Sooner or later, it was bound to happen.
The last couple of days the wind has been miserable, so Bugg hasn't been worked since Monday. Today is less windy and just above freezing, so back to "work" we went.
"Work" consists of a little grooming (enough to stay in the habit, not enough to pull out her winter coat), picking out her feet, then off to the round pen for some free-lounging to build muscle, play some Parelli games, and a little riding (bareback, rope halter and double-tied lead rope) to practice balance, seat, emergency stops, forward, backing, turns, leg yields, neck reining, etc.). Then ride back to the barn area for a quick brushing, followed by turn-out in the arena or pasture. She's regaining muscle tone and condition and I'm getting my seat back; we're up to about 45 minutes now.
To ensure Bugg doesn't pattern - or predict - our routine, coming out of the round pen varies. Sometimes we back out the gate, sometimes we walk around the outside of the pen, sometimes we ride out... variety is good. I have in mind to vary our routine getting from the barn area to the round pen as well, and today seemed like as good a day as any to start. So in addition to leaning over Bugg's back when I groomed her (standing on a mounting block) and occasionally swinging a leg over, I decided to ride her to the round pen today.
Unlike watching a child fall - which happens in slow motion - falling off a horse happens at full-speed. Which I did. Because I have occasional bouts of stupidity, I thought to ride past the round pen into a corner, then come back. Connemaras are know for being sensible, and to-date we've been successful with everything we've tried. However... Bugg broke into a trot, I asked her to stop, she didn't, I adjusted my legs downward (to remove all "forward" information from my seat), and while I tried to think through the mechanics of the emergency stop, my ass, back of my shoulders, then back of my head tha-wacked on the ground. I did hold onto the reins; Bugg whirled to a stop and looked at me, agog. "How on earth did you wind up down there, human?"
My back is sore, my ego is bruised, but my brains are just fine. Thank Gib for helmets (my old friend Gib works in helmet safety testing) that protect idiots like me from gravity. And yes of course, I got right back on the horse and rode her to the round pen, where we proceeded to burn off some of her pent-up jollies with free lounging before proceeding with any more riding.
Note to self: try variety after the safety parts of the routine have been confirmed. Because my seat at the trot clearly needs some practice.
The last couple of days the wind has been miserable, so Bugg hasn't been worked since Monday. Today is less windy and just above freezing, so back to "work" we went.
"Work" consists of a little grooming (enough to stay in the habit, not enough to pull out her winter coat), picking out her feet, then off to the round pen for some free-lounging to build muscle, play some Parelli games, and a little riding (bareback, rope halter and double-tied lead rope) to practice balance, seat, emergency stops, forward, backing, turns, leg yields, neck reining, etc.). Then ride back to the barn area for a quick brushing, followed by turn-out in the arena or pasture. She's regaining muscle tone and condition and I'm getting my seat back; we're up to about 45 minutes now.
To ensure Bugg doesn't pattern - or predict - our routine, coming out of the round pen varies. Sometimes we back out the gate, sometimes we walk around the outside of the pen, sometimes we ride out... variety is good. I have in mind to vary our routine getting from the barn area to the round pen as well, and today seemed like as good a day as any to start. So in addition to leaning over Bugg's back when I groomed her (standing on a mounting block) and occasionally swinging a leg over, I decided to ride her to the round pen today.
Unlike watching a child fall - which happens in slow motion - falling off a horse happens at full-speed. Which I did. Because I have occasional bouts of stupidity, I thought to ride past the round pen into a corner, then come back. Connemaras are know for being sensible, and to-date we've been successful with everything we've tried. However... Bugg broke into a trot, I asked her to stop, she didn't, I adjusted my legs downward (to remove all "forward" information from my seat), and while I tried to think through the mechanics of the emergency stop, my ass, back of my shoulders, then back of my head tha-wacked on the ground. I did hold onto the reins; Bugg whirled to a stop and looked at me, agog. "How on earth did you wind up down there, human?"
My back is sore, my ego is bruised, but my brains are just fine. Thank Gib for helmets (my old friend Gib works in helmet safety testing) that protect idiots like me from gravity. And yes of course, I got right back on the horse and rode her to the round pen, where we proceeded to burn off some of her pent-up jollies with free lounging before proceeding with any more riding.
Note to self: try variety after the safety parts of the routine have been confirmed. Because my seat at the trot clearly needs some practice.
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