Riding like a normal person and another lecture from that lady

Today is the day I enjoyed my first trail ride on Mag where I was completely relaxed the entire time, just having fun. I rode the entire time - mounting at the barn and dismounting there too...like a normal person!

First though I did my homework in the arena and am delighted that the exercises are getting so much easier on our third try. And I was thrilled to see that after practicing halt trot transitions, the walk trot transitions are SMOOTH! I start thinking about trotting, whispering one, two, one, two as we reach the cone and as soon as it's even with his shoulder, he's trotting, often before I have to use a secondary leg aid.

Then Jana appeared and wanted to go on a trail ride with me. YES!

I've never ridden out with Maja (the Fjord) before, but Mag and Maja have been on walks together and done arena stuff together. They've even been turned out in the outdoor together but some squealing occurred. She's not in good health so she's pretty defensive, and she's 21 and doesn't take crap from youngsters.

She reminds me so much of my donkey.  Her color patterns (face, dorsal stripe, barred legs), her nose, her eye, the shape of her head, her laid back personality....I think you have to know Bellis to see her in Maja. But we'll see if vice versa is also true - Maja's owner Christina has agreed to trailer Mag home next Saturday (the 1st). I will try to remember to ask her if she sees her mare in Bellis' expression/features.

I also did some in-hand work with Mag today, which he's really good at, better than I am. I'm a klutz to the right. I will miss the arena so much because this would be impossible to do out in the hills.

After such a great arena session, I felt good enough to just mount up at the barn like everyone else does.

Jana said, "I'm gonna show you a trail you've never been on."

I laughed, "You think so?"

She'd forgotten, or never heard, that I'd leased a horse here 10 years ago, and I've been on practically all the trails, just, some of them are fuzzy in my mind. But inevitably I'll see a landmark and know which trail I'm on. I'm not good at a lot of things, but orienting myself with my surroundings I'm great at.

Jana is so easy to ride with, another conversationalist. She asked me if Arabians are allowed to breed with other types of horses. I laughed, "Allowed!? That's a funny way to put it!" And she asked me what markings Arabians are not allowed to have. Huh? She pointed to some light dappling on Maja's rump and said these make her a pet quality Fjord and not breeding quality. Hm! I said, "Well, Arabians don't have markings that are not allowed, but they simply do not come in fancy colors, like your horse there." (Now that I think about it, Arabians are not allowed to have white on the legs above the knee. Oops. I find it interesting that in so many breeds, and so many other animal breeds, white is a problem. For example a Bengal cat cannot have white spots, a German Shepherd cannot have white toes.)

Then I complained about the Germans breeding "pure Arabians" that are pintos, using the word "pure" very loosely. I forget how rare Arabians are in Germany, based on her questions.

Wish I had a photo, but imagine this, I'm bitching about pinto Arabians riding one handed and talking with the other hand, on paved streets through villages. My least favorite place to ride.

In fact, Maja was having a harder time remaining calm than Mag. She spooked at a sign laying on the ground. Jana said, "She's 21 and she's scared of a fallen street sign?" Mag might have worried too if he had been in the lead, I can't say, but I mentioned the irony of the sign. It was a "Street damaged" sign, lying very damaged on the street.

Then Maja spooked across the street because of a pile of logs and Mag ended up between the logs and the mare, and was fine. I recalled Princess Buttercup's fear of logs, I would tease her, "Those poor trees, what has befallen them?"

Mag was striding forward happily and Jana said ,"So, you've never been on this trail, right?"

I said, "Well, this is a street, not a trail, but I've been here. I'll prove it - any moment now there will be a bass pond on our left and a statue of a man begging for money with a cup full of actual money."

She didn't know about the statue, and I told her to take a look. She said, "That's real money!"

I said, "What a great idea. I want a money-bringing lawn ornament!"

Then we passed through one more village with children in their gardens, and old men sitting in their chairs with their dogs (one of which Jana told me Christina always dismounts to pass by).

This was where I had taken Mag last week for our first alone ride. It's a long switchback with great visibility so when a mountain biker appeared in front of us, we had plenty of warning.

Maja worked up a sweat in her hurry up the hill, normally they run up it toward home. I admit, it's inviting. I was happy Jana stayed at a walk with me. I told her, "I never would have ridden with you a while ago, I thought surely you'd take off at a gallop and wave over your shoulder at me. But now that I've seen you ride my horse, I trust you."

Mag looked longingly at a side trail that I'm unfamiliar with, and I wondered if he was contemplating a short cut. I'm pretty sure he was. For problems in our future I foresee this, "No point going up this hill, we'll just come down." But I'm hoping that his curiosity will overtake his laziness. We'll see.

Then Maja ran out of gas and started slowing down and Mag pushed into the lead and I felt how much more comfortable he was on this trail, leading, than before, on a trail he did not know yet. But he never balked, so I was happy.

Mag led the way home. He was alert to every single thing, but not bothered by any one thing. Yay!

We had to cross a street to get to the barn and it's a busy street with busses and indeed a bus was coming. We hurried across the street just in time in front of the bus. The bus had to share the street with a car passing the opposite way, and these German streets are too tight for such things (this is my life!) so the bus brushed up against the tree branches right after we passed in front of it.

It made a startling noise and both horses spooked and I turned in the saddle and shouted in English, "Was that necessary?" Of course it was, the streets are too narrow, including the street I live on, so it's always a matter of taking turns and nearly scraping side mirrors every day.

I felt so proud as I dismounted. Look Mag, we're just like everyone else. We go for a "carry" and everything's fine and then we're home. And you're the best!

***

Earlier in the morning I had an interesting and unpleasant encounter with the DVM who is incapable of not giving her opinions to me (embarrassing me in front of a group by telling me I'm doing wrong by Mag not running him an hour every day - remember her?).

As I came down the stairs with my saddle she said, "Oh, there you are, good. I was about to rescue your horse because his lead rope is on the ground."

I said, "I do that on purpose. So he learns not to panic when he steps on it."

"WHAT? I've seen a horse break its neck from that very scenario, you are putting his life in danger!"

She continued, in full-lecture mode. "Horses are flight animals!" (Really? I didn't know that. Perhaps I don't know the very first thing one learns about horses! *sarcasm* If I had a nickel for every time someone told me a horse is a flight animal....)

"Millions, MILLIONS of years of genetic programming to be flight animals! They panic. They kill themselves. You are doing something very, very dangerous."

I must forgive her for her ranting because she honestly believed I was putting Mag's life at risk and she couldn't let it go unaddressed.

I stood there listening and then said, "This is a practice that is common where I'm from, letting a horse drag a rope in a safe environment, and under supervision. However I do know people who let colts live with drag ropes 24/7, in safe areas."

She was appalled. She said that is flat out animal cruelty.

I believe the BLM recommends leaving a drag rope on its adopted mustangs, as long as you have a safe paddock, but I didn't want to go into that, because she has no patience with my strong accent, and she's not a listener, she's a lecturer.

I simply made two points: 1. I use a cheap leather halter that will break if there is a problem and 2. Every time Mag steps on his rope, even a front hoof directly under his halter, he calmly picks the hoof up and releases himself. I don't think Mag is a magical horse, he has simply been educated how to respond to pressure. I do it an hour every single day, as he eats his bucket.

I can understand that horses will always get themselves into trouble and it does have some risk, but I think it's worth it to teach him to release himself. I recall a few weeks ago he was tied short and got the lead rope behind his ears and was trapped against the wall, tied chest-high (ugh). He did not struggle, amazingly.

And as I rode out with Jana later, there was a large wispy branch lying in the middle of the trail and Mag walked right through it, not bothering to go around. It got tangled up in his legs, and I kept trying to make him step to the side and Jana kept saying, "A little to the left!" and somehow he just couldn't get out of it, and every step carried this branch along with us. I was getting really concerned. How long would he remain calm as this thing seems to have taken residence under him? He just kept stepping until finally, finally it broke free. I said to Jana, "Can you believe that?" She was pretty surprised. I told her that I also do the somewhat risky practice of putting saplings in his paddock that he must walk over or through to get to pasture. I try to find safe birch trees, nothing that will puncture him. I think that paid off!

Anyway, I won't be missing my encounters with this vet. She's the one who said, "In Germany we have saddle fitting clinics for the welfare of the horse. In America, they do saddle fitting to make money." (Hello, American standing right here! I understand your language, did you forget?)