June | 2009 | Horsegirl on a Journey

Monthly Archives: June 2009

It’s nice to be bored

Posted on June 21, 2009 by horsegirlonajourney

When I first got Rocky, I discovered that I was scared of horse’s speeds on the ground. (Amazing, what I learned I was afraid of, those first six months: mostly of “doing it wrong” and “wrecking his life.” I’m mostly over that now.)

Remember that in traditional riding lessons, you don’t get much time in motion on the ground. You lead them to a crosstie, you groom and tack, you lead them to the arena … and you mount. After your riding session, you repeat those steps, in reverse. It was my first time having a horse trotting and cantering at the end of a string and I was bowled over by the power of it. I’d never even longed a horse before.

We sure have had a lot of walking in our games and our patterns, between thrown shoes and thrush and arthritis and an awkward transition to barefoot that should not have been as fraught with peril and soreness as this one has … combined with my own lack of confidence as a rider, especially out in suburbia (nature trails aren’t as scary as driveways, trucks, and bicycles) … we are the world’s experts at hand-walking and playing Parelli at the walk. And the back. And the halt.

We’re both bored, a word which here means “tired of coming up with creative ways to use obstacles and terrain that don’t overtax what shouldn’t be overtaxed,” and I’m awaiting the arrival of the hoof boots with something bordering on obsession.

I realized recently that I am delighted to be bored. Not only am I no longer afraid of higher gaits, I’m practically panting for the chance to play with them. Even most of our Level 2 patterns that should have been trotted, we interspersed a lot of walking. We can’t do much with liberty right now because he wants to move and that’s not compatible with vet/farrier/trimmer/kinesthetic healer’s orders. We can’t even get out to the round pen because of the evil sharp gravel between Here and There. (come on, boots!)

But we will. And it’s nice to look forward to it.

Categories: Learning Experience | Tags: boredom | Leave a comment

Straight from the horse’s mouth…

Posted on June 17, 2009 by horsegirlonajourney

Tonight, by way of a professional animal communicator/kinesthesiologist/energy healer, Rocky told me:

He hates being called Princess Sparkles.

He loves me! And he wants me to ride him a lot more than I do. (I said yes, me too, when he’s feeling better.)

He does not see me as his alpha mare. (He sees our landlord/barn owner/instructor Erin Murphy as his alpha mare.)

Inspecting my work (click to enlarge)

He loves that I named him Rockstar. (He came to me as Rocky and was so tuned into his name that I didn’t want to change it, but I didn’t want him to “just” be Rocky, either. Jenni thought of the name and I loved it. It felt right.) He wants to “be a rock star for me” and do all kinds of things, from bareback to Western and English pleasure to trail obstacle classes. When his feet feel better or those boots finally get here he’d like to get out on the trails. (Why are the horse people I deal with never in a HURRY? Take the time it takes with your horse but send those boots post haste!)

He told us of some past traumas — injury/accidents, abuse, and neglect, in different places at different times — that I had inferred from various clues but had not confirmed.

He asked if I was buying another horse. I said I had flirted with the idea of buying him a mini, but no. He said nuh-uh that mini would be for me, not for him, to live in my house. But he liked the idea of having a mini. I told him it would too be for him! It would be for US.

He loves that I am, and I quote, “clumsy.” He thinks it is endearing and cute.

Appaloosa on Pedestal, digital, 2009 (click to enlarge)

He loves it when I sing to him and when I read to him.

He’s excited that his boots will be glittery green.

He wants to play in the sprinkler. He said he wants me to get on him bareback and we would gallop through the sprinklers. (When he’s feeling better I’ll set up the sprinkler for him and try to catch him on video.) This is especially funny because he told an animal communicator when we were in L.A. that he wanted a sprinkler! This was right after new neighbors moved in and installed sprinklers on their arena fence.

Trailering: He prefers a slant load, gooseneck, three-horse trailer. He likes to be in the biggest slot and is fine being at the end (the last one in, first one out). He prefers to travel with friends rather than alone. He is not afraid of trailering.

He is in a lot of pain from various cumulative body issues: hip, pelvis, vertebra C7, scapula, and ribs. His face, shoulders, and hip bones were lopsided! I could see it after she pointed it out: right eye higher and more forward than the left, left ear more forward than the right… his hips/pelvis has always been lopsided since I got him and I’ve had a chiropractor work on that. After she did some acupressure, stretches, adjustments, and I’m not sure what else but it was effective, he was much more symmetrical and he relaxed. I could see the relief on his face, very clearly. I can see these crookednesses in this picture from last week, even though it’s not a straight-on view, now that I know what to look for (click to enlarge):

Getting trimmed at Liberty

He says he “needs his fix” and wants to play Parelli with me even in the next 5 days when he’s only supposed to hand-walk and not be ridden. Erin suggested we play Touch-It and do some grazing and he liked that.

He asked if I would promise to keep him for life and I said YES OF COURSE and just as Poppy said “thank you, he’s very relieved at that,” he lowered his head and blew out a huge snort/sigh and blinked.

He told her that I am writing a story about him and he really likes that. I said yes, I blog him, and am writing about 5,000 words a week. He really likes that.

Who cut the head and neck off my horse?

He said he likes the way my hair has been smelling lately and that it is “sexier.” I recently changed shampoos, and this new one is the Trader Joe’s “peppermint, eucalyptis, and tea tree oil” blend. I have been wondering whether to stick with it for a while or change back to the shiny brunette stuff. Obviously now it’s a no-brainer.