Lily and I went for our first ride together at my place yesterday. She just took everything in stride and I am pretty pleased (after day two) of how well she is adjusting. But ride one is always tricky (I had ridden her twice before she came here) and I had a new experience.
Lily doesn't have well defined whithers which (I learned) can cause a saddle to slide. So I worked hard to get it cinched up which between stick rollers on my girth and a little puffing was quite the task.
I go to mount and she starts walking off as the saddle is sliding down her side. UGH! So more adjusting and I get the saddle straight then a few more tries and she is still walking off. After a few minutes, she gets the idea that I might be more patient that she is silly and I manage to climb up (all 14 hands worth) without my saddle falling over and the brand new horse walking out from underneath me.
After our initial troubles we had a great ride and I was really pleased with just the simple work we can do. Elisia is coming Sunday AM to give me a lesson. We had another ride today-I got smart and last night used a little WD40 to get the rollers on my cinch working properly! It was a short but great ride, I am really looking forward to getting in shape-but not to being sore the next couple of days!
4 comments:
Glad to hear that your first ride was relatively uneventful. :) Looking forward to reading your adventures with Lily.
PS I'm a big horse newbie and I just discovered your blog! It's wonderful!
I usually used a mounting block, so I didn't have to deal with the saddle slipping issues. ;)
She DOES know how to stand still, unless she is utterly distracted or just testing.
I'm really glad to hear that it's working out.
One of my friends asked me once what my guilty pleasure was, and I said, "Mounting blocks." My friend doesn't ride, and she totally didn't get it!
I love the mounting block and I usually use one, but I haven't had 3 places to ride before and only one mounting block!!!
On the other hand, I do like to keep in 'mounting' shape for trail riding-you can't always find a stump!
I was pretty sure Lily knew to stand still, she is not the horse that has bad habits, but I am sure I deserved a little test.
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