Time Travel to 1993!

I spent Saturday outside leading a benefit trail ride for the cancer society ($1,000 raised; many miles ridden all at a walk!), and Sunday I accompanied John to Atlanta so he could go to a planning meeting to find out all the details about climbing Kilimanjaro next February (costly, long, and probably lots of fun) and I didn't have much internet time at all. I rode a lot, ate venison sausage (kind of weird tasting) and talked to a lot of people and when I was home, I was showering or sleeping or feeding dogs or attacking Ralph with the shedding blade. I scrape and scrape and scrape and he loves it as the dead fur comes flying out, settling around his hooves like snow drifts. It's very satisfying for me and for him and I've been spending 20 minutes a day for the past four or five and I'm beginning to see summer fur showing through on his shoulders and neck. Every bird in five counties could use his fur for nesting material and there would still be plenty left over. Babe gets a good winter coat, but no one compares to RalphtheWonderPony. Asia's winter coat is practically nonexistent, which is why I have three turn out blankets for the Queen Mother cause she would freeze otherwise.

So, I spent a lot of time this weekend away from the computer. It was odd.

It was very reminiscent of what life was like before the internet was at home.

I liked it. But I like the internet, too.


What I ate for lunch Saturday: pulled pork sandwich, venison sausage, to-die-for brownie and a diet Coke. Just out of the frame, delicious chili with onions and cheddar cheese. Why yes, I was very heavy into the meats. The only veggie was potato salad and I'm very picky about potato salad. This one looked to be too heavy on the pickles, so I passed. What you don't see, and I'm sorry I didn't get a picture of it, was all the desserts. Tray after tray of home made pound cakes, cookies of all kinds, and brownies. None store bought. The lunch was worth the $20 cost to ride alone. I didn't have to pay to ride because I was the trail boss.

Here's a picture of some of the riders about half way through the morning ride.

Lots of very nice people riding gaited horses and Quarter Horses that are truly backyard horses that get by. There were two other women riding "English." I put quotes around that because their saddles are English inspired, but they're treeless. The one on the paint (hidden behind the bay in the foreground) is a dealer and she's a bit on the nutso side. Because I ride in a saddle with a tree and am not a convert to the OMG!Barefoot(NoShoes)IsTheOneTrueWay school of thought, I was looked down upon with condescension and pity. It was really amusing and I would make comments throughout the day just to set her off. It was quite something.

But what was really neat for me was putting to use a lot of what I've been learning with India on this ride. Because I've been focusing so much on her, I've not ridden Asia much. This was her third ride this year, the other two being January 1st and January 18th. I got to Jim's early enough that I put her in the round pen and asked her to trot and canter for about 15 minutes and she did get some of her ya-ya's out with some big bucks. After I saddled her, I concentrated on keeping my breathing very regular and taking deep breaths. Horses quit breathing when they're alarmed, holding very still and listening for whatever first scared them. The entire herd will tense, listen and look. None breathe in order to hear better. So, when the rider quits breathing, it's alarming to the horse. When I got on Asia, she was full of it, ready to shy and buck. In years past, I would have put her to work at a trot, asking for serpantines and clover leaf patterns. What I've come to realize is that although work is good, this sort of fast work gives her more opportunity to buck and she focuses on the speed and is not content to go slower after she's had that taste of a fast trot. So, we did the same patterns, but I asked for a 4-beat walk and I concentrated on taking regular, deep breaths. Asia settled into her work and after about ten minutes of a steady walk she began to relax. She wasn't tense and feeling like a coiled spring. While we waited for the 22 other riders to assemble, she stood calmly in one spot, swishing her tail and turning her head to watch, but not jigging or pawing or gawking off. She was with me mentally. I was so pleased not to be riding a crazy Thoroughbred, but a calm one.

When the trail ride started, she was happy to lead out. We'd get to stretches where normally Jim, Grits and I would be hand galloping and she would tell me that she wanted to take off, but I would breathe deeply and ask for the walk and by damn, she did. Sure, she'd jig a bit, but she was listened and gave me the slower gait. I had been dreading what she'd do and was so very delighted. Who would have thought that breathing would be so influential? Sure, the aids are important, seat, hands, legs, but the most important skill I had yesterday something anyone can do without any training. Breathe!

All these years I've been asking, sometimes with a bit of conviction, that my horses obey my aids, but India is still learning. I can take a strong feel of Asia's mouth and she's not going to explode into the air. She may not like it, but she is educated enough to express her displeasure by pawing or jigging. Annoying things, but not dangerous. With a young horse like India, if you take too much feel, she's liable to go straight up or over. Not good. So, how to deal with that? Don't take the feel. Direct her elsewhere by constantly changing directions and most of all, breathe! It works with India and I finally figured out that it's a better path to with her more experienced mother, too.

Horses will tell you stuff. You just have to be smart enough to listen. I'm learning a whole new language thanks to India.

So, back to Asia. When I did have the opportunity to let her canter along one stretch of dirt road, she gave me the most collected, smooth canter. She could do that because she was relaxed. She was relaxed because I was. I was relaxed because she was. Round and round it goes and our conversation was a good one. It was a joy.

What was also a big win? No one fell off. I heard that last year a number of riders took a tumble at the spillway when their horses freaked over crossing water. Jim had warned me to take the long way back and avoid the spillway. We did, but we still ended up splashing through some large puddles down by the lake and thankfully no one parted company with their mounts, including one of the guys who did last year. I don't know if he was on the same horse or not as I missed last year's ride, but he thanked me at the end for a good ride and boasted of his sticking to the saddle this year. Success for him. Victory is mine!

Sunday was a long trip to Atlanta for John to meet up with a group that's going to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro next February. I would love to go, but it's very expensive and I can't do it and buy a new bike. I would really like to get the Niner RIP 9 by next spring and that's going to mean saving some money. Also, it's a three week trip. Someone has to feed the dogs. Unless I win the lottery and then the Rip 9 is mine next week and I'm going to Kilimanjaro, too. It felt so wonderful to be outside all day, being active, riding my lovely mare, and meeting some really nice people. The brownie was really good, too.