I try to make a point of paying attention to the things around me, but sometimes I forget. :-)
My journey with Tripp so far is a very HUGE thing in my life! I am just now starting week #7 with him, and as I was riding thru the woods this afternoon, I had this very overwhelming feeling of emotions! It makes me cry a happy cry, it makes me smile, it makes me giggle, it makes me hug him.....
Just 7 weeks ago Tripp didn't know who I was. He then met me and was very curious but was still afraid. Now I go out, saddle him up without a halter on, throw the halter on, then go ride. (I am going to skip the bit until I get his teeth checked) Sometimes he nickers at me, he follows me around when I am pooper scooping. He has come to realize that I am a horse-fly swatter and an itch scratcher. Yep.....lots of overwhelming emotions, but they are great!
Okay, on to the day! I got up early this morning and there was a light breeze. I was excited because I thought it meant it would be a cool work out. Nope! We were moving faster than the breeze.
SESSION #1:
Yesterday was our first trailer ride and he was nervous. I was going to take him on a ride this morning but changed my mind. He didn't want to get on the trailer, so I decided we would work on getting him on there a couple of times, then go for a real ride. It took a while, I was so sweaty I could not hold on to the lead rope and he kept pulling back from me. He even started his hissy fit thing, but kept all 4 feet on the ground! Progress! He just puffed his neck and chest up great big like a brat kid.
I would get him up to the trailer and he would paw it with a vengeance, but would not hop up there. I finally looped the lead line around a rail inside the trailer so I could get more leverage if he pulled back again. That worked wonders! He pulled back and realized that I got real strong! :-) He stepped forward and sniffed the trailer again. Finally he did a little jig in place then jumped in the trailer. He was just scared - that is all. I talked to him and rubbed all over him, then we got off and did it again. We will end this lesson on a positive note.
We then headed back out to the big pen and worked in there a little bit - then we went out into the 'weed field.' Today was a trot day. He was kind of full of it so I let him trot and we did some serpentines and circles. I guess he decided that was hard work so it didn't last long. Walking was fine. It was a great morning! When we were done we played in the hose.
SESSION #2:
It sure is hot and humid this afternoon, but I need to get more saddle time and trailer loading time in. Is it possible for the inside of the ears to sweat? I think mine are. And the helmet....well, my head was sweating, I got an itch and tried to scratch it without thinking about it. ACK! Can't get to the itch! Okay people, what do you all do when you get an itch on your head when you are wearing a helmet while riding?
This afternoon I changed it up a little bit. I did not go to the pen this time - I went out to the other field beside the 'weed field.' There is a flat spot on top of the hill and the trail goes into the woods - we sort of followed that. He is still learning to go in a straight line. :-) Plus the distraction of edible grass and weeds.... We rode thru the woods, rode the hillside, went around trees in the middle of the hillside, he snorted a couple times and hopped like he was going to take off and I circled him around, we went back down to the bottom of the hill, and actually walked back up the hill. I am used to my guys who know that the hill is the last step before the barn, so there is no such thing as walking in a relaxing manner.
We rode up to the barn and then rode around the 'weed field'. One of the boss horses came trotting up to us all full of himself and I shoo'd him away. He kept his distance and Tripp and I explored a larger area of the 'weed field.' I was very very pleased.......
It was so relaxing at times and that is when the emotions started rolling around inside of me. He is pretty amazing.
I left him saddled up and we headed to the front yard to the trailer. It took about 30 seconds for me to open the door, get up in there, wait on him, then he jumped right in! WOW!!!! Talk about a surprise! I led him out and turned him around and he did it again. I was going to quit there, but as I was grabbing his alfalfa treats I had hidden beside the trailer he came up beside me, so I stayed on the ground this time and pointed him up into the trailer and HE WENT IN! That was the first time he jumped in without me going first. YES YES YES! I gave him his treats - he earned them! Session #2 is at a close.
SESSION #3:
Brian made it home in time to take pictures tonite. He also got to see us load in the trailer, which I was really proud of!
I took off thru the field while Brian was taking care of the chickens and baby turkeys. I wandered around and he was a little more full of himself tonite than he was this afternoon. At one point he had a sudden burst of energy, threw that head down and it felt like he hopped in the air. It probably was not near as bad as it felt, but he jumped a couple of times and I pulled him around with one rein. I think he is ready to go play with the other horses. He kept looking their direction. He's also ready to run......I am too, but not really. :-) I want to, but I am afraid he is going to take off full speed and I won't be able to pull him around. I also worry about the fences - he doesn't know where they are yet.
He did hop over a small ditch that was about 2 inches deep - it looked bigger to him - and he did lope a couple of strides....wow, it was smooth! Part of me is kicking myself for not keeping him going, the other part is glad I played it smart because he kept trying to turn around to go to the other horses.
We also loaded in the trailer again, and each time he loaded with me on the ground! Yeeee Haw!!!! I was so proud of him....heck, I was proud of both of us! We did not go for a trailer drive tonite - will do that this week. I want him to willingly go in a couple more times, plus we had things to get done tonite.
We played in the hose and I let him out on the hillside again. He enjoys that a lot.
It was a really great weekend for us. When Brian left Friday night I was still riding in the small pen and around it, and playing it safe. When he gets back I am wandering around in the 'weed pasture' and the '1/2 weed pasture'. He was proud of me too. :-)
At this point I am trying to do better at what we have been doing, and I still need to get him comfortable having his back feet handled. I really do want to canter him, but don't have a good controlled area to do it. I will figure something out...
Thanks for reading!
Karen and Tripp
1 comment:
you guys are just so great together and trip takes gorgious pictures
Post a Comment