Hoof Blogs

Flossie's 215th Lesson

FLOSSIE'S 215th LESSON

Des told me the road workers blocked his driveway all day yesterday so he couldn’t get
out. He had to phone Gary, Billy, and Pat to let them know they couldn’t get in to work
their horses. He told me it was a good thing I hadn’t been expecting to ride yesterday!
It would have been very disappointing.

Pat told me Flossie had gotten out of the paddock one day earlier this week and went
towards the railroad tracks near the Woodlands. He found her standing by KJ’s little
paddock, trying to find her way back in again. (KJ is Pat’s pony). Pat grabbed one of
his halters and brought her back the way she went out, then he fixed the fence so she
couldn’t escape again.

There was only one machine roaring away on the road today. A huge road roller. It
stirred up a cloud of dust and made a lot of noise as it passed back and forth along the
new road. I asked a worker what comes next and he said they’ll prime the road and leave
it alone for 24 hours then they’ll put a seal on it. They’re not going to put black top
on it immediately because they still have to do the other side of the road. So they’ll
open this new road when they start work on the other side.

He said they also have to clean up the road nearest the track which means they’ll have to
get an excavator on the track, itself, and tear down some of Des’ fence to get to the
part they need to work on. I asked him how long that should take and he said only a
couple of hours. I sure hope they pick a day to do it when I’m not there to ride. I was
also told they’ll be putting a drainage pipe in as well, which will run parallel to the
track. The other side of the new section, furthest from the track, needs more work, too.

Flossie worked well for me today in spite of the dusty noisy machine that kept us company
every time we came along the road. I let her work on the track for thirty minutes on
every gait and then I worked her in the ‘arena’. It’s been a while since I’ve worked her
there and she had forgotten the perimeters so I had to refresh her memory. I worked her
in a circle at the ‘arena’ before taking her to the corner where I normally circle her.
I put her into a canter on a small circle so she’d pick up her proper leads. I only
managed to frazzle her but I didn’t mind since she needs work on bending.

I ended the lesson with a canter on the track to relax her and to give her a sense of
accomplishing something.

While riding, I kept pulling my legs away from her sides when I felt myself gripping. I
really worked on my seat and did a lot of standing in the stirrups both with my seat in
the saddle as well as out. I noticed my heels stay down when I’m in the saddle properly
and marvelled at how sometimes I automatically sit correctly and other times I have to
fight for it.

The sensation I get is I’m leading with my stomach and kneeling in the saddle. I’ve
noticed my whole seat is thrown off when I sit with my shoulders too far back. When I
bring them forward, my thighs become more vertical and it’s so much easier to stand and
to keep the standing position no matter what gait I’m in. I also become one with the
motion.

I pulled a muscle in my right leg while keeping both legs off her sides. I am very stiff
in my thighs so I exaggerated the position. I’m sure my muscles will eventually stretch
enough where they won’t be such a problem in the future. Some days I’m more limber than
others and I have no idea why.

I was going to do a video of the track and narrate as I went along but just didn’t feel
like getting in front of the camera today, so I decided to put it off for another time.
I can’t wait too long, though, or the place will be too over-grown to be able to see
anything.

I’ve noticed Flossie’s tail is getting shorter and shorter. It used to be down to the
ground and was very full. Last week I noticed the outside hairs were shorter and that it
was thinning out at the bottom. Today I noticed the entire tail is shorter. I thought
she must be rubbing up against a tree but when I phoned Des and mentioned it to him, he
said the ponies have been chewing on it. She’ll stand with her butt facing their
paddocks and they’ll reach over and chew on her tail. How strange is that???

Des is going to have another boarder. His name is Mick and I’d say he’s probably in his
late twenties or early thirties. He has two golden retrievers; one male and one female.
The female’s name is Jane. I can’t remember what he said his male dog’s name is. He’ll
be bringing his horse down over the weekend so he’ll be there the next time I arrive.

Using Pain Away and taking two ibuprofens before I ride gives me a pain-free experience
in the saddle. Alone, they work well, but not completely. Together they’re unbeatable.
This is the second week in a row I’ve used the products together and both times I was
totally pain-free.

I was lying in the shade under a tree this afternoon with Bambi and Flossie. This is
something I did last week as well. They seem to pick the same place right at 12:00
o’clock noon to take a break from all their grazing and to close their eyes for a snooze.
I was on my back with my knees bent and I had my cowgirl hat over my face. When I
looked up, Bambi was standing right in front of me. She put her nose on my knee and I
could feel her nose hairs tickling my skin.

Des's colt likes to put his entire face in his water bucket and swish it around. It
sounds like he's in a swimming pool splashing water like a little kid. I went over and
did some splashing in it with my hand and didn't he imitate me?!

On the way home, we stopped at Horseland so I could buy a new pair of jodhpurs. The ones
I had were worn out. They were originally $65 but I got them on sale for $55. I was
contemplating spending a bit more for a pair with a suede seat and reinforced knees but I
figured suede wouldn’t wear very well and in no time at all it would be a smooth as any
other pair of jodhpurs. I didn’t see them being worth the extra price.