Back on the Horse – at least trying!

I have posted before about how much I love horses. And I am grateful to Peter, now my ex, who kept telling me to ride again. I finally listened and am having fun.

About four years ago I started riding on the local trails again, and whenever I travel, I try to find a place where I can ride. Some of my recent adventures were in Denali, Kauai and Ireland. I tried to book a beach ride when in South Carolina but waited too long. Tours were all booked up. Needless to say, being on a horse and being in a beautiful location is amazing. I often say, “A day when I’m on a horse or a boat is a good day.”

I was in South Carolina last fall visiting former neighbors who escaped California and are living a dream life. While I was there, my friend handed me an expired gift certificate for five 90-minute riding lessons at a local stable. She bought it for her husband, then COVID shut everything down for a long time, and they moved to the East Coast and forgot about the certificate. She unearthed it when unpacking and handed it off to me. “Maybe you can try to use it?”

I reached out to the stable, and the gracious owner said, “Yes!” I wanted to do more advanced riding than a trail ride and I was also looking at volunteering at a stable and this was promising. Many of you know I was an animal science major at UC Davis and while I didn’t pursue the Vet degree, I spent a bunch of time around livestock and volunteered at the equestrian center to get free lessons. I also interned at a quarter horse breeding ranch.

But then, life got in the way and horse riding took a back seat for a long time except for the occasional ride here and there. I had a dream of someday having a nice plot of land in a bucolic location where I could have a horse or two. Well, now that I’m in my 60’s I’m not sure if it’s realistic but it’s still a nice fantasy.

So, back to the lessons! I eagerly showed up at the stable – I have driven that road for years and never noticed the stable. It’s tucked away and very unobtrusive.

First up – need to find a helmet that fits. Second, find a pair of boots that fit. I usually ride western, casually, on a trail ride. Sneakers and a baseball cap just aren’t going to cut it at this location.

Then I met my horse. Meet Nash. He’s a “Gypsy Vanner” breed. Which I had never heard of. Similar to an Irish Cob. Which I also had never heard of until I rode one in Ireland. A hearty draft horse – smaller than a Clydesdale or other large breed horses, but definitely bigger than the typical quarter horse or thoroughbred.

Here’s Bronna below – the Irish Cob.

Now…during the past four years, I would book a trail ride, show up, get on the horse, enjoy the ride, get off the horse, hand a tip to the trail guide and go home. Not happening here. I guess learning to ride a horse means combing the horse, picking out its hooves, saddling and bridling the horse, then doing it in reverse when you are done with the ride – which ends up not being a long ride because you are spending most of the lesson trying to get the horse ready to ride and cooling it off at the end of the lesson. This was fun when I was 20 and in college. It’s hard work now.

Also, I decided that I prefer riding English – why? Because the Western saddles are darn heavy! I never thought about that before. I liked Western because I felt secure on a Western saddle. That pommel (“horn” for the horse novices) is handy if you need to hold on. But when you are trying to fling a saddle on the back of an oh so tall horse, you think…hmmm…English saddles are a lot lighter and not so much padding to put on, so let’s ride English! Also, I sometimes have knee pain (yes, I’m old) and English stirrups are more flexible and forgiving.

Nash and I are kindred spirits – we are both lazy and like food. As I saddled and bridled him, he had his nose constantly in the food bucket. Now that I have finished my fourth lesson I learned that he’s a great trail horse, but not so good in the ring. I spent most of the ring time wrestling with him and trying to keep him focused. He was not interested. Forget trotting, posting or two-pointing. Get him back to the rail.

And if you haven’t tried to pick out the hooves of a draft horse – it’s no fun. Pushing him off balance so you can pick up that really heavy hoof, clean it out quickly without getting stepped on, and do that three more times (both before and after the ride) – it’s a workout! Especially when he’s focused on food and trying to knock you over.

I just came home from the fourth of the five lessons. It was a drizzly day and a trail ride instead of the ring, and a lovely afternoon. In the past few weeks I have learned to saddle up quickly, groom Nash quickly, cool him off afterward, and develop a bond with him. I realized that I was stepping out of my comfort zone and remastering skills that went dusty during the past 40 years. I am still struggling getting off the horse at the end of the ride. The stable where I go for trail rides has a beautiful mounting block. This one has some wobbly tree stumps and I’m not known for being graceful so every week is an adventure as I try to dismount before the horse runs off. Thank goodness for excellent health care benefits.

During the past month – I bought a helmet, I bought new riding boots, and laughed today as my white windbreaker was covered with green alfalfa drool stain. Did I mention Nash likes to eat? A stable volunteer was surprised that I was wearing white to a stable. Well, Oxyclean works well and I only have one windbreaker. I live in Southern California. I don’t have much outerwear. My brand new riding boots are covered with mud. And I think I am going to sign up for another round of lessons. Oh, and Nash bit me today. He doesn’t like the bit and chomped down hard. I don’t think it was a complaint against me. But duly noted. I am going back next week.