Day 96

Surprise!!! I got to go out to the stables today! School was being a bore so I went out.
Let's say today wasn't the greatest because I know better.
Harry was psycho. I know it's because I didn't lunge him enough. So we went off and he was okay doing his warmup circles in the counter clockwise, but immediately tried to rear when we went clockwise. I did probably the worst thing imaginable: cried. Yeah, I cried because I was scared. All I could think of was "this horse is gonna kill me". So my mom got off of Brie and we worked.

We went over to the pole and she took the pisador (thank the Hispanics for their inventions) and we lunged. She put the rope around the pole so it would pull on Harry if he pulled her. He kept pulling back to rear again and again and I actually had to kick him to get him to move. Once he settled down, we reversed to the counterclockwise. Of course he was an angel in that direction. We reversed again and he kept pulling and pulling that he snapped the pisador! He didn't go up, though, when he snapped it. Mom tied it back together and we continued on. After a while more of some pulls and kicks, he calmed down for real. She sent me out onto the rail and we managed to walk for a bit before gaiting. I have to admit, my grip on the reins was tight. He tried to go up once but I made him stop. Half wanting to get off, I kept telling myself "I will not get hurt, I will not get hurt" until I calmed myself down. We then gaited as usual and everything was fine. I even loosened my grip considerably by the end. He just needs a lot, A LOT of lunging before riding.

It makes me think back to the Brie Archives, before I even started this blog. We did all sorts of crazy things with her, most of them that people would deem us seriously insane for doing. Example? We'd turn her out in the arena at a full gallop and my brother would go in, sit, and then lay down in the sand while she was running. She'd immediately stop, walk curiously over to him, and sniff like a dog at his hair. He was about 10 at this stage.

Or the time she reared on me, the very first time. I haven't seen my mom as angry at a horse since then until today. After I jumped off once she was down, my mom took the pisador and made her lunge, spinning like a dervish, all while angrily hitting her own leg with her free hand.

Back then, like with the galloping thing, us kids, especially me, didn't know any better. I really thought I was invincible. Helmet? What helmet? I was going for a gallop along the property, or for a mounted stroll in an overflowing red flamenco dress around the fairgrounds at 10pm while cars were leaving. But now, now that I've experienced what could happen should a horse rear and land on it's side, crushing my leg, how I wouldn't be able to walk like when I had knee surgery; or the pain that I saw my mom suffer from a pinched nerve, how she could barely use the left side of her body, that could happen from falling off a horse as well.

But it has to come down to a cautious place between being over-scared and just plain stupid.