Six bags of shavings in a Fiat 500.
Did I Piss Off the Universe and Not Notice?
Readers may have noted a lack of Miltonicity in the recent posts. There’s a reason. I rode last weekend. It did not go well.
One …
Two …
Three …
Immediately after the third photo, Milton kicked the barrel, had a complete cow, and dumped me. I held on long enough to have a nice crashing fall as a result. I was able to try a bit of course correction, but he was having none of it.
My ever-patient groundperson blames the saddle. We are two for two on horses having passionate fits while wearing it [Square One]. Causation or coincidence? Although it served me well for years with Previous Horse, the saddle is older than the flood. It’s possible that something has gone wrong internally that is only evident when a rider’s weight is added. He points out that I did not see Milton galloping around the field trying to buck it off.
I, of course, blame myself and am threatening to take up Tiddlywinks.
Practical details:
I’m fine. Stiff for a few days but fine.
Helmet has been replaced. A required feature of today’s helmets.
Saddle has been permanently retired.
This was not how this was supposed to go.
Later note: as I post these photos, I see that a) I should have had shorter reins but b) this does not look like a horse a heartbeat away from flipping his pancakes.
Spotted on the Green Shavings
Contest Renewal
It’s that time. Again. Rodney did not show last year. Again. Therefore I have a chance to chose a new show name. Again. Rodney needs an updated Coggins & Milton needs one that says he lives here.
Same rules: Help Me Name My Horse, Prize Offered
Same prize: $25 gift certificate the Internet book vendor of your choice.
Same caveat: void where a PIA.
I have an idea that I kinda like. So there is room for a winner, but it will have to sparkle.
Previous iterations:
Contest in Final Days
Contest Winner
New Year, New Contest
Introduction Day
Rodney started it.
Milton won it.
They have had a week to compare notes thru the bars. Today was the meet&greet. We tried to arrange so this would occur in open, neutral ground. Only moderate success. First contact came amid a small stand of trees. Squealing and front leg curling. We shooed them out to a clear area of the pasture. Milton trooped after Rodney. As far was we can tell, Milton went over to say hi. Rodney dealt Milton a meaty thunk to the chest. Whereupon, Milton spun around. There was a brief intermeshing of hind legs. When they separated, Rodney sported a hoof-shaped scrape on his gaskin. (The upper fleshy part of the hind leg. A nice, squishy spot. Not a fragile, bony spot.)
Apparently the big bully has a glass hindquarter and can’t take a punch. Milton was not aggressive. He just wasn’t taking any shit. Rodney spent the rest of the morning avoiding Milton’s overtures, friendly or otherwise. By afternoon, there was mutual backscratching. Also squeals and thumps.
We have closed off the pen for the nonce. That way no one (Rodney) will get trapped. Therefore, during the brief rainstorm they had to shelter under the trees. Sometimes it sucks to be a horse.
~~~
Outtakes
Whither?
So where to now?
Milton
I have had more than one person ask, Is he rideable? That is the plan. But then, that was the plan four years ago, so I can understand their hesitation.
Milton has enough style to do hunters at a local level and enough movement to get nice scores in the dressage phase of eventing. He doesn’t have hunter or dressage as a full-time career choice, but then neither do I. How high he can go in jumpers will depend on how he feels about jumps and speed and turn-and-burn. Even low-level jumpers courses are good practice for stadium. Because…
Everything about this horse screams “suitable for eventing”. We shall see how he feels about banks and ditches and water. I’m predicting he will either love it or at least tolerate it enough to be happy at Novice & Training & and maybe one Prelim as a bucket-list item.
And wouldn’t that be lovely.
Milton doesn’t have Rodney’s gobsmacking good looks, but – cross fingers – he will make up for it with a level head. Yes, Rodney really is that gorgeous. If I’m going to hit my head against a wall, it might as well be a wall made out of gold bricks. However, if my goal is to compete, better a 7 mover in the ring than a 9 in the pasture.
Above, Milton models the second Milton-specific purchase, his new bridle. The first was a white bucket wherein to carry his meals to the barn. Rodney’s is green. Mathilda’s was blue and is buried with her. The bit is Previous Horse’s old dressage bit. Dunno what Milton will ultimately be comfortable with, but this one is big and soft and a good place to start.
Looks like the browband will be a problematic fit. Oh well, Milton is likely to get the hand-made, custom bridle that I canceled for Rodney.
Rodney
Rodney will continue on his quest to wherever he is going. Nothing says I can’t take two horses to the AEC. It has been suggested that Rodney might even benefit from not being the center of all my emotional energy.
Saddle Seat
Staying with, kinda. I will finish out this show season, with possibly another shot at National Academy. After that, I will show enough next year to complete an ASHA awards program. The points have to be earned three years in a row. If I stopped now, I’d have to start all over again. After that, adieu equitation.
However, I will continue with weekly lessons at Stepping Stone, with more of an emphasis on performance. The specifics are different, but learning to concentrate with an ASB will help me to concentrate with the TBs.
Plus, it will still be good for me to get out of the house among the three-dimensional people.
Blog
Well, I needed content [Idea Request Accompanied by Barrel-Scraping Noises]. Now I have 16.1 hands of content. OTOH, I may get so caught up in playing with the new content that the blog wanders off. That wouldn’t be the worst thing.
We shall see.
~~
Outakes
Festina Lente
How are we doing?
Milton
New Horse is a star. He is adapting faster than Rodney and I are.
He was hot and exhausted Saturday evening after the trip, but then, so was I. The next day, he looked around. Grass? Check. Water? Check. Hay? Check. Feed? Check. Room to roam? Check. People to scratch my itches? Check. Okay, I’m good.
He’s Joe Cool. He will spook at something new or unexpected, he’s only six, but he lacks the ‘Sky is FALLING! I’m going to DIE!’ response that Rodney and I share. Milton is more likely to say, ‘What the HELL was that? Oh, an acorn. Moving on.’
Front shoes on Tuesday. Blacksmith approved of his feet and his attitude.
Rodney
We’ve decided that Rodney is not dumb. He just has so many voices in his head that it takes a while for a new idea to make itself heard. Therefore, we have been keeping new and old separate for far longer than we have on previous occasions. Milton gets the pasture during the day and the stall at night; Rodney, vice versa. This gives them the chance to sniff noses through the bars. We have arranged the fans so that they are near each other while still separated by the stall wall.
For supervised greeting sessions, I open the top half of the stall door. Early on, Milton came over and offered a friendly neck nibble. Rodney screamed, pinned his ears, and tried to bite. Milton thought, ‘Enough of that’ and wandered off. Whereupon Rodney stuck his head out to say, ‘Come back, I want to be friends.’ I think he has social development issues. For now, they ignore the open space and bite at each other through the mesh.
Katherine
I’m stunned.
In the last few posts, I went over all the steps it took to get Milton here. Be that as it may, I still can’t figure out how – cosmically speaking – such a nice horse ended up in my backyard.
Haven’t ridden yet. Giving both of us – i.e. me – time to adjust. Bought Milton a bridle of his own yesterday. Will sort through bits and saddles today. Might sit upon this weekend, depending on how the introductions are going. To be clear, Milton would be fine with going back to work. I’m still trying to shift gears from horse owner/petter to horse owner/rider.
Plus, we still need to decide on suitable riding times. Oversight requirements will be different for a young greenie than for a 25-year-old retiree.
I’ve groomed. We’ve gone for a hand walk. I’ve sat there while he investigated the book I was reading. Mostly, I’ve been spending my time hanging out in the barn, giving us all the chance to breath the same oxygen.
Virtual Brush Box 