Between Storms

But the next week was busy, rainy and I had to go see a podiatrist and baby my foot, so the barn did not happen. Yesterday I finally headed out again. It was a beautiful summer morning. Steen was about as far away from the barn as he could be while still contained within the pasture fence, but I enjoyed the stroll out to get him. He’s been very affectionate since I got back. Lately when I reach him with the halter he pushes his nose down and tries to get the strap over his nose himself. When I groom him he tries to groom me. When I return him to the pasture he stands at the gate and waits for me to leave. It warms the heart a bit.

Anyway, yesterday I had a great ride. I still had to ride indoors because putting my foot in stirrup just now would not be smart and while I’m almost sure I’d be fine riding Steen outdoors alone without a saddle, he’s still unpredictable enough on the trail as to make it not worth the risk. So we stayed inside and did a pretty long walk-trot ride, practicing all the usual stuff. I rode for 45 minutes. It was getting hot. Steen was tired and ready to be done. But I wanted to lope. Circumstances have lined up in such a way that I somehow haven’t actually loped Steen (voluntarily) in months, mainly because I’ve been trying to keep him relaxed on the trails and up until a few weeks ago there has not been an arena with halfway decent footing on the premises. So, I wasn’t sure what Steen would do, but I know that a lot of horses who haven’t been loped for a while will crow-hop or buck, and two of my three falls of Steen occurred at the lope …and I was bareback and there was no one else around …but… I really wanted to lope. So I took Steen to the rail and told him to go. He picked it up right away (mostly out of surprise, I think) then after a few strides started crow-hopping. I kept upwards pressure on the bit with one hand and held onto his mane with the other and told him to keep going. He switched from crow-hopping to fast-trotting and back several times and finally settled down a little, dug in and went forward. I encouraged him and only made him go about halfway around the arena before I let him stop and praised him lavishly, feeling more than a little exhilarated. Hopefully he’s now remembered what his third gear is all about and next time that will go more smoothly.