After All This Time...

'Dusty'

After All This Time …

It has finally happened; I was able to get back on a horse. I am happy to report my first ride since my knee replacement surgery was uneventful. Dusty was my horse of choice and she behaved exceptionally well considering she has not been ridden in over a year. There was some apprehension on my part since I haven’t ridden since last summer. In hindsight, she probably wasn’t the smartest choice for my first ride but I feel it all comes down to knowing your horses. Blue was tacked up and ready to go when I got to the barn but intuition told me to let my daughter ride him instead. It’s a good thing too because he was in one of his stubborn I’m not listening to you today moods and gave my daughter quite a ride.

Dusty on the other hand stood at the mounting block like a little statue while I mounted. This made me feel especially confident because getting on her has usually been the worst part of our riding experience. We proceeded to walk around calmly on a loose rein with a few minor unauthorized threats to trot or canter. There was only one instance when she could not contain her excitement anymore: as we were walking over some caveletti’s she did pick up a canter and jumped the last one. It has been so long and she was so excited to have a job today, no matter how small, I really couldn’t fault her for her enthusiasm. She mostly listened to the rein aids and voice commands and came right back when asked to.

So in closing I’d like to thank my little palomino mare for being such a brilliant girl today and basically taking care of me on my first ride back in the saddle. I’m sure she can’t wait to get on with it and do some real training. I can promise her that in short order we will do just that. For now, I’m just relieved to have survived our first ride in a very long time.

Until next time

Quote for Today

Gypsy gold does not chink and glitter. It gleams in the sun and neighs in the dark.
- Saying of the Gladdagh Gypsies of Galway