Today, was a good day to ride. I was in much better frame than before. And my horse..well, let's just say, Marcella and I are pretty sure he's now thinking "Crap...if I don't do what Mom says, the little one's going after me again". Ranger has been going through Marcella's rigorous training program for horses owned by nervous moms. And the results are excellent. Ranger, who used to have to be hand led out of the property, walked out the gate by himself, with only my leg to move him. This may also have been due to the horse sandwich he was in the middle of...my Ranger LOVES other horses.
Now, we had a few squabbles, me and Ranger, getting down the street. He wanted to go home. I didn't. I won. Marcella is tirelessly patient on the trail, and coached me through his tantrum. And my inner rider just got damned mad and whupped him a bit to make him go. Round One: Lysa - 1, Ranger - 0.
Around the bend and back to Hillside Dr....Ranger tried to go home again....Ranger, btw, does not make left turns unless he wants to go home. I'm sure that's something I'M doing wrong. But until I figure it out, right turns it is. Right and right, until he was going the direction we wanted. Round Two: Lysa - 2, Ranger - 0. He seemed quite huffed to have lost that battle.
Heading down the trail, Ranger decided two driveways were excellent points at which to turn around and go home. I disagreed. Discussion ensued. Ranger found little support in trail mate Kyle, riding his mom's horse Annie. Kyle and Annie simply got in Ranger's way, presenting an imperturbable wall of expert trail horse. Ranger was stumped. A struggle to make a left turn followed. I let him win that struggle, and we made a right turn. Fine. He was annoyed however, when he realized the right turn he wanted...sent him the way I wanted. Hah hah Ranger....hah hah.
The score is now Lysa - 3, Ranger - big fat ZERO.
Further down the road, we caught up with a friend, who was just like me not to long ago. Karen, it turns out, is a great friend to have on the trail. I was anxious about riding with her. She's a pretty extreme rider, and hangs out with the Saddle Sore Riders crowd. I expressed my concerns for a flat easy ride, and Karen was gracious and cheerful and assured me that any ride was fine with her, so happy was she to be in the saddle. Ranger selected this moment to try once more to go home.
Marcella...has now had ENOUGH of Ranger's nonsense. Ranger found himself "ponied" to Marcella and Misty, which in riding terms, means attaching a lead rope to a horse and having him be led by a rider on their horse. Ranger was out of options. Now, he had NO choice but to listen to my leg. Karen offered some awesome tips on trail riding, including leaving a halter on your horse under his bridle for just such occasions as necessary ponying. Good idea. Sorry Ranger.
The rest of the ride proceeded largely calm and relaxed. Karen was a joy to ride with, and was having a good time sharing her riding expertise with me. We survived noisy trucks, barking dogs, cantering riders, and Misty's eventual frustration at having Ranger up her butt, and Lancelot (Marcella's former horse, now owned by Tish, and out on his first ever trail ride) cuddled up to her left side like a newborn foal. Some kicking nearly occurred. "Ummm, maybe Karen should pony me for a little bit, Misty's making me anxious". But you know what? Ranger wasn't having that...and my lead rope got passed off...to myself. I ponied my own damned horse, yes I did. And the rest of the trail ride was awesome.
Including the part where we were attacked by a ravenous hoard of slavering wild dogs, dozens of them, drooling and red eyed and howling, clawing viciously at the flimsy fence keeping them contained in their bid to escape and ravage and destroy us.
Okay, okay. It was three or four, the fence was strong chain link, and the horses couldn't actually SEE the first yard of dogs, because there was privacy slats in the link.The second yard right next door, only two. But the noise was horrendous! And actually, when horses CAN'T see something, that's actually what causes them the most concern. Lance was the most upset by the whole affair. He's just little after all. His spooking spooked Ranger more than anything. But I stayed on, talked my horse (okay, okay, MYSELF) past the pack, and away to safety. We made it home with no further incident, or lunatic dog attacks.
What I learned on Ranger this time:
1) My horse is a good trail horse. He will take care of me and protect me. I have nothing to fear from my horse.
2) My horse does not have a mean bone in his big body. When he argues with me, it's not the level of a show jumper's argument. Ranger will not rear, he will not buck. He will simply walk the way he wants to walk. When I discipline him for it, I do not have to fear being thrown, because Ranger is a good horse.
3) Ranger is so big, steady, and sure footed, that even if something, like say, wild packs of slavering dogs, does spook him, he will not do more than sidestep before settling in to work it out. I can not fall off such a sure-footed horse, unless I let myself fall off. As long as I stay calm and help him work it out, I will be fine and we can move forward.
4) Ranger likes hugs, as much as I do. I can hug my horse all I want, and scratch his itches and feed him treats and blow kisses into his nose. This loving actions will create a stronger bond of love and trust between myself and my horse.
5) I really really love my horse.
"In my opinion, a horse is the animal to have. Eleven-hundred pounds of raw muscle, power, grace, and sweat between your legs - it's something you just can't get from a pet hamster."
Posted by Lysa at November 21, 2009 5:44 PM