I slept late only I didn’t know it because I hadn’t opened my eyes yet. It was so nice, warm, and comfy cozy in bed. In that space of time before you are completely awake everything is right in the world. There’s no pain, no cold, no worries, only the feeling of being safe, and protected, then the phone rang. That’s when I knew I slept late. I also discovered that it was a beautiful morning with no wind. If I hurried I could still get a ride in on Ibn. It was going to be another wonderful day.
Unlike Marina, Ibn needs constant, and consistent work. Whenever we’ve shown him Rudy has worked him just before the show, and Ibn has been less than perfect to say the least. I’ve often told Rudy that I think some of the problem is that we haven’t had the time to work him consistently. Each time I have worked Ibn these last couple of months, I have changed up our schooling routine, never doing the same thing twice in a row, and yet repeating the basics. Each day I have seen improvement, and each day he stops fewer, and fewer times. That’s his way of letting me know he doesn’t want to do whatever we are about to do. That’s why I carry the quip in my back pocket. Today he got a bit frustrated with me as I was trying to get him to do a side pass. He tried putting his head over the fence, he tried going backwards, he pawed in frustration, and eventually he accidentally did a side pass, in both directions as asked for. Those are the moments you look for, and he got many praises for doing it. One of these days he will actually figure it out, and do it the first time.
I try to keep the schooling period of our workouts fairly short so as to keep Ibn from getting bored. Unfortunately, I forgot to put on the pedometer so we had to go back to get it. Ibn’s not very good about standing still, and these days it’s difficult for me to get up on him. Ibn’s 15 hands, making mounting him a long stretch for me. I had taken a muscle relaxer before working him so my legs stretched a bit easier than yesterday on Marina who is shorter. We went further on the road I had taken Ibn on the last time I rode him. We took it all the way to the end, which turned out to be not much further, and ended in a gate, Oh well. It did give me an opportunity to make him go up a rocky rise. He did not want to go up at all. Unlike Marina Ibn totally pays attention to where he is placing his feet. He’s also a bit of a woose. Yes he like all Arabians is a looky lou, with his ears going every which way listening to every sound, but he is also very careful where he puts his feet, and tentative about going over difficult terrain. It’s not totally his fault as for all practical purposes he was a city horse first, and a gentleman stallion when we acquired him. This is the first time he has had to deal with rises, and gorges full of loose rocky soil, and sometimes just plain rocks. There’s no sign of civilization where we ride, just rise after rise of never ending hills. Marina loves it, Ibn prefers the comforts of his stall with its long run, his mares close by, and his kids around him. He’ll learn, and he’ll change, and one day he will enjoy these excursions as much as I do.
Since we came to a dead end we went back, and took the road I had taken on Marina the day before. When we came to the large meadow I decided to follow it to the end to see how far it went. It wasn’t over grazed as I thought, but mowed. When we got around the bend I could see the fence line, and buildings on the other side. I could also see the definite rows of a mower, and cleared trees. I imagine the forest service maintained this beautiful meadow for fire safety. Like CA, and AZ fires are a big worry here. This grassy area would be great fuel for a fire if let go. We followed the road for a while, and I could see it went on, and on. I stopped for pictures, which Ibn was not pleased with. He really wanted to go home. I looked at the time, and we had been out long enough so I gave in to him. I was also starting to have problems with pain in my legs and arms. Ibn knew we were going home so he picked up the pace. When he started trotting my legs started giving out. I would have loved to let him trot, and even canter, but my body couldn’t handle it any more so I had to pull him in. When we got past Baker’s land with the two horses I’m not sure what happened, but the reins caught the pedometer, and knocked it off the breast collar. I tried my best to not have Ibn step on it, but it also meant I had to get down, and pick it up. I got off, and thankfully it hadn’t been harmed. I put it back on, but when I went to remount, I couldn’t do it. I had little to no strength left in my legs. There were nice deep ruts in the road, so I tried to position Ibn on the bottom of one of the ruts while I stood on the high part. Unfortunately that put him facing away from home, and he would have none of it. He wouldn’t stand still for anything, so I looked for another rut where he could face towards home, and I would still be on the high side. It took a few tries for me but I finally managed it.
By this time I wanted to be home as much as Ibn did. Every muscle in my body was screaming at me, and they were not nice words. I didn’t want to go back down the road so we went across back through the meadow. At first Ibn wasn’t so pleased, but as soon as he figured out that we were still going home he was fine. We made it back to the barn and I slid off him. Rudy called about that time giving me a chance to recoup before I had to unsaddle Ibn. He stood patiently now that he was actually home. I unsaddled him and when I looked at the pedometer, we had gone almost eight miles. As with Marina I rinsed him down, towel drying him before I put him away. He had a little breakfast left over, and he attacked it with gusto. He deserved it. This is the most work he has had to do for a very long time.
Finally I made it to the house, took pills, and collapsed. I don’t know how I am every going to be able to do ten miles a day for three days. No matter how much I work at it instead of getting stronger, I keep getting weaker. It’s very frustrating, and I don’t know how to stop it. I think next time I go riding I will wear my back brace, well it’s not exactly a brace, it’s more like a corset. It supports my back, and that’s the important part. I slept a couple of hours getting up just before Rudy came home, and it was time to feed. At least I felt better. We had a wonderful evening, and so ended another day at the ranch.
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