Sunday was a perfect day out at the farm. Bright, not too hot, under a sky so blue and clear it looked as if it were out of a badly CGI’d fantasy.
I rode Bowie, a red and white paint. Not Frisbee; I think I need to catch you all up on things because sadly, I no longer ride Frisbee.
You see, his spookiness had progressed to the point in which he had become too dangerous for me. The final straw came when I was trotting him in a lesson and someone dropped something in the office next to the arena, and he shied violently sideways. He went sideways, I, rather like Wile E. Coyote, stayed put. Down I went. It wasn’t a bad fall, but the owner said, no more, he’s too dangerous.
Well, too dangerous for me. Another rider is working with him, and she said she might send him to a trainer for some extra tuition. Poor guy. He really needs consistent work, and with the weather being so crappy for so long he wasn’t getting that. Listen to me, complaining about rain in Texas. I know, I know, totally ungrateful. At least it appears that things are drying up now though.
So, my lesson on Bowie was really positive. For one thing, he’s bombproof, which I need right now. Also, as Kaylana pointed out, he is really out of shape because of the aforementioned lack of consistent work, so at the level I’m at — flat work only — he’s going to gently get back into condition. The benefit is that I know how to work him, since I have that experience, I just don’t have the recent practice. So it’s a win for both of us. He gets an experienced rider whose head, at least, knows what to do, but he won’t be pushed too hard.
I don’t have the same instant connection that I had with Frisbee, but I like him a lot and you can tell he’s sweet.
The lesson itself was a lot of trotting and legwork. He doesn’t move into his corners and bend properly, which is the lack of conditioning, so I got a lot of practice on correct aids. He started to bend quite nicely in big circles and I could feel him loosen and his head went down into a very nice arc a few times, so he was getting it. Then we cantered a bit but I’m all disorganized. Still, though the canter depart was a bit messy, he did get it eventually. Or rather, we got it.
So there you have it — from a horse that was too much for me (and I still feel bummed about that, I don’t think I’ll get over it for a while, but I do understand it was the right thing to do) to a horse that is what I need right now. And I think I can do right by Mr. Bowie himself, by providing him the kind of rider he needs.
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