Monday, March 15, 2010

Laid Back Walkabout

Shadow rider

Some people don't allow their
horse to graze when on a ride.
I do.
The way I look at it,
it's not all about me.
I want the ride to be a
pleasurable experience
for us both.
It's all good!

However, I decide when it's
okay to stop and graze.

Most of our rides look like this.

That's okay:
boring = good.
Horses do not like surprises
any more than inept riders do.

Still, we have our share
of goobery dogs,
flushed birds,
and nasty geese that take their
jobs as sentries too seriously.

Not to mention chainsaws, wood chippers,
and vehicles towing rattletrap trailers, etc.

Jaz was convinced this debris
was carnivorous,
and it took a bit of convincing
to get past it.

Always carry a crop
so you'll never have to use it —
most excellent advice.

I loop it around the horn
and normally don't take it off.
I made sure he saw me
loop it around my wrist.

I asked him to go forward.
He backed up.
I asked again.
He backed up.
I gave him the lightest
tap on the bum
(just touched him, really)
and we were on our way.

We rode for about 3 hours.

Possibly the only instance where
green foam is a good thing.

Hey, what about me?
Why does he get all the cookies?

Because I worked, wienie boy.

9 comments:

jane augenstein said...

Yea Leah! You had a good ride too! I love it when I can get out and GO! Love the backward ear, "are you SURE this won't EAT me??" That's what Gilly did when I rode last and he was very nervous about things.
Things like that test our riding and communicating with our horses.
Keep us on our toes so we don't go to sleep in the saddle! LOL
Glad you got to ride!!! :-)

Unknown said...

Wasn't it just gorgeous out?

It is amazing how often wood is scary. But I'm with you. No surprises are the best rides.

Unknown said...

Ha ha! i liked that last caption! LOL it was very fitting!

AareneX said...

Glad to hear you're getting out--the weather looks wonderful!

Nuzzling Muzzles said...

Awesome. I love reading about people's rides, especially the successful ones where no one gets hurt. On the trail I like to ride on, there is a pit filled with rusty barbed wire. Not only do I expect the horses to spook at it, but I worry they might freak out and either fall into it or throw me into it. Amazingly, they just glance at it as they pass by.

Paint Girl said...

Sounds like a great ride! What a beautiful day too! I got out for a ride today too. It was in the mid 60's and just gorgeous! First time I've ridden my own horse in months! It felt good!

Laughing Orca Ranch said...

You tell him Jazzu, you hard working, cute boy! hehe!

Carnivorous debris...lol! It did look a little suspicious actually. Reminded me of that movie where the robot guy breaks into a billion pieces and then all of a sudden all those pieces come together and become the scary robot guy again.

I'm so glad you got to ride. The day looked beautiful! And 3 hours?? Wow! That's just awesome!


~Lisa

City girl turned Country Girl said...

YAY for good rides!!! 3 hours?! Girl you rock!! I wish I had enough time for that LOL!! Glad to hear he is doing so well!!

ps~ I would have thought the same thing about the debris if I was him ;)

Desert Rose said...

I am with you...if the opportunity to graze happens to come along on a ride...so be it!!!

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