Horses & Other Interests
“Mushroom hunting is not simply a matter of traipsing through the woods after it rains. It is an art, a skill, a meditation, a process.”
Mycophilia: Revelations from the Weird World of Mushrooms by Eugenia Bone [Rodale 2011] page xv. Quoting David Arora, author of Mushrooms Demystified:A Comprehensive Guide to the Fleshy Fungi.
Riding correctly is not simply a matter of sitting on the horse holding a certain position. It is an art, a skill, a meditation, a process.
Previous Horse hated cows.
Cows across the street. We used to trot up & down our long driveway for conditioning hacks. The only thing that made him more nervous than the cows across the street was the empty field where the cows had been on the last pass. Which way did they go? Which way did they go? When the herd would start with the cow noises, his ears would go straight up. He would tense every muscle in his body in an attempt to decode the bovine plans for world domination.
Cows in the field. Once a small herd of lost cows ended up in our front field. Mathilda was startled, but got over it. Previous Horse passaged around the pasture for days after the cows had gone.
Cows at the show. We unloaded and the farmer next door let a herd into the next field. My senior horse ended up with a stallionesque chain through his mouth as the only – the only – way to keep him on this planet.
I still get misty-eyed when cow radio comes on.
Last Sunday, cows moved in next door. When I went to the barn in the morning, Rodney was frantic in his stall. I gotta get out. I gotta get out. He gets full marks for permitting a halter, walking out reasonably well, and sticking the dismount. The microsecond he was at liberty, he was GONE. Not Previous Horse’s fear as much as a need to be on top of the situation. So, Rodney thundered around the field. Mathilda thundered around the pen. It was a long morning.
We appear to have gotten over the new neighbors. There are still the occasional noble looks into the distance. In the horses’s collective defense, when the cows are in the part of their field closest to our barn – that’s a lot of cow not very far away.
How does your horse feel about cows?
For this week’s Sunday Stills Challenge: Flowers and Wildflowers. There was a lovely moment of a black horse amid the yellow flowers. Given Mathilda’s camera phobia, I couldn’t take the picture.
I’m feeling lazy, so here’s one from the archives.
Sadat
Avenel Farm Fall Show
October 21, 1978
Maiden Equitation
I took your collective advice, went to the Title Nine website, used their measuring chart, and ordered a garment with underwire & racing back. The result has enough straps, hooks, and cross-bracing that it ought to be made out of Kevlar and stop bullets. However, I was comfortable and the runway judges approved.
Mission accomplished.
And the winner is Sam Willie. In the morning, it was decreed that I would ride Sam. However, halfway through the day, Lola decided she’d Had Enough. She was done showing and no one was going to change her mind. The resulting horse shuffle put me on Willie. After a quick swap of pre-ride visualizations, I was good to go.
The only problem with the first class was that Willie’s trot is so smooth, I couldn’t for the life of me see or feel my diagonal going in. It must have been correct, as we won the class.
Omens where good for a second win. In the previous Academy divisions, the judge had shown a fondness for pining the second class in the same order as the first. Now that Willie and I had gone around once, I saw what an old pro he is. I realized I could leave him to his job and really concentrate on getting my hands up, bending my elbows, sitting back, and so on, and so on. I tend to be overly busy, so I tried to sit still and quiet.
Given equal equitation, the judge had also shown a preference for horses who were rocking on. In leaving Willie to his own devices, I may have dialed it back a notch too far. Even the most seasoned performer likes to hear cheering from the peanut gallery. Willie was still lovely, but perhaps more Ferdinand and not enough Fiery Steed. Nothing major, just enough to slide me into second. So, my next goal is to figure out how to encourage the horse without fiddlin’ and fussin’.
Blue and red ribbons. The streak continues.
Photos By Nat
ETSA Spring Classic > Saturday Morning > Classes 61/62 Academy Equitation/Showmanship WT-13 & Over. Brown jods, yellow vest, helmet. As before, please click, enjoy, but do not download without paying, from this or any photographer’s site.
While you’re over there, check out Saturday Evening > 81. Open English Pleasure Walk-Trot, Any Breed, Stake: a saddleseat Friesian, an ASB, a huntseat Friesian, and a saddleseat Belgian. One of the Friesians & the Belgian were also in 63 Open Pleasure Driving, Any Breed, Stake.
This weekend I uttered a sentence I have never before used in my life.
Proper saddleseat turn-out mandates make-up for female riders. Although I have only worn make-up a handful of times, I submit to this requirement with my trademark quiet dignity. I made sure to take the lipstick with me to the ring for a pre-ride touch-up once I inevitably chewed it all off. After the show, I was digging around in a pile of ribbons and gloves and what-not. When someone asked what I was doing, I said … pause for dramatic effect …
“I’m looking for my lipstick.”
You may now fall about the floor laughing.
Virtual Brush Box 