The 31st!

I think Teddy Bear had an abscess on the 31st. :( She came up lame!





She really wanted to be back in her pasture anyway.



Instead she went in her pen and got treated. I think she's okay now. I sure hope so, because I do love Teddy Bear, and I hate to think of her being in pain.

So what were we to do for riding? Leo!



Even though he beats up Solomon (well a lot of horses do) I have a soft spot for Leo, and I always have. He is a joker, and he loves to play with water hoses, feed pans, or whatever else he can get away with.

His movement is really interesting. His trot is smooth. His back undulates a heck of a lot when he walks. And he is so much fun.

Bo told me that if I needed to travel across the country on a horse's back as a walk he was reasonably sure I'd make it eventually, so it was time for me to learn more about trotting. I'll be learning both sitting the trot and posting, but that day we worked on sitting.

Bo had me hop on, and he roundpenned Leo. I did some of the steering, but we were mostly focusing on me learning to not fall off. At one point Leo did a turn at the trot and I hadn't expected the sharpness of it. I felt myself going one direction and him going the other. I thought for a moment that maybe I should try to stay on, but I decided that it was kinder for me to just keep going than to yank on that saddle trying to haul myself back up. Landed on my feet, which was good. Bo said the day would come when I would keep myself on the horse instead of bailing out, and that I just needed more confidence and muscle for that. He said the day would come when I was on a horse where I would really HAVE to haul myself back on the saddle instead of coming off. But that the landing was good.

So I got back on! And Bo finally convinced me to grab the horn. Okay, yep. I did, and it helped. And I started to get down the whole trotting thing a lot more. Moving with Leo, tapping my calf on him lightly in time to his gait, rein cow horse style. I realized that when I next trotted on Teddy Bear, I'd have to use a third of the pressure I was using on Leo or less.

Leo and I ended up going around the 60 foot roundpen three times at the trot! This was a big big deal for me, and I was very proud. There was one point where I could feel him wanting to break into a lope. To be honest with you, I was really really tempted myself. Bo could see both of these things, but Leo and I restrained ourselves. I wanted to lope for the joy of it, and to try it because I never had. Leo might have wanted to lope for the heck of it, or possibly out of annoyance because I'm not a good rider yet. He might have wanted to for fun- he canters a lot in the pastures too. Canters and plays. But yes, we restrained ourselves!

Someday, though... :}

One thing? Oh such an important thing. I need to be really careful about what bra I wear. Actually next time I'm able to ride, I'm going to wear two. Heh. That was... not comfortable. Gah!

But still, I didn't care, because I TROTTED! I had the biggest grin. I was so excited. Bo told me I'd had enough, at the end of the lesson, and I wanted to do more. He grinned and said "no, trust me, tomorrow you are going to feel it."

I did, but it wasn't too bad actually. My thigh muscles were a bit sore, and for some reason my upper arms right above the elbow were a bit sore.

I can't wait to do it again!