Bat Outta Hell

I've come to realize both how insufficient & important my ability to balance is courtesy of my lovely new English saddle. In a western saddle you've got a deep seat and an Oh sh!t handle whenever there's a problem. In an English saddle you've got... well your legs. The sweet little Spanish man who cares for the horses at the barn was sawing something (LOUDLY). Luckily I saw him with the electric saw so I knew what was about to happen. Unfortunately I was him about 3 seconds before it went off so I didn't have time to move Cheyenne away... OFF she went like a bat outta hell. Tried to run me into a tree. The next time she did it AGAIN. Finally she got over the on/off of the saw & quit bolting & on the bright side I (unwillingly) got to experience my horses canter for both the second & third time today! Yay?

Other than that she was pretty good. She has a very forward & quick trot which makes it hard for me to keep a nice seat & stay balanced. Luckily she also has a nice slower trot which allows for a nice seat... but only sometimes. She alternates between the two & I'm left somewhere between having the perfect rythym with her & looking like a floppy chicken trying to ride a horse. We're working on it. It's only the second time she's trotted for more than a minute under saddle, so overall I'd say we're doing pretty well.

I gave pony a bath & wanted to dry her off so she wouldn't roll. I decided to take her out to the jump field to lunge her over some jumps & dry her off. At first she did well, jumping when asked & not tugging. THEN she pulled one of those stunts she hasn't pulled since she was much younger. YANKING on the lunge line, cutting in about a foot away from me and changing directions, RUNNING off with the lunge line. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph was I PISSED. She got it after that. If she wanted to run off, by golly she was going to RUN her little legs OFF. She eventually settled down & jumped nicely over a number of jumps... didn't try to change directions (or run me over) and so we ended on a good note. Always a testy little mare that monster pony. SWEET as sugar, but she can push your buttons!

After we ended the lunging session on a good note I decided to let her graze for a bit and snapped a new pictures. Nothing I love more than a shiny clean horse. Although I WOULD love it more if she didn't have scrapes all over her body! Every day I come out she has a new one! Just areas where the hair has rubbed off... no blood. Wish I knew what she was doing to get them. Hmmmmm...