First (and last?) ride with S1 of 2018

I take it back, what I said yesterday, I can add fear of bolting to my list of worries, cuz last night I dreamt of Mag bolting through that fence again (as he did with Ani in the Spring). Re-living it in my dream was awful, and I knew I had the wrong horse, that I needed to sell him.

I feel better now but it was hard for me to tack up on a sunny Saturday afternoon, for an evening ride with S1 (she only rides this time of day - meaning we have to share the trail with so many more users).

I get along great with S1 - she's smart and a good conversationalist.  I used to consider her my best friend here in Germany. Her Arabian is well mannered - she did that. Our two horses came from the same dealer (well, she talked me into buying from that guy).

It was fun to be with another forward Arabian with a ground covering walk, and thank God the Easyboots made it possible for Mag to cover even our roughest trail, where S1 always gets off to lead down, I rode Mag straight through the middle on those loose, jagged rocks.

The reason I don't ride with S1 as much as I used to - she pushes me and makes me feel uncomfortable/guilty about where I'm at. She literally cannot just go for a ride and walk her horse the entire time. I get that; I remember when I couldn't do that!

Totally, incredibly ironically, these photos popped up from (2013?) long ago when I rode with S1 with Mara. I was just uploading some photos to my server....

He is a beauty. He's a Russian Arabian born in Hungary, sent to the dealer same as Mag from Poland, both ending up in Germany.






I think her tack looks ridiculous but I'm certain she thinks the same of mine: )



Mara, how I don't miss you......except your color. Miss that a lot. See S1's horse's ears? This is how he was all day today. Woo hoo, TRAIL RIDING ADVENTURES!

***

But she is thoroughly German and voices her thoughts without considering how I might feel, kind of like children in America do before they learn retrospect.

"So, what happened to you? Didn't you use to ride all over, at speed, on Baasha?"

(Haven't we had this talk before? *sigh*)

"Bad things happened."

"With Mara?"

"And Mag."

We've had this discussion more than once before, and it never makes me feel good to have to reiterate it. She is simply, honestly astonished that someone with my background could be so nervous.

Maybe she's not as smart as I thought, or simply...forgetful.

Then she started pushing me to trot up this hill that her horse loves to run on. I told her it would be OK but again, like last year when I trotted with her, Mag threw up his head completely stressed, his entire outline upside down, as if to say, "Oh no, something bad is coming!" I don't get that, but suddenly her Arabian spooked and we pulled up.

She pushed me to go again and I said, "I'd really like to try to enjoy walking for now."

I hope she got the exact meaning of those words, "Try to Enjoy Walking." but probably not, cuz she did this last time.

I realized she's exactly like my friend C, with her gorgeous Appaloosa mare May. C is my neighbor, on my side of town! And a great person, but the last few times I rode with her she was perplexed why I jumped off when we hit the street. "Why are you dismounting?" "I'm not comfortable on Mara in traffic." She couldn't believe it, and her astonishment was so intense I have not ridden with her since, though I really like her and wish we could be riding partners.

Someday.

It makes me appreciate the two friends I have who do not care that I want to go slow - both had/have geriatric horses that they want to protect, and Ani now just gets me, after she face dived into the mud twice from Mag's back.

I wish S1 understood what an incredible effort it is for me to even get up on Mag on these trails, where I rarely feel truly safe.

Oddly, Mag seems to be compensating for me. Adapting, or something. He kept "hiding" behind S1's horse today, even after me pushing him up along side several times, and they are equally paced at the walk, so it was odd that Mag would hang back. Then I realized he's letting my insecurity affect him! He's fine, he's afraid of nothing out there, but he feels my emotions and he says, "OK then we'll follow, and be safe." Or, he's just lazy today.

She told me, "Watch out, you need to keep back, my horse will kick yours and he'll mean it!" !!

But the chestnut Arabian was on his most Arabian behavior, looking for danger the entire ride, so cute. S1 says, "This is my last Arabian. I don't have another in me.": ) (Though he is her first.)

Mag was typical, gazing off to side trails (like Princess Buttercup always did, "hey lookie there, side trail!"), to which S1 asked, "Where is he going?" "Well, he wants to turn right, though we never have before!" Someday Mag, I patted him. Good boy. He stopped, "Cookie?" OK then: ) He is a good boy.

I love that he even thinks of wandering away from the horse he is following. Baasha could never think that. "The crew must stay together, or the Klingons will win!"

I was a little miffed at S1 for pushing me so I kept to myself for a while. Lord let me not be like that to others, acting the role of a riding instructor when I'm in fact just a riding partner.

We got to the nasty hill of doom, a rockfall of rock, and she dismounted as always. The rocks roll under their hooves. I stayed on Mag, of course, and he trudged down the center of the rock trail, split with water valleys. The nastiest trail out there.

As we made our way back up, we greeted an elderly couple and their two dogs, one of which was a stunning red and black GSD. One of those noodly ones, that I love, and with a face like my own dog. I melted as it looked at me.

Then a huge oak was down and without warning S1 pulled her horse up a slope to get around. I was OK with it, but suddenly that GSD was rushing up behind me with his nose directly under Mag's tail!!! (Very curly tail, pics to come.)

I heard them shouting at their dog, and I shouted back as loud as I could, "HEY!" like, "WTH!"

Mag was ok. The dog went back down the hill and the owner said, "SO sorry, he's never done that!" I thought to myself, "Now you know."

Just like when S1 asked me, "Will Mag kick my horse?" I said, "I'll likely never be able to answer that question with a confident 'no'. Can any of us? Won't any horse kick in a certain circumstance?" OK, well, Momo probably is the exception. I tailed him up a hill on my first day meeting him, and Mag chews all over his butt, leaving chew marks. Momo does not kick: )

I told her that went well, and she said her horse would have kicked the dog for sure.

Mag jogged up that last hill on pavement cuz he knows I like to ride side-by-side there, even though a car passed us. He also kept stopping "are we done now and I get a handful of cookies?!"

Soon, Mag.

Then we were done and I offered both horses cookies but S1 had her own. I thanked her horse for his enormous patience with us, and said I hope we can do it again before Winter.

Winter, when S1 refuses to ride, due to the erratic behavior of her horse. I get it, I experienced it my first time last Winter with Mag, where he suddenly became afraid of the freaking  MAIL CAR! And CITY BUSSES! It blew my mind. Today so many weekend drivers were out in their old timers (antique cars/motorcycles) and tractors and cement trucks, no problem. And gassy motorcycles, ugh.

Then we saw a contraption new to us both - an elliptical (?) on wheels? silently rode by us. Wow!

Mag is so good. I am soaking in these  repeated experiences where nothing horrible happens.

S1 asked me today, "Isn't it lovely here, can't you enjoy living here?"

I said, "I do, I try very hard. It's simply half as gorgeous as where I'm from. I cannot ride to snow here."

"Doesn't it rain all year?"

"Do you know how much I love overcast skies? I have waited since Winter for ONE DAY without sunshine and I have not seen it."

She doesn't get it cuz she's never seen the PNW.

I told her I will miss the Autobahn.

There are lots of things to miss! Aber ich habe Heimweh.

As I arrived home I took Mag right to my man's office where he's working through the weekend, (teachers never get a break), and I told him what I  told you now. Halfway through, Mag gave a huge, exaggerated sigh: "kill me now".  Loud enough that J said, "What was that? What does that mean?"

I said, "It is the sound of when you're done with work, the school bell rings, and you gather up your things and you're on the way to your car, and your boss comes around the corner and says, 'One more thing, J'."Mag was 10 feet away from the barn, from getting the saddle off, and I stopped to talk to you. Mag, so extreme!

***

Photos from our stop at a bus stop, cuz I needed a break.


Mag says, "This force field is not my favorite thing. I'd like to put my nose on the garbage can." (Glass confuses Mag.)





This shows some of his scars which are symmetrical, side to side on his body. In other words, these scars repeat on the other side of him, all along his body. Not sure how this is possible.







Those Easyboot Glove Backcountrys did the job today! Just need a hammer to install. No idea if they hold up to fast or long work, obviously. We're still at the bus stop and Mag is bored.



Bus stop blues. *lol*

This time no bus came. I should say, it seems rude when they do not stop for me and my horse.: )