She was great! I led her around for a while and it just felt right to move forward. I drove her from the side at first, staying close to her and leaving the lead rope connected just in case I needed to grab her quickly. I progressed to ground driving her standing in back of the cart. I was so pleased with her! Here's a picture of her hitched. Note Jerry in the background looking very impressed.
Now drivers--I realize I'm breaking a lot of rules here--She is wearing a halter not a bridle with a bit, I'm not in the cart while she is hitched, and there is no header. If she wasn't so good about everything and I didn't know her so well, I would be more conservative with my approach. She's not ready for me to be in the cart, and I don't have a header who can be here when I work with her in between my lessons with Melody. If I waited for a header to be available, I'd hardly ever do training. That's just the way it is. And--this will blow concerned drivers' minds--I'm planning to drive her with a side pull unless she shows me she needs a bit. She is super sensitive to pressure and turns and stops when I just wiggle my fingers. I'm not planning to show her so I can do anything I (and Rosie) want. I also know the cart and harness need more adjustment. I'm working on all of that and will have everything squared away before I climb in that cart. It really helped to have the picture to see things from a different view. I could pick out the problems more easily than when I'm standing by her basically looking down at everything (because she is so cute and short!). OK, housekeeping done :-)
After we were finished and I left her, I looked back to see her standing at the gate with a sad look of "You are leaving me? I want to do more. Come back, Mom!" OK, I say it all the time--that pony is just SO adorable!!!!!!!
More big news! One thing you will learn about me if you stick around (and I hope you do!) is that I may adjust my plans from one post to the next. It's not that I'm indecisive, it's just that things evolve as I think more, research more, etc. OK, here it is: I have decided to start riding lessons sooner, rather than later. I'm having trouble with motivation to get in better physical shape. It's not going to happen over night. I live in NY state where winter won't be far behind. I don't want to waste the beautiful fall weather we have coming up. It's the best time to ride.
I've been in touch with a stable, told the instructor my whole life story, and asked about very low key riding lessons. She said she can accommodate me and my issues. Another Yay!
I'll likely do just walking with a little bit of trotting to start--I don't want to injure anything and my body needs to get used to it. Riding is different than anything else I do. I haven't ridden in, gosh, 6-7 years and my body has been through a lot of slicing and dicing during that time. I'm not the rider I was before all this happened. We haven't set up anything firm yet because she is out west right now, but we'll talk again as soon as she gets back.
I ordered a pair of Ariat Terrain boots today. I have a helmet. I'll soon be good to go! I'm really looking forward to riding again. I'll keep you posted about new developments in this area, along with continuing Rosie driving updates.
If it works out and my body can hold up to riding, I'll be so happy. If not ... then I'll be disappointed, of course, but I can't just give up and never try again. Like the Nike ad says--Just Do It!
No comments:
Post a Comment