It was my birthday a couple Wednesdays ago, and one of the many gifts I received was a brand new saddle! And, as I said in my last post, it's beautiful.
It's an Ascot Romana. (so yes, it cost a fortune) 16.5 inches worth of butter soft leathery goodness. Butt magic, honestly. So squishy and comfortable. I adore it.
So, with it being my birthday and all, mother agreed to let me have the day off school to go see the pony and have a little ride for the first time in about a month!
Seeing as Mate hadn't been ridden properly in a while, I lowered my expectations. Still, I didn't expect fireworks from my young banana.
But fireworks is what I got...
It seemed as though I didn't lower my expectations low enough - he even managed to get me OFF!
But my love of riding almost always outdoes the fear of falling.
He decided mounting on the first attempt was not allowed... He flailed around until both my feet were both on the ground again, so silly. So the first ten minutes of our 'ride' was legitimately just me getting on and off until he stood there quietly and didn't move without being asked.
I then asked him to backup, a little rusty but good.
I asked him to turn his hindquarters, didn't move as easily but also good.
Then, I asked for a turn on the haunches. Just before Mate went lame, I had only just started asking for those turns in the saddle, so maybe asking for it on the first ride back wasn't such a good idea...
And a bad idea it was - he reared very very high and I did not enjoy it.
For a horse that was known for his rearing skills, he does a darned good job of them. And when he does it I have two choices:
- completely shut it down
- keep asking until he does what I'm asking
After this I honestly felt so silly.
I know my horse gets hot and I know he is bothered when I ask for things too loudly.
But for some reason, my mind wasn't thinking - he bucked his absolute heart out, spooked at the birds, did a couple of spins and finished with a massive buck that managed to get me off.
After I remounted (on the second try, of course *rolls eyes*) he continued flipping his head around, trying to yank the reins outta my hands all the while refusing to walk/trot at a reasonable pace.
After he slowed and stopped acting ridiculously I got off and headed back. At least it ended on a good(ish) note, yeah?
For a ride that I intended to be short and gentle, it was pretty terrible.
But it's fine. I still love him - he was extremely apologetic by the time we got back to the barn, which was nice.
As horrible as the ride was, it didn't ruin my birthday. I mean, at least my butt was comfortable.
Now comes the most annoying thing, riding him for that 40 minutes made him sore...
*insert many angry faces*
My brand new saddle does not fit...
God freaking damn
I visited him today and he was still incredibly sore right where the saddle sits on his back - we took his measurements and sent the saddle back so they can make me my own gullet. That's right, they're going to make me my own gullet. So fingers crossed, this time it'll fit perfectly and he can finally get back to riding!
"you love meh"
The thought of moving him is still floating around . But obviously no drastic decisions can be made while he's a paddock-puff.
He's so lucky he's cute
