Hoof Blogs

Flossie's 244th Lesson

FLOSSIE'S 244th LESSON

I had a super fantastic ride on Flossie this morning. The comfort of my seat bones are
no longer an issue anymore which makes it easier for me to relax and enjoy myself in the
saddle again. Machines, big yellow dinosaurs, were working away near the railroad tracks
but Flossie is so used to them even as noisy and as busy as they were, she acted like
they weren’t even there. They are close to the paddock, but not right on top of the
track the way they were when they were working on the road.

She circled to the left so well at a canter I didn’t want to stop her. We went around at
least 10 laps. When she’s good in one direction, she’s usually not as good in the other
and it’s been a while since she’s been good going to the left.

Last week, when I left Des’ place, I told myself I would mount Bambi this week. It was
on my mind for the past seven days and I couldn’t wait to get on her today. When I was
on Flossie, she stopped dead in her tracks when she came to the dam and saw a headstall
and some rope dangling from the rail where Gary had left them, probably when he was
swimming his horses. I knew that if the gear bothered her, it would bother Bambi, so I
took it off the rail and hid it behind a mound of dirt. I needn’t have bothered,
however, for as it turned out, I didn’t get Bambi quite that far around the track.

Bambi let me mount her as though she had been mounted before somewhere in her past. In
fact, when I discussed it with Des, he said she may have been a saddle horse before he
bought her, which was when she was four years old. She was reluctant to go forward for
me, but I managed to get a walk out of her for about a quarter of the way around the
track. She went willy-nilly and made quite a few stops. I was kicking myself for
deciding not to wear the spurs on my first time aboard Bambi. I could have really used
them. I will not take them off next time. Also, I had forgotten to pick up my crop when
I got off Flossie, so I grabbed a very brittle stick off the ground and used it for
propulsion when I needed it until it finally broke. I won’t forget my crop next time,
either. I was kicking myself for that as well.

When Bambi stopped for the last time and my stick was no longer effectual, I decided to
see how good she was at doubling. She went okay for a while, but she kept wanting to
back up and she took me down a small incline. There was no stress, no panic, and it
happened so gradually it was like in slow motion. So I leaned forward and gave her all
the reins she needed until we were back on level ground again. There was nothing scary
about it, in fact I could see her thinking about where she was placing her feet.

She gave me a nice walk through the paddock back to the yard after that and I really
liked the feel of her walk. She would make a great Western horse. Now I can’t wait to
experience her trot and canter.

I made a lip strap out of some material we had lying around the house and used it today
for the first time. Flossie couldn’t get a hold of the shank when she reached for it and
Bambi was a bit less mouthy. One day soon I’ll buy a leather strap that’s designed for
that purpose.

Des had his daughter, Cara, down for a visit. She had her son, Heath, and her daughter,
Mia, with her. They went around handing out carrots to everybody. Heath, who is about
four years old, didn’t want to walk up to Flossie while I was on her in the driveway,
although both Cara and Des were encouraging him to do so. I guess a horse looks much
bigger without a fence around it than it does when it’s confined.

All too soon it was time for me to go home. I was disappointed to see Norm come for me.
I sure could have spent the entire day with Flossie and Bambi and their pals!