Lynn and Shirley went up a hill...and Vicki came tumbling after

For the all the confidence Lynn has in me--I am still just a novice rider. I simply do not have the confidence or skill to do much more than walk on my horse. I guess I do not have enough wet blanket time yet to be a good rider. It's a little embarrassing at times.

Yesterday my prophesy came true: I said I thought I would end up going off in the spring because of running and I did. I thought it would be Brady and I going up the meadow, but it was Jupe and I on the Hoop-de-do trail. It was entirely my fault and probably surprised him the most.

We were on our way back and Jupiter and I were behind everyone. We had trotted and jumped down trees and had a generally good time. On the way in, Jupe had his first real green colt moment going up the steep part of the trail. We were in the lead when he baulked and because I didn't think to, or really know to, slap him with the reins to encourage him to rethink it, we turned around and went back down and then followed Ziggy up. Not a good idea on difficult piece of trail! But we're learning.

Anyway, I do not have a "centered seat" as Sally Swift would call it. I am STILL not a balanced rider! I try to find my pockets and sit deeper in the saddle so I don't bounce around. I know it is hard on the horse and it causes me to be unstable. Well--Lynn says galloping and loping is the most comfortable to ride and I have actually felt it a few times with Brady, but I didn't want him to over tire, so it never lasted long enough to really get the feel. I do like to run uphill, but that is probably part of my problem. Going uphill I lean forward so my weight is easier for the horse to handle, so when Jupiter began to really stretch out into his lope, I had leaned too far ahead. I lost my balance and off I went into the bushes along the trail.

I think I probably looked like I was sliding into home plate. I ended up on my right side with dark, peaty dirt all over my face (and everywhere else--down my bra, etc). I got the wind knocked out of me but that's pretty much it. Bending over and then standing upright is a little painful today, but not too bad. It probably scared Lynn more than me.

I think Jupiter stopped and turned back around because I still had the reins. At some point I did drop them and he stepped on them and just stood there. I am sure no one has ever gone off him before so he was surprised to see me stretched and laying there.

In retrospect, I know my feet are often out of position; that is probably what exacerbated my fall. I need to work really hard on it because I want to be able to ride well.

As for the rest of the day, there were other stories to tell, too. Star and Shirley were in the back of the pack and we were trotting along pretty good and suddenly we heard Shirley yell. I was in the middle, and I turned to see her coming up pretty quick but missed the show. I guess Star was unhappy that everyone was so far ahead of him and he bucked two complete rodeo style bucks--head between his legs, throw up the hind end--bucks! Shirley never missed a beat. Hopefully she is not sore today from being jarred.

For the first time, we put a crupper on Jupiter. He's like Brady, he likes his tail rubbed, so Lynn thought he might not mind it too much. He was fine until coming back and we stepped down kind of sharply on steep part and it pulled up tight. Lynn was behind me and saw it all. She said he clamped his tail down and his butt went up in a small buck. I didn't know what he was doing, so I just talked to him and pulled him up and headed on down the trail. Sometimes ignorance is bliss.

The story I promised about Ziggy fits in this story as well. Last week, he once again decided that he did not want to make that turn on the really steep part of the trail. He could not see any reason to turn and turn and turn again to get to the trail so plainly in front of him. Lynn has been fighting him to make that turn for a year. Well, last week she let him just go straight down. And down he went. Down as in on his hiney! His back feet slipped out and he slid down on his butt!

Yesterday he made the turn. (:

Seems like there's more to tell, but I can't think of it right now. We are going again today, so maybe I'll have better stories for tomorrow. (Better as in I stayed on and all the horses were fine, too!)

April is Poetry Month

Because April is poetry month and because I am who I am--I get a new poem every day in my email.Today's poem is about kissing a horse. Click on this link to read it:
http://www.randomhouse.com/kdpg/poetry/poemaday/2010/poemaday_20_wrigley.html

D.R.I.T.S.

In the March 2010 issue of Trailrider, Bob Goddard, a funny contributor to the magazine, wrote about the serious addiction (albeit healthy) of riding. He delved into the medical condition of what happens when a serious addict is denied his or her fix; that condition is called "Deficient Riding Time Syndrome" or DRITS. There are tee shirts on the market that support this theory as well. They sport sayings such as "I need my barn time" and "I'd rather be riding." Lynn and I have had many conversations throughout the winter (and seemingly nonstop rain!) on this very topic--we just didn't know it had a name.

Goddard describes the late winter meltdowns in his home and it makes for funny reading; however, it wasn't so funny when last Friday I made one of my good friends cry because I was in the throes of undiagnosed DRITS.

I am obsessed with Jupiter. I want to help at evening feeding time as much as I can, so I can see him (and hang out with Lynn, of course). Last week we had the beautiful ride with Alisa on Saturday and I helped feed Sunday evening. I was able to get out of school at a decent hour and I helped on Monday. So I had three good days of seeing him, smelling the good horse smell, and being with good friends. I knew Tues, Wed, Thurs I had to work until at least 6pm, but the promise of Friday evening kept me going.

The sun came out on Thursday and I subbed for my friend Melodie. I had the students outside in the sun and they were working on memorizing bird names in Hupa, teaching me correct pronunciation, and then reading an old story in both languages. It is one of my favorite things to do and some of my favorite students to be with. I was happy. Suddenly there was a dark shadow hanging over me. It was a friend and colleague with whom I am in a subcommittee. She and another one of our colleagues had decided that Friday would be a good afternoon to meet and work on our project.

I said no, it was not good for me--I had something planned. But she gently insisted that we could meet in my room or my house (hint: I could make margaritas for them), but that everyone was available and we needed to progress on our project. I gave in, grudgingly; after all, it was only feeding the horses, unlike the important curriculum project that needed my attention.

Friday came and so did my colleagues. Immediately upon arrival in my classroom, one of them began to complain that it was Friday and why were we here? I put the blame back on her--it wasn't my idea. However, the meeting went along smoothly and we accomplished many things. About 5:30 it began to rain. Although I had already missed the feeding, with the rain my spirits dampened further. When my friend began to go down the already well-worn path of her neverending complaint at her school, I got up and began to put things together to take home. She noticed and made a comment. Never one to hold back much anyway, I let her have it. I was sick and tired of her whining. She cried.

Later I stomped into my mom's house for dinner and warned, "I'm cranky!" Once I explained myself, I did get over it; afterall, I had Saturday to look forward to--I was going to feed all by myself. However after experiencing the raging, out-of-control emotional rollercoaster I was feeling inside from missing Jupiter, I've decided DRITS is not just about riding, it's about all things horses.

On a high note, we had a gorgeous Spring day, Sunday. All the horses enjoyed the hoop-de-do trail and we all had big smiles stretching our faces. As I write this though, it is raining AGAIN, with forecasts to continue until ???? Ziggy lost a shoe on Sunday and Jupes does fine on the soft and peaty trail, but he is a little tender-footed on the rocky areas. Shirley has not been able to reach the farrier and Lynn got a little short with her yesterday. All I have to say is: he'd better return some calls and shoe some horses pretty quick or three women will have a bad case of DRITS and he should want to avoid that!

Coming soon--a feeding alone story and a Ziggy story.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Today is Jupiter's 5th birthday!

I am not one to complain too much about old Mother Nature, BUT I am now very tired of the rain and snow and cold. On Monday, Jupe was the muddiest of all. Poor things are probably even more tired of rain than any of us. Nevertheless, the boys were full of themselves and racing with the quad to the food boxes. There was a lot of bucking and neck twisting and moving each other around.

Speaking of riding the quad: anyone who would've seen the three us riding that quad on Saturday would never have believed that at least two of us (Alisa, you're such a baby!) are over 50! I have to laugh because Shirley, Lynn and I also ride all together on it, so it's no wonder that it is starting to poop out.

Isn't it fun being a country girl? Don't you feel sorry for those city girls who never skid around a muddy corner with horses in mad pursuit? I know I'm happiest when I am hanging out with all of you and the boys; and if I had my way--we do it a lot more often!

A Near Perfect Day

Although it was a little blustery and cold off and on, it was a nearly perfect day ahorseback on Saturday. Alisa and Odie came over to spend the day with us on the Hennessey and after Lynn finally found Odie and Jupiter (who are now best friends) so they could eat breakfast, we headed out. Our plan was to ride the long trail, up and around and down to the back side of Underwood to one of our favorite mountain trails which then opens up to the meadow just above where we park.

The horses went along fine together. Everyone took turns being in front, being in back, riding alongside each other--everyone was happy to be out on the trail. We took the high road and headed into what could be called "The Fear Factor Zone." We went around a gate and into a deserted, illegal grow area. It was trashy, of course, and Lynn said it looked like toxic waste. There were barrels and collapsed tents and who knows what else. It was the same area Lynn and Shirley rode through last fall when it was full of activity and even more scary. She plans to contact her friend whose house is nearby and remind him to tell his "friends" that we are harmless and not to shoot us--we are definitely not interested in their product! However, as I keep saying--it is our land, too--the US Forest Service land belongs to all of us! I hate being frightened by these jerks. Anyway. . .once we were past it, we stopped at a logged block and had cookies and rested the horses. We weren't quite on top of the whole world, but it's our world, I suppose.

There was snow on the ground in spots and some big mud puddles, but the brush and trees were pretty dry. The ground was soft and Jupiter's barefeet did fine everywhere except by Bray's house on the hill where it was pretty rocky. We went down some steep slopes and everyone did really well. Odie was as surefooted as his friends and did well coming down. Jupiter didn't seem to think twice about any of the terrain and loved going through the woods. He was very surefooted and confident. I loved riding him all day--I'm still smiling.

Then we saw a red pickup. The driver slowed and turned around. He gave us a wave and headed back down the road. Odd, but nothng we really commented on. We crossed the pavement and went down the next trail. It was Alisa's viney trail, but Lynn had cut off the potentially dangerous vines earlier and we relaxed and headed down the hill. When we came out to the next road crossing, there was the red pickup again. This time it parked, running, and the driver's side door was open. Alisa commented that she hoped he wasn't going to pop out of the brush and spook anyone. Ahead I hear Lynn hail someone.

Unfortunately, the driver is the owner of a crazy, out-of-control, stallion that thankfully I have only heard about and not ever seen. The guy stopped Lynn with the words, "My stallion is out. He's down there. Don't let him smell you--stay out of the wind!" Lynn, Shirley, and Alisa have all had experience with this horse. They immediately turned around and got us all headed up the hill. Lynn said, "Be quiet" to the horses and no one whinnied--who knows if they understood there was a dangerous problem. Everything I read and hear from Lynn tells me that they understand a lot just from our body language and attitude, so they might have understood very well as there was a lot of tension in the air.

Ziggy looked beautiful as he carried Lynn up the hill ahead of us. He made it look effortless as his long legs ate up the distance. Jupiter and I also ran, with the other two pretty close behind us. Lynn came out on the road, still moving at a good clip. As we entered the roadway, Alisa and I stayed to the righthand apron and Shirley and Star crossed to the left side. Just as Lynn turned around to say, "Stay off the black stuff, it's slippery," Star slipped on it. Both feet skated under him and he valiantly tried to get his footing, but he couldn't. Just as smoothly as he does everything else, he went down on his right hip. Shirley's leg was caught under him, but she let go when he got up.

Star went to Lynn and stood still. Shirley took inventory and then slowly stood up with some help from Alisa. As frail as she looks, that woman is tough. She walked off to the Bray's road where we were going to hide from the stallion. The only real casualty was her new leather glove. She checked her saddle to make sure it was fine--she didn't want any scratches on her pretty saddle!

After a hurried conversation, Lynn and Alisa decided to run down the hill and through the woods to get the trucks and come back to get us. So away they went leaving Shirley and I to stand with horses in what was becoming a howling wind and light rain. Not five minutes passed before the old guy came up and saw me in my bright orange jacket and honked that he had caught his stupid horse.

Lynn and Alisa half-ran, half-walked close to three miles. They "dropped and rolled and hit the other side [of locked gates] running." While they were gone, Shirley and I hung out with the boys. The young ones ate the little grass shoots for awhile, then all of them dozed. She and I talked a bit, but mostly we just listened to the wind and tried to visualize where the two were in their trek. It didn't take them very long and they were back. Everyone loaded easily and we came home.

So we missed a favorite leg of the trail, but all the horses and all the people (and Happy) came home safely. Jupiter and I both have scratched knees (mine is probably more bruised than his!), but Shirley is fine and we all lived to see another day of wet blankets!