Riding Mason and CHALK!

[masonsrose]

Walking up to Mason I was so excited, my heart skipped a beat. He just stood there and looked at me with a smile creeping on to his face. His deep dark brown eyes were showing the reflection of me. With a slight warm breeze, Mason’s forelock was brushed perfectly over his eye. The blonde main sat like a still fire on his bright chestnut coat. We both started walking to each other. The walk turned into a trot. I ran up and gave a 5 minute hug. He never pulled his head away. His lip drooped just enough for horse saliva to dribble out, and his eyes were shut. I love how I can just cuddle with him, and he does not mind. Other horses are like…”get off of me I want to go riding!” I had to let go before IK fell asleep on him. I ran up to the tack building and got the bridle. I almost thought of just grabbing the halter. I have been able to ride with just a halter. I ran back down, plopped the bridle on and the flew onto his back. Wow, I took a moment to realize how well he is getting back into shape! I did not have to do the splits when I got onto him this time! He is still very fat, but I can see where his last rib might be. We walked and trotted in the arena and I finally felt comfortable enough to go in the pasture. Out we went and started our long walk to go up the rocky hill. When we got up to the top of the hill. We walked a ways before we turned around and headed back. I had him go into a nice easy trot. That turned into a fast bumpy trot…which turned into a slow, amazing canter all the way back.

Right when we were supposedly about to leave, Mom said that I had to pick up poop. She also said that Chalk could come and keep me company while IK did then chore… if I did it with a smile on my face. I put a smile on my face! After a while of cleaning up poop , Mom was about ready to put her back. I cannot believe that she thought I would allow her to get away with putting Chalk away before I got a ride. THE FIRST RIDE EVER ON HER!!!!! Sooooo, I secretly snuck my helmet on. I walked towards Mom, made a squeal, and puppy dog eyes(for approval), and she laughed and said Alright. I got Goosebumps…but I was SOOO EXITED. I hopped on and mom WALKED me around the arena. She made the lead rope into reins, and then walked next to me. I got really comfy. It was a little difficult to steer her with the lead rope and halter. Mom said to try using my legs. It took a couple of tries, but she really responded! (It’s hard to use my legs to steer on Mason, especially when he is fat because I can’t move my legs much and I don’t think he can feel it.) I decided to do a nice short easy trot. She did perfect. We finally had to leave. I hopped off and I had smiled so much my cheeks were sore. She was so awesome!

[Idaho Linda]

Rose, your stories always transport me back to the time.I was your age and remind.me.of.my own adventures ywars ago. You are getting so good at painting those mental.pictures. Sometimes I forget the magical part of horses, then you post something that brings it all back. You have a gift. Thank you for sharing it with us.

[Trailpal]

What a cool evening! you got your old buddy back and are starting with a new buddy! I love that

[dl]

Yes.... Mason can move again! YAY! He still is very overweight, but his energy level is coming back up.

Being in the pet industry, I have, over and over and over and over, seen kids "LOVE" and animal with all their heart.... then a few years down the road they get tired of them. I am always telling parents not to get a pet for their kid because they will get tired of it. Of course the parents are all sure that their child is "different." Then, later, it happens. So, of course, I believe Rose is one of the "different" kids, but in the back of my mind I think about all the times I've heard that from other parents. So I'm always impressed when, day after day, she spends the whole day working with horses and kids and poop and still, the one thing she wants to do when I pick her up is go ride her horse and pick up her horse's poop.

I had started taking Chalk out to the arena because she seemed so "pent up" in her paddock. She was hopping around and just seemed so restless. So I let her loose in the arena and she started RACING around. I was scared at first because the arena isn't leveled out and there are bumps and gulleys. But when her foot hit an uneven spot, she would just fly through the air and come down someplace else. She would also run at the fence and I was worried she was going to jump over. Instead, she turned and skidded to a stop in the gravel. She did that over and over and seemed to have the best time.

I really appreciated some of the lessons we learned from YOU GUYS when Mason was testing us. She started doing some of the same things. She was crowding me when we were walking and trying to push her way through the gate. She caught the back of my heel once. A couple of times I stuck my arm out when she was coming up to pass me and she hit my arm with her nose. That made her step back and look at me a little differently! When she was racing around the arena, a couple of times she acted like she was running right toward me. I just stood there, with my hands on my hips, looking straight at her. Of course she just went around me. The first time she came closer than I would have liked, so I tossed the end of the lead rope at her and she took the hint. In the past, I probably would have stepped out of the way and that would have set up a bad scenario.

Once she got all of that energy out, she was a total doll. She really wanted to do what Rose was asking her to do. We were both being careful about what was being asked of her. I was thinking that she might spook or be scared of some of the things around the ranch. Some of the noises out there still get Mason. But she is really level-headed. I hope her owner gets the nerve to start riding her.

[Idaho Linda]

Having her penned up creates the need to blow off that energy. If her owner is timid, that excessive energy will be scary. Chalk will be a different horse once she is turned out on the pasture so she can blow off energy at will. That will also be good for Mason because he will end up chasing around with her--participating in his own diet and exercise plan. Chances are, she won't want to eat 24/7 and you will find him snoozing under the trees with her, instead of looking for the most tender grass.

Perhaps Chalk's new owner would be more comfortable riding Mason with Rose on Chalk to first, ride around the arena, then out in the pasture.

Whatever trail you take, as long as Chalk is penned up, she is going to need to blow off rhat steam before anyone can expect her to stand quietly and behave herself under saddle. Don't let her owner get scared by that. She can get rid of the excess energy by simply turning her out. It seems like you guys have a lot to teach.

[Trailpal]

Linda has a great suggestion.
When I was working up my nerve to ride my previous horse, I had someone take him out a couple times a week. When I could, I would ride a very lazy pony along with the gal riding my horse. It gave me a lot of confidence to see my horse in action, and before long I was riding him myself.