OW.

Dismounting from Sol's back to the ground = hurty hurty ankles. :(

So today was our 4th ride. Our 3rd barely counts, since we only went around the arena once. That one was bareback, and I didn't want to do more than once because a) my balance isn't good enough yet and b) he needs more muscle to do that for any solid amount of time, really. But I did find out that he didn't want to buck me off bareback, which is good to know. Also he will steer with a halter and lead rope.

Anyway, 4th ride was with full tack, and I think it was our longest ride yet. It was really broken up into two rides, heh.

The small difficulties I had with him this time are apparently difficulties he has had in the past- he does not like the mounting block, and "ho" means "run to the gate and THEN stop" if he can get away with it. We're going to work on that until "ho" and "stand" are obeyed consistently.

I made the mistake of dismounting when I refused to back out of a corner, and then we had the mounting block fun again, which ultimately required someone to move him into place. Once my foot is in the stirrup he doesn't really try to move, as he doesn't want to hurt me, but he will see how long he can play the "ha ha, I'm JUST out of range" game. Frustrating, but we'll work through it. I haven't yet cowboyed it up on him, and I'm not going to, so he will, I think, settle down, especially when he understands that things will be easier and over faster if he just obeys. I think that for too long "riding" meant "getting kicked and having his head yanked up."

A friend called and told me she was driving by with her trailer and wanted to know if there was anyplace I had for her to take him. She feels that I shouldn't keep him because I'm poor. Well, if I cannot work out a good lease situation, ultimately she's right, because I never want Sol to lack what he needs because of me, or because of anyone really. I'm not ready to give up on him though. If he is with me, I know what his life is like. Giving him away or selling him, you never know what will happen. He might have a very nice home for a while, but there's no way to be sure it would be a forever home. There's no way to be totally sure he won't end up on a truck to Canada.

Anyway, in the meantime I will do what I can to get him into the best condition possible. Feeding is continuing. Socializing is continuing. Exercise is continuing.

He has a wolf tooth, though it's pretty far forward and not pointed- it had been planed off at some point. That groove that is supposed to tell his age doesn't seem to be there. I still haven't found someone at the barn who is having a vet out, but more and more I am wanting to find one so they can check him out, give him shots if need be, and maybe tell me how old he is. I've been told 14, but nobody really seems to know too much about him or where he came from before the charro rodeo, so who knows? Maybe he's 20.

My nylon reins are gone. "Liberated" at the barn, I suspect. Some young preteen kinda girls decided to claim my locker, though I got it back. Not before they painted the front door, heh. I don't think I'll see those reins again. It pisses me off because I was going to donate them to TB Friends since I have leather ones now, and I was going to use them today because the leather ones need to be fixed up- one of the Chicago screws is stripped. I am also not made of money, by far. :(

So yeah, an unsettling, frustrating day, but still, I got to ride, and that is always a joy. We haven't connected again quite like we did on our first ride, but we'll get there. I know we will.