Skip to main content

January 15th was a day for the books!

Today, on January 15th, I rode Kai for the first time.  In general, today was an incredibly exciting and nerve wracking day; a day for new and adventurous endeavors with Kai. It's been particularly warm the past few days, but sadly today that warmth was accompanied by wind.  While it could have been worse, it was enough to have all the horses galloping and bucking all over the farm.  As a result, it had Kai pretty jittery.  In fact, she was the most revved up she has ever been.  I lunged her as usual, and she bucked and squealed like a complete idiot.  She would settle and carry on, then act a fool again.  This continued for a whopping and unfortunate 45 minutes.  She got herself quite sweated up and while many would think 45 minutes of that kind of energy would surely have her exhausted but that wasn't the case - and typically isn't with a Thoroughbred.  Luckily though, she had calmed down significantly and Ray, my designated helper, walked around the corner to give me a hand for the first ride.


When it came time to stand to be mounted, she decided she had caught her breath and was ready to be goofy again.  She showed signs of anxiety for the first time.  While she has been a little antsy at times, it was hardly comparable.  While she stood quite still, she was chomping at the bit, tossing her head, and trying to bite anything she could get her mouth on - reins, ray, etc.  Her anxiety put mine through the roof, and yup - I chickened out.  It was really weird. I never used to think twice, i'd hop and go... but as I've gotten older I have developed some value to my life and I know when to swallow my pride and step back.  Luckily, I am blessed with an incredibly wonderful husband - who is also very sticky in the tack as well so he quickly hopped on while I held her and they were on their way.  I told him he could allow her to trot if she wanted to as long as she felt controllable.. He was on her about 5 minutes before I regained my confidence and shoo'd him off and on I got.


The first thoughts going through my head were to be expected; "i'm finally riding my new horse", "shoulders up and back, strong core, feet not too far in the stirrups in case I need to bail", "holy she feels tall even though Ray just said she feels like a 2 year old thanks to his ridiculously long legs", and so on.  As we continued to walk around, I settled into her rhythm as she shuffled along the frozen ground while the wind whistled around us, and my butterflies subsided.  I began to play a little with her buttons (or lack thereof), and I was really satisfied with her walk/halt/walk transitions.  She didn't reef or pull in the downward transitions, and was prompt to move forward with relaxation.  I discovered that she's very stiff when it comes to lateral flexion, and she is very unresponsive to your right leg regardless of the direction you're travelling.  While it's 'worse' on the right rein, it's not something that's uncommon for OTTB's.  As well, she has a date with the Chiropractor this week and perhaps her right sacrum being misaligned isn't helping the matter.


I was happy to find her relatively responsive to the bridle.  She wasn't excessively light, and she wasn't heavy which was great.  She held a nice contact in my hands, although fidgety but I can live with that.  She wasn't excessively 'chompy', and she wasn't overly dramatic to leg pressure.  She showed her greenness as a riding horse, and there was at least 1 situation while Ray was trotting her that it clearly crossed her mind to show of her broncing skills, but she responded well to Ray's quiet and subtle correction and she continued on without problem.  


The rides were generally uneventful, which was a total relief!  At one point in trot she was pushing on Ray's right leg and he gave her a small kick and she scooted forward off it.. then when I got on and was walking the opposite direction he was, she was leaning on my right leg so hard and wouldn't get off it - we almost walked right over top of the mounting block!  As well, she confirmed my hunch that she doesn't have a lot of experience trotting.  She prefers to canter on the lunge line despite slip sliding all over the place on the shotty footing, and she did the same when Ray allowed her to Trot.  That being said, she may have been confused by him sitting her trot and expected him to be intending to Canter as a result.  Never the less, it was incredible how much I enjoyed her after riding her for 10 minutes. I felt so much more relaxed and confident around her.  

If that wasn't exciting enough, Kai also had her first farrier appointment since I got her in November.  It's so nice out, so we chose to just trim her in the paddock and enjoy the sunshine, since it's few and far between these days - even if it means it's joined by wind.  Regardless, much to my surprise she was fantastic!  She stood wonderfully, and her boredom consisted of her nibbling on the lead rope occasionally between naps and staring at stuff - you know, horsey things.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Blog Hop: 2020 Summary; Covid Edition

 While we all live in different towns, have different goals and different lives - but one thing that we all have in common is what a wild and wonky year 2020 was.  The reality is, it's all affected us in one way or another, and with 2020 coming to an end it's time to reflect and look hopeful towards an improved 2021. What's the best thing that happened to you in 2020? Personal: Hands down, the birth of my daughter .  After 4 years of fertility struggles, I'm beyond grateful and though some days feel like an eternity of struggle, confusion and pain, my heart has never been more full. Horsey: It's hard to choose. Despite hardly riding, I've had a lot of wonderful horsey-filled memories this year.  From the birth of Phascinating BRR , my second homebred to date, to the few rides I got to enjoy and making a major investment in my breeding business, there's been lots to be thankful for. What's the worst thing that happened to you in 2020? Personal: It's

Vet Trip #2 For The Big Lady

I don't talk about her a ton, but we were given Lass, a Clydesdale mare with a rough past who is well into her teens, last fall. Friends of ours who live on an acreage but really aren't 'horse people' 'acquired' her after seeing what kind of condition she was in. They had a vet out to address some concerns that included some sort of fungal issue on her legs and open sores housing fly larvae on her back.  The Vet said her teeth were fine, and they did their best to get some weight on her.  They attempted to sell her, but quickly realized it was in her best interest to just give her away to an experienced home. They're friends of ours, and they asked us if we would take her - My hubby has wanted a draft for some time, so he twisted my rubber arm and I agreed. Shortly after our friends acquired her When we went to look at her, it took 4 of us about 30 minutes to catch her.  She was extremely standoffish and made it clear she didn't want anything