Looking Forward, Rodney

So this happened.

I have been riding sitting on Rodney bareback. One, to keep pressure off his back injury/scar, which is under the right-hand point of the saddle. Two, I like the idea of being able to slid off at the first sign of adversity. In a saddle, I tend to hang on until I’m in too deep rather than execute a timely emergency dismount. Three, bareback is more relaxing, right?

For a while now, my perceptive groundcrew has been after me to try using a saddle. I didn’t even consider the idea long enough to dismiss it. This is bareback. What horse doesn’t like bareback? Well, Rodney apparently. He thinks it’s weird. Rodney doesn’t do weird.

While I am more secure, Rodney is even more so. I’m not sensing the nervous vibe from him that I was getting before. Of course, the tension could have been originating from me, but I don’t think so. I think Rodney and I reverse the usual pattern. I pick up his nervousness, which my inner screaming monkeys turn into Sky-Is-Falling messages, which he then receives, amplifies and returns, and so on, and so on. Regardless of who starts the cycle, it’s on me to fix it.

“No matter what the problem is, whether it’s your fault or the horse’s fault, the solution is the same; ride better.”
Brain Training for Riders by Waldo (Trafalgar 2016)
[Reading Assignment]

So, we are still only walking and halting, but maybe, possibly, with a shade more ridability? The ultimate goals & underlying thesis remain the same.

Stratospheric dressage scores, smooth hunter rounds, scorching jump-offs, Finish on Dressage Score/Led From Dressage events.
[Haven’t I Been Here Before?]

Rodney has the talent to compete at introductory-level anything in his sleep. So, if we can get Rodney happy, he will be happy to work. That’s the theory.
[Stating the Obvious]

But seriously folks. Hacking in the backyard, maybe jumping a few fences. That would keep me content. For a while.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott