A little ride with Sunny

I'm tired of calling people by their initials, and really don't want to use the initial S for someone else, so I'm gonna call J's sister Sunny if that's OK with her. If not, please comment, Sunny. Also, it's perfect for today, the day of Sun++.

Yes, Sunny visited me on the day of snow, hail, and fickle sunshine. I wasn't expecting her to show up so Mag wasn't ready, and I rushed to saddle him, which he was fine with until he had a little spaz about the bit, catching it on his teeth and hurting himself before I could disconnect it and start again (the main problem with the "bit after the bridle" method, he can smack himself in the eyeball with the bit if he likes).

We departed and Sunny immediately noticed my "cowboy" way of leading a horse, where the horse walks about a meter behind me. She positioned herself beside Mag's shoulder and said that this is the optimal place to stand for greatest control of a horse, including showing me how to animate the horse forward if needed. I agreed with her that it is the official way, the way we all learned (I had a Pony Club handbook that I adhered to). I'm just more comfortable with my horse out of my 1 meter bubble, and I feel certain that if he's going to spook, he's not going to trample me from back there.

She was curious why I won't ride on pavement. I told her someday I might. She said the most important thing is to have trust in a horse, so that when a horse is insecure and flipping out, you can reassure it. I asked her if the ability to stay calm when a horse is flipping out requires smoking some weed beforehand. Ha-ha?

Mag was spooky today.  I've already shown you the weather, so that may be it.. Things he never looks at, he was looking today. Where's my good boy? She noticed his tendency to snort, and I agreed, he's Snorty McSnorterson.

BTW,  it's simultaneously snowing, hailing, and the sun is shining as I type this. My husband just gave a Takei, "Oh MY" and I can see why, looking out the window and hearing the shingles on our house shake.

Mag sidled up to the bench and I got on and Sunny was OK with just hanging out there for a while to teach Mag to hold still at mounting blocks.

With Sunny holding the lead line, I felt pretty good and we wandered up the mostly flat trail to the Icelandic herd. I had drunk so much coffee I was a chatterbox, and not as relaxed as I could have been. But Sunny agreed to practice stopping and stood with Mag while I counted to 10, or 15.

Mag did that head tossing thing for a while but gave up - I told Sunny that Mara would do that *the entire ride*. He also pawed at the earth impatiently but I assured him that will never, ever work.

At one stop Mag decided he couldn't hold still and swung his hips to the side and she immediately waved the end of the rope at his hip to get him straight again. It was so nice to have an experienced horse person on the line helping me.

I noted to Sunny how surprised I am that Mag is lookier when I'm on his back. When I'm on the ground, he doesn't look at stuff.  She said young horses are off balance at this stage with a rider and it makes them insecure of their ability to escape danger. Of course she's right, but I'm still surprised because he's just so cool when I'm on the ground. She also said that she learned when a horse does not have back strength yet, it's best to two-point them *at a walk* even. That's new to me. I said that the two-point, or half-seat, might relieve his back, but it won't convey a relaxed feel, and that is more important to me right now. Of course when I eventually trot I won't be sitting on my pockets.

Likewise we were talking about the cue to halt and how horses she has ridden will halt when she exhales. I told her I try to NEVER exhale on a horse. Just kidding. I told her Mag would slam on the brakes in the arena when I even thought about stopping. Yah, arenas. Nice to have. So we compared Arenas vs. Woods and Leading vs. Riding, the differences in behavior we experience. It's so fun to talk to another horse person!

The herd of Icelandics greeted us and I forced Sunny to pick her favorite, one that looked like her lease mare. We examined them very critically, she with her devotion to the breed, and me with my admiration of the breed. I picked out a lovely chestnut with blond mane and intelligent eyes. Oh, they all have beautiful eyes....

As we turned to leave, the herd galloped off. Mag tensed up. But Sunny had the lead and I was talking a non-stop river of words to stay calm, and it worked.

Mag swung along in his fast walk happily even though the saddle slipped a full 6 inches too far back as I rode, putting me in an uncomfortable place. I guess the wool pad is too slippery, I'll have to try the rubber grippy pad that came with my SS saddle.

Almost home we came across "Browncoat", Frau Harkemann, with her walker. Instead of flipping hysterically out like Mara at the sight of her, Mag very gently touched her walker with his nose, and let her pat his face, not moving one single hoof the entire time we talked, and talked, me pressing my luck with a horse who doesn't like to hold still, that he wouldn't injure this delicate old lady in her brown Winter coat. Amazing, the difference in the last month. Suddenly Mag knows, "Talking to the neighbors" and doesn't paw stripes into the pavement. I told Frau Harkemann that my horse is only a baby, only 5, and she said, "That's not so young" and I pointed my index finger at his brain and said, "There, he is." OK apparently I cannot get away with this 5 being young thing any longer (cuz that's the second time someone said, "5 is young"?)

At the moment huge snowflakes are falling, and my husband just called to me, "If this keeps up, I will not be able to get to work tomorrow." We had just had our Winter tires swapped for the Summer ones. In Germany by law you must have Winter tires on in snow or icy weather - here we aren't granted the freedom to kill ourselves by being irresponsible, just like by law our chimney must be swept every 6 months.

Before we got home Sunny said he's very good for his age. (I thought, "and his breed at this age!"). She agreed with me that he doesn't flip out dangerously. I asked if she'd ride him, but she wants to get to know him better first. I challenged her, "But you rode Mara w/t/c!" she said, "in an arena." OK then.

As we approached our house, my husband was driving up the road, and he patiently blinked the car waiting for us to enter our driveway.

I untacked Mag and Sunny hung out with me, and when I asked her what she would do if she were Mag's owner, she said, "I'd put him in a boarding stable where you can use an arena and have people to ride out with on experienced horses, and pony him, to accelerate his training."

I said, "Oh yes, I've been imagining that scenario too, but where, and how, and...."

It's problematic. It's clear to me that the optimal situation is for me to have ....more friends. Any friends at all with reliable horses in the area, or horse trailers.

Anyway, I'm very grateful to Sunny and I hope she'll come back and ride him too, now that she knows him better. Oh, and she lent me her 120Euro lunging cavesson which she fit to Mag's head perfectly!

The snow is blasting the blossoms from the trees.

Some photos from our walk:


I'd forgotten my camera so she used her cell phone. I didn't realize that using cell phone images would mean even more html editing, but I'm thankful to have them.






I've got polarfleece pants, two shirts, gloves, I'm ready for ...sunshine?





It looks like we live in Nebraska. We're ascending a hill here, and there are no mountains here, only hills, so you get lots of horizons. I come from the land of zero horizons (unless at the ocean) so this feels strange to me.



Mag chooses to walk on the gravel instead of the middle strip which most barefoot horses prefer. He's also got a vented abscess on his LF that I hope doesn't cause trouble.





Now he's almost even with me and about to get corrected.





All it takes is a wave of the rope and I take a step back with him and he scoots back into place.






Better.






I always have the impression that going on walks is his favorite thing to do.







I swear Mag's theme song should be "Nothing bad ever happens to me"