Today I rode Seneca for the first time. I had been lunging her a couple of times a week for the past few weeks and she had been steadily gaining weight over the last month and a half. Her tendon injury had completely disappeared and she had settled in to her new home. It was time. I gathered together all my gear that I hadn't used in a couple of months including every piece of safety gear I owned. After lunging Seneca in my saddle for a few minutes I tucked my head in to my helmet, slithered in to my Tippary vest, and pulled on my summer gloves with the crochet backs and the yellow leather palms.
I slipped on the only bridle I had that would fit her, a long ago gift from my father who had brought it back from Romania. I had three other bridles, two of them my pretty eventing bridles, neither one fit her. The cob's noseband was too small, and the full size's noseband was too long. I was going to need a leather punch to make the full size fit her.
I checked the girth one last time and swatted Seneca's neck when she tried to nip me. I don't have a formal mounting block, but a water bucket works just fine. I eyed my husband and our friend Joey who were talking man-stuff over by the barn. I was supposed to wait for Josh, but I was afraid I'd lose my nerve if I waited for them to stop gossiping. So stuffed my fear down deep, put my foot in the stirrup and swung up. With my heart beating frantically I waited for Seneca do something.
I waited in vain Seneca stood there waiting on me to tell her what to do. I laughed a little then with a loose rein asked Seneca to move off. We walked around the arena doing serpentines, figure eights and small circles. After ten minutes or so again I stuffed my fear down deep, tightening my legs a little, sat up straight, and clucked to Seneca. She jogged off, head a little high, we need to learn how to relax but it was our first trip together and it could be forgiven. We trotted both directions on a loose rein, then I sat back a little, and gentle tugged the reins asking for a whoa. Again Seneca surprised me as she slowed to a walk then stopped.
All in all it was a good first trip together.
August 27
Last weekend was a big step for Seneca and I. We loaded up in to the trailer with Seneca's pasture buddy Lulu and drove to another farm so Lulu and her rider could join up with the Pony Club for a lesson. Seneca and I were there see how we would do in a different environment with strange horses.
Seneca did just great. We walked and trotted in the arena as other horses went by from both directions, past strange and scarey looking jumps. When the lesson started we walked around the outside of the arena then I untacked my good girl and let her happily graze. She did give the horses in the next pasture a disdainful look when they started running around. She seems to think that any unnecessary expenditure of energy is worthy of a haughty stare.
Anyway it was a good day for both of us.