13 January 2009 (Tuesday):
“…I left the house at 12:10, hoping that would give me plenty of time. Instead of Wendover, I took the new road to Horse Pen Creek, and then went down Strawberry to the 150. I turned the wrong way, backtracked and still got the stables (12:50) faster than the back road I was using, so I’ll go that way from now on.
I passed Tempe leading Oreo as I drove to the Big Barn, so I had time to use the bathroom (still can’t get over having one in a barn) before Tempe called me over to brush down Oreo. He looked fine, his colors bright and his hooves and eyes very healthy. I used a curry comb to get some mud off of his legs, then brushed him all over including between his eyes, one of the few things I do for him he actually seems to like.
I’d just finished when Tempe showed up with the tack and saddle, so we soon had Oreo ready to ride. There was no wind and, even though it was cold (about 35° or 40°), Tempe wanted us to ride outside. It was actually warmer there than inside the Big Barn, but I was thankful I’d dressed in several layers for extra warmth.
I mounted and walked Oreo for a few minutes. Tempe asked me what I’d been doing (other than job hunting) so I took a chance and told her about my reiki healing. She wanted to know what that was, so I went into some detail about chakras, a person’s energy field and so on. When she didn’t brandish any crosses (Tempe’s really sweet but is very religious), I talked about some of my clients and how I treated them. Tempe told me about her Christian prayer groups and they worked which I found fascinating. Apparently she’s involved in helping others as well even though she and her church start with a different premise (the idea of sin causing the emotional problems). Tempe did seem genuinely interested in what I did, though, so I was pleased I could finally tell her about it.
The warm-up over, Tempe had me post, then trot in jumping position:
Jump Position at the Trot
While I was doing that, Tempe called out the usual changes (heels down, eyes up and so on) and we talked about how different Annie and Oreo were. I went back to posting, then back to jump position again, alternating for about 15 minutes. Demon Horse didn’t appear at all (in fact, Oreo was suspiciously cooperative), and while I was walking him, Tempe told me several horse stories about how riders can over control their mounts and get dumped right off.
We worked some more on the jump position (“heels, heels!), then Tempe had me trot over poles with my hands on my hips to see if I could stay in jump position without using Oreo’s neck as a platform. That didn’t work all that well, so I tried it with my arms out to either side which went a bit better. We talked about some of her other students:
Tempe: “You know, some of these teenage girls can go over three or four jumps with their arms straight out.”
Me: “Gee, Tempe, that’s swell. How old are these kids again?”
Tempe: “Oh, 15 or 16. They’re high school athletes.”
Me: “Well, that sure makes me feel better. They only weigh about 90 pounds, I’ll bet.”
Tempe [laughing]: “You’ll get it!”
Me: “Yeah, give me two months – maybe.”
Tempe did say that if I wanted to do those 4’ jumps, I’d have to be able to balance consistently. Still, I did notice I didn’t tire at all and my muscles responded far better to the longer work-out. Tracy’s stretching and massages had worked wonders, so at least I didn’t collapse after posting, jump position, jump at the trot and posting again the way I used to last year:
Trotting Over Poles
Tempe had me trot over poles for a good while (the camera gave out then, so no more pictures), then Xed a few so I could trot and then jump. Oreo got fractious, then, and decided he wanted to go around the jumps instead of over. I had to force him over a couple of jumps at the walk, and he settled down again after he decided I knew what I was doing.
We walked again, then tried for a canter. Oreo really didn’t want to do it and, even though I got him up to a very fast trot, he still refused to canter. I watched my seat, sat before calling out “CAN-TER!”, made the smooch sound, shifted my weight – nothing. Tempe actually got annoyed at his recalcitrance and went to get “the crop”. Oreo saw her coming with it and both his ears went flat to his skull since he knew he’d gone too far.
I took the crop in my right hand and (following Tempe’s instructions), took Oreo to a walk, made the kiss noise and called out for him to canter, smacking him a good one on his right rear. After one abort, I did it again and he took off into a perfect canter. I slid back and forth in the saddle, thoroughly enjoying the exhilarating speed and boat-on-the-ocean feel Oreo has (that really is his best speed). We circled the ring several times until Tempe told me to rein him in. I did, and Oreo tossed his head a bit but stopped pretty well. I told her we’d better quit while we were ahead, so Tempe had me walk Oreo for about 10 minutes, then ride him to the gate.
There was all kinds of noise in the Big Barn (smoothing the ring with a tractor) since Tuesday was apparently barrel racing night. The horses didn’t seem to mind, peering over the pen barriers with their ears up, and of course it didn’t phase Oreo at all.
Tempe and I reversed roles and I took the saddle and tack back to the tack room while she brushed Oreo down. I gave Oreo (and a couple of the others as I walked back to the washing stall) his carrots and he ate them as fast as I could hold them up. He’s far younger than poor Annie and can chew far faster. I held his head while Tempe put on his blanket (he kept tossing it, wanting more carrots), then together (with Tempe’s dog helping) we led him back to his stall. Tempe and I said good-bye at the car and I told her I’d see her in another week or two depending on She Who MUST Be Obeyed and what she’d want from me…”
Tags: Riding Horses
