Horse!

[mijan]

I just wanted to introduce you to my horse, Champ.  

He's 16 hands high (that's very tall for a Quarterhorse), and is an absolutely darling horse with a playful personality, and a definite desire to please.  He also LOVES the snow.  I swear, he just likes to frolic.  We get to the field, and he can't wait to get into the snow, which in most places, comes up past his knees and hocks.  He's also got the most gorgeous tail, but my sister decided to braid it today, so you can't even see how nice it is.  Oh, and the sun was in our eyes... he normally doesn't look quite that sleepy.  LOL.  Trust me, I'll be taking lots more pictures, so you'll get to see better.  I can't wait until summer when he sheds his shaggy winter coat, and you can see how shiny his summer coat is.  :D

I also have a video that my sister took of me riding.  It's kinda shakey, and my sister had the sun behind me, instead of behind her when she positioned herself (silly person), but you can certainly see us gallop past. This is the video:  http://members.cox.net/phoenixsong/potterart/Champ_Gallop.AVI  (Be patient... it takes a moment to load.)

I'll hopefully have more videos and pictures soon. 

Comments

[gatewaygirl.livejournal.com]

Oh good! I'm glad you were wearing a helmet for the gallop -- I couldn't see much in the video! (The wind in your hair? What hair? ;-)

You've never fallen? Do you have any idea how weird that is for someone who's ridden more than a year or so? I come off every few years of riding -- it usually has something to do with a jump or a sudden change in direction. :-) I don't think I've ever been thrown, per se -- Many years ago, my regular mount was a recently-gelded racehorse, and he bucked a lot and reared on me twice, but in that case, staying on had my total attention. Not that attentiveness helped when I first tried trotting bareback. :-) (Slowly and gracefully sliding sideways off the horse....)

I was using 'pony' affectionately; Toby was a small horse, but not really a pony. He'd been an unworked backyard pet when the stable got him, though, so he was pony-tubby for the first couple of months. Before settling on him, last spring, I tried a number of the school horses -- everything from small Arabians to draft crosses. I liked a couple of the larger horses, but the smaller ones are much easier for me to urge forward, and somewhat easier to direct. (The latter was only significant with the two draft crosses.)

A ride could be fun, just remember I'm out of practice! No galloping for me.

Oh -- Champ's bit looks too large for him. Are you still making adjustments to the new bridle?

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Yes, I'm still adjusting the bridle. In fact, I plan to get him a new one. The one he has there is a hand-me-down.

And yes, I've never fallen, knock on wood. I know, that's really unusual, but so far, so good. I know people say you're not a real rider until you've fallen, but I know that I can ride, so what does that say about me? I've ridden dozens of horses, over the course of about ten years, and they've been everything from dead-broke trail-ride nags, through racehorses and eventers. The horse I was riding down in Missouri had thrown EVERYONE who had ridden her. (Including her owner... broke both of his wrists, which is how I ended up riding the horse.) She was a quarterhorse with an attitude problem. She tried to throw me about two minutes after I mounted her the first time, after spending those two minues fidgeting and fussing. I had attempted to take her up to a canter... she took two strides at the canter, stopped short, and reared up. So, I pulled her back down, smacked her neck, and kept going. I worked with her for about two months, and after a while I actually got her to behave well enough that I gave pony-rides to kids on her.

And it's not a problem if you're out of practice. Galloping is not a requirement for fun. I'd just like to have someone come down and share a ride with me. :)

Oh, and today, I'm going out bareback. Gotta run!

~P