Moments of Brilliance

Horseback riding is like math. The more you learn, the more you realize you that you didn’t know as much as you thought you did. The learning comes in layers as you break down a big concept into smaller parts until all the simple pieces start to make sense in the context of the whole.

Ransom and I are somewhere in the middle of this muddle of knowledge. We’re revisiting the basics armed with additional education, and somehow it’s hard all over again. For example, trotting – not complicated, right? Ransom and I had a half hour conversation about trotting rhythm today. His manual transmission lurched from slow to spurts of speed. Off the circle and onto the straightaway – speed up. Half halt. No you can't stick your nose out. Pick up the reins to yield to the bit – diversionary tactic: speed up. Hold, hold, hold, release. Leg pressure applied to balance his shoulder in the corner – speed up. Half halt. Slow down. Finally a soft, cadenced feel…for two strides.

Each day there is a moment of brilliance, and I’m impatient to string those moments together into a superhorse. Some days I’m overwhelmed by how far we have to go. I have to keep reminding myself that it doesn’t happen overnight.

Back in the Saddle

I’ve noticed a disturbing trend in conversations with the non-horse public. Whenever I mention that I work with horses, the other person launches into their horse experience horror story, which often ends with: “I’m terrified of horses,” or “I’ve never ridden a horse since.”

It’s true that horses can be unpredictable and dangerous, but I find that they’re rarely to blame. “The horse bucked me off!” is usually translated as “It crow-hopped and the cinch was loose so my saddle slipped.” Or, “The horse bolted out of control!” really means, “It started trotting and I lost my balance.” Ferreting out the details provides a different picture to the horse savvy. “Oh, you were riding backwards? Bareback? No helmet? Mmm."

It makes me sad that so many people have had a negative experience doing something that I love, simply due to unsafe situations and lack of knowledge. When my sister’s boyfriend visited this week, he had a similar tale of woe.

“What happened?” I asked.

“My friend and I rode double on a horse bareback, at night. When the horse started trotting, we fell off onto cobblestones and I impaled myself on my friend’s elbow.”

Jonny rides again!

My solution? Have him ride Ransom, of course. It’s my personal mission to replace negative horse experiences with positive ones. So out at the barn, I round penned Ransom to take the energy edge off and evaluate his frame of mind. Then, with helmets on, we rode in a controlled space. He even trotted a bit.

“So next time someone asks you about horses, you’re going to tell them about this amazing appaloosa and how much fun you had, right?” I prodded him.

He smiled and nodded.