to remember how to be at appeased with silent company. How a muzzle touching me with a dog by my side can replace a whole day of words. I need to re-adapt.

Philosophical Horse Musings

I have written a lot lately about my new mare, Mayfly. She is a new experience for me. She is teaching me a ton about softness, consistency, and how far to push. As much as I am enjoying learning from her, I haven't forgotten about my gelding. The more I work with green horses, the more I adore my gelding. Bechler is still green in some ways. He could be a lot softer in the bridle. He needs more work on lateral movement. In other ways he is the most solid horse out there. I can do anything on his back and he puts up with it. He can cover ground in any country.

Today, I wanted to go for a ride in the sunshine and fresh snow. I wanted to enjoy the elements and not have to worry about my horse. I wanted to go for a ride with an old friend. Like usual, Bechler met me in the pasture with a nicker and a belligerent head toss. He is easy to catch and happy to take his long stride to the barn. Once groomed, I threw a bareback pad on him and grabbed my softest snaffle bridle. I am terrible at mounting from the ground with a bareback pad, so I climbed a fence and jumped onto his back. Bechler was feeling good (and there were helicopters overhead making a ruckus), so we took off out of the barnyard at a n easy trot. Once we hit the main driveway, we lengthened out to a good ground eating trot.

After a short walking break, we were ready to feel the wind in our faces. Once we hit our stride in the lope, my bareback pad came undone. Bechler spooked at the strap coming from under him, threw a crow hop, then settled back into stride. Who needs a cinch on a bareback pad... stay balanced and don't grip with the knees and you will stay on fine. Bechler was feeling good spooking at shadows and chasing the wind. My dog, Daisy, was hot on our heels. I love the way Bechler and I become one when we ride. He follows my seat. I can lengthen or shorten strides without touching my reins. We were free and alive and owned this world.

As we got near the end of the driveway, we got in one last good lope then turned from home. We walked home on a loose rein. Daisy was dancing at our feet with a grin on her face. Life was happy. I was centered. This horse is my relaxation. He is completely trustworthy for me. We have been through everything together.

Back at the barn, I groomed Bechler down. Cats and dogs twined around our feet. I fed him his grain and gave him a few last hugs before turning him back out with his 55 herd mates.

I love having time for my own horse every now and again. I love Sundays without a schedule. I love standing by the barn watching him eat his grain, watching the dog and cats play at my feet, watching the ranch go on around me without doing much to help it along. This is the way I have found to take a day off when I live at my job.

Bit!

January 26th

Today was another great day with Mayfly. I really need to start having other people work with and around her, but it is hard in the winter out here... because I mostly work alone. She is coming along in leaps and bounds for the limited amount of work she has been getting. After a week or so off, she was great.

 I had her carry a bit and bridle today instead of just her sidepull. The sidepull doesn't fit well under the snaffle bridle, so I went back to riding her in a rope halter with the bridle over top. I wanted the halter to communicate with her so she could just experience carrying the bit while working. We did do a little bit of turning using the halter, and bridle rein together a little. She seemed to understand how to give to the pressure, but she wasn't happy with the bit in her mouth. Perhaps once she is comfortable with a bit she may need a different set up. Perhaps a narrower in diameter bit.

She was much more forward today. She is starting to understand that when I ask her to go forward, as soon as she goes at the speed I want, I release pressure. Smart mare. Today she was much more consistent trotting and overall just not worried about me up on her back. Perhaps it is because I am not worried about her anymore. She is such a sweet little girl. I can't wait until footing is good enough to lope her.

Next time I will have her carry the bit again and start using it a bit more. I also think she is ready to hit the trail with an experienced horse! I just need to recruit a second rider or person that can sit on a dead broke horse to help me out! I am so glad I got this little mare! She has been a challenge, but come come around wonderfully!

The mare became a unicorn

January 11:

When I went to catch Mayfly in the field, it was early afternoon nap time again. She is getting to be more and more of a snuggle bug all the time. She let me snuggle with her for a bit before I slipped her halter on. Tying, grooming, and saddling don't even need mentioned anymore because she acts like a real horse now. Well, she does love her face being brushed and likes being around me.

I got her to the round pen and slipped her side pull on (which I have to mention, she lowered her head nicely for). I mounted up and started her walking around. She was relaxed and eager to get going. Footing was getting a bit precarious in there. When I asked her to lengthen her stride, she tensed up and started tail swishing with a hump in her back. I couldn't let her get away with that, but due to the footing I didn't want to press her for more than a little more walk. Due to the condition of the footing, I decided it was time to get her out of the round pen again.

She picked up her feet and walked with pep when we left the pen. I think she must have been as bored as I was going in circles. I took her away from the barn a bit, then went to turn her back. She balked a bit heading back to the barn. Apparently I have a reverse barn sour horse. As soon as she got out of sight of the barn, her friend on the hitching rail started calling out for her, but she didn't react to that in the least. We went out to a nice loop in the driveway with pretty good footing and worked out there. She is a lot less tense about me randomly touching her or moving suddenly while riding. We worked on moving out at the walk, and moving off my leg for a while.

We had a few more fights about where we should go, but she found it is easier to go where I am directing her. She balks by sulling up and swishing her tail, nothing more. I appreciate that and understand where she is coming from. She is a mature mare who is used to doing only what she wants when she wants to do it. Now this human comes along and decides that she must do what the human wants all of the time. Poor horse! Thankfully she has a kind disposition.

Anyway, back to the horse. After she was doing well speeding up and slowing down her walk, we moved on to the trot. Last time I rode her was the first time I trotted her under saddle. She did well but was a bit nervous. This time she did great. I wanted to make it easy for her at first, so we trotted towards the pen where the rest of the herd was. The first time she went into the trot, she was a bit worried. The second and third time she did great. The second to last time I asked her to trot going away from the herd, thankfully I was on a loop, so I just kept asking and asking until I got her into a trot. She will learn that it is easier on her to do what I want rather than sulling up on me.

After she did well on one last trot, we went for a short ride in the other direction, then I dismounted and led her back to the barn (I was freezing my butt off because it was a balmy five degrees Fahrenheit out and I don't like riding green horses with gloves on).

New Year!

January 6: New Year, great horse

I haven't updated this in a bit. Mayfly was left to sit for a few weeks while I went back east on a few vacations. Sitting must have done her a lot of good. I no longer have a worried baby, I have a friendly, ready to work mare.

Yesterday I got her out for her first ride since I came back. She now ties easily and saddles easily. I didn't do much ground work yesterday, but mounted and dismounted a few times, then asked her to walk off. She walked off relaxed with her head nice and low. She is picking up neck reining pretty quickly. She turns easier to the right than to the left, but she is coming along in both directions. She wants to please and listens to rather quiet cues. She walked off easier and stayed at a nicer walk the whole time. I ended it at that.

Today I got Mayfly out again. When I grabbed her from the pasture she was laying down and I slipped the halter on her while she was down. That was a great change for me to see in her trust of me. From day one when it took me 15 minutes to catch her in a small pen to today, when I walked up to her laying down in a pasture with 55 horses and she was happy and relaxed to see me!

Today she got to be a big horse, no more special hitch rail for her. She is tied up with whomever else I am working. She was happy that today she was being worked with one of her best friends. Stood tied well for grooming and saddling with trucks driving past and dogs and cats underfoot. I flagged her a bit on the ground before mounting up and she was a rockstar. I swung up on her, worked on turning, stopping, and speeding up/slowing down the walk. She was again relaxed and happy, so I dismounted... and mounted back up with the flag. She swiveled her ears around a bit as a flagged her from her back, but wasn't upset in the least. She did great at a halt and walk with the flag, so I threw it off of her into the snow in the roundpen... and we kept working. She didn't spook at the flag in the snow at all. I asked her to speed up her walk in the better footing, then slow down in the tough snow, then repeat over and over until she was perfectly relaxed. Then we pushed the walk into a few steps of trot, then back to a walk. She was a bit worried about trotting with me, but only showed it by wanting to stop after trotting.

We ended on a super successful point. She was amazing today! She again stood well being tied. I took her in the barn after she got a snack so I could stick her... and I found out my little mare is 15.2ish hands! So much for a little mare!

Progress

December 10:

Today was another ride for Mayfly. Today we did most of the same things, but with less prep. Today, again I worked Mayfly and the Huckleberry gelding. Mayfly was great to saddle, did fine with a bit of ground work. Stood steady when I swung up. Was more eager to walk with me to the left. She is still hesitant to the right at times. We worked on circling and changing direction a lot more this time. She did quite well overall. I added a little bit less quiet riding. She was a champ. It was cold, windy, and snowy, so I didn't add much. I need to get more forward next time. I ended working with her while I could feel my hands and face... mostly.

Such a cute face!