Hoof Blogs

Flossie's Memorable 34th Lesson

FLOSSIE'S MEMORABLE 34TH LESSON

I fell of Flossie twice today. It’s a real shame, too, because I was riding extremely well.
First of all, she lunged beautifully in both directions. When I mounted I worked her to
the right and she was a dream; doing everything I wanted when I wanted it. It took her a
few tries to pick up a canter, but once she got the idea, there were no problems with that,
either.

We switched to the left and all was well in that direction too. Then for some reason her
buddies; there were four of them, decided it was time to race and Flossie forgot all about
me. I tried every trick in the book to get her to slow down. I had never ridden her when
she didn’t yield to me before. If I hadn’t fallen off, who knows how many times the herd
would have run around that track!

This is how I fell off; I decided to take her off the track, hoping to get her mind off her
mates and off running around the track. She started out doing the circle I had asked for
when suddenly she decided she didn’t want to circle after all. She turned to the right and
I lost my balance. I landed in the soft, wet grass and as soon as I decided I wasn’t
hurting anywhere, I got up. That’s when I realized Des and those two trainers who were
there last week, the man and woman I had told you about, had been watching.

While running around free, Flossie pulled her bridle off somehow, but didn’t damage it. I
was able to put it right back on her. I mounted and took her around again. She picked up
the canter well enough, but as soon as we got to the spot where I had tried to circle her
before, she dumped me again without warning; she was going fine then boom. So I got on
again and took her around at a walk, then at a trot, then, finally, at a canter. She kept
trying to run off the track at nearly every step, but since I was ready for her this time,
she didn’t manage to even get a hoof off the track. I’ve been through this with her before
in the past so I knew what to do to keep her going without running off to the side.

Next week I know she’ll try to run off the track going to the left again, but I’ll be ready
for her. Sometimes I forget I’m not riding a seasoned animal. Tonto would have known not
to run off the track just because I had asked for a circle, but Flossie, of course, who
hasn’t even been ridden for a full year yet, didn’t know that.

I truly don’t believe she was doing anything ornery. She listened well to everything and
obeyed my every command until she came off that circle unexpectedly. She just wanted to
join her friends.

I had a great ride in spite of what happened. Even the galloping was a thrill. I often
wonder if I had just went along for the ride how things would have turned out. I’d probably
still be out there because I truly don’t think the herd would have stopped on its own.

Des took one of the horses out of the paddock and tied him up; he said he was the
instigator. I told him I didn’t mind him being out there. He was out there last week when
I was riding and Flossie listened to me when I asked her to slow down. It wasn’t that
horse’s fault.

I felt robbed when I went home because I had been riding so well. Even after the falls, I
was still at my peak. I was relaxed and every part of my body was in the right position
from my hands to my feet; from my head to my seat. I just wasn’t ready for that one crazy
move. I’m finally learning how to ride her trot and was feeling comfortable even at that
pace for a change. It just didn’t seem fair that today of all days was the one time I took
a spill on the track.

I cried when I went home because of that.

I didn’t break anything; just my left leg is black and blue and a bit swollen. It hurts
when I touch it and when I walk, but I can still get around. I hope I can say the same
tomorrow. I’m not sure how I injured it because I didn’t land on my legs when I fell.

Normie arrived while I was cooling Flossie out on foot so he took some photos of me on the
ground with her. We were in the sun and he couldn’t get a good angle, so the photos came
out kind of blurry. I’ll put them in my Flossie Yahoo photo album sometime later today or
tomorrow so I can show you how different my little (?) roan mare looks since she had her
picture taken the last time you saw her.

When we got home, Normie and I hosed each other off in the backyard. It’s a great way to
cool off and it doesn’t cost anything.

In just another hour or so I’ll be heading out to Leslie Sheehan’s. She has more horse tack
for us to sell on Ebay, but I don’t think we’re going to accept them. Sales are down on
Ebay right now. We might have to wait for another two weeks or so. We owe her some money
for the items we’ve sold already, though, so we’ll at least go and take a peek at what she
has while we’re at it.

I could probably say more about my ride, but I’ve filled you in on the most important
details.