Has a bad ride ever stuck with you afterwards?

Think back a bit to the last time you had a bad ride.

Sure, a bad day at the barn is better than the best day almost anywhere else. I get that. But we all have less-than-ideal rides once in a while. I’m not even talking about those dreaded times we land in the dirt. I mean those times when the horse acts up, things don’t go so well, or we simply aren’t up to snuff in the saddle.

C’mon. ‘Fess up. You know what it feels like, even if it’s been awhile.

This happens every now and then for me. I gotta admit it. 

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A large part of the problem is the fact that I am fighting a lifelong medical condition that can assail me unpredictably and viciously with balance issues, bouts of vertigo, muscle spasms, exaggerated startle reflexes, vision problems, and some serious sudden-onset fatigue. Those symptoms can challenge my ability to ride as well as I want to.

It’s a good thing I have a seasoned, sensible, and (OK, I’ll say it.) somewhat lazy horse these days. I sold the young and crazy, but beautiful, ones after I came to terms with the reality of my health issues. My current mount is adorable, but not flashy. She’s fun, but not fancy. And she’s low key, rather than high-maintenance. I guess we are sort of perfect for one another.

But I still have bad rides. And mostly, they’re on me, although the horse can pretty much tell when she’s gonna get off easy. She’s sort of smart that way. She knows when it’s time to quit, even if I’m still trying to figure that out.

So my bad rides are no longer the hold-on-for-dear-life, whoa-crazy-horse, we’re-all-gonna-die kinds of nightmares than I occasionally had with my fiery young horses. They’re more the fifteen-minutes-is-enough-today, let’s-not-even-try-the-hard-stuff, and thank-God-horses-can’t-tell-time kind of thing.

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Recently, I picked up a cozy hooded sweatshirt with this design on it: “Never let yesterday’s bad ride spoil today’s good one.” It’s become my go-to riding pick, because it sort of says it all for me, with my ups and downs. I wore it today, and had a really sweet ride. So maybe it works!

Little by little, I’m trying to let go of bad rides when they happen and start each new ride fresh. Just because my last jaunt was a little disappointing doesn’t mean I have to bring that baggage aboard this time. My little horse has already forgiven and forgotten. Maybe I can too.

Know the feeling?

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Poles are for practicing.

Poles can be primo for practicing equitation and picking up peace (and perhaps the pony's pace) during peeved phases.

I’m not talking about pole bending – as in gymkhanas and speed shows. Sure, those can be pretty fun.

And this isn’t about the poll, the part of the horse’s anatomy which is frequently a focus of trainers aiming for proper flexion and bend. That discussion is important, but it’s not today’s focus.

This isn’t even about jumping poles or cavalettis.

Nope. Plain old poles.

Simple ground poles, made either of wood or plastic, can be super for focusing both horse and rider in any equestrian discipline.

Oh, baby. This has been a lifesaver for me, particularly as I’ve been slugging my way back from a horrific tumble from a horse (Here’s that story.) and a frustrating period of health issues. I’ve battled both injury and an extended season of vertigo, which becomes particularly pronounced atop a horse.

(There’s something about being off my own feet – and packed around on another creature – that makes it harder to adapt to a neurologically whirling world.)

Having a ground pattern to follow, or even a target, is a real plus.

We put pairs of poles on the ground and ride back and forth through them. We make pinwheels of poles and ride over them. We set up all sorts of patterns and ride around, amid, and past them.

Pretty soon, I’m piloting my pony – thinking more about these markers and less about whether we are balanced, reeling, or possibly spooking.

Traffic cones help in pretty much the same way.

We also use plenty of trot poles.

Trot poles help the rider sit up and take notice, while urging the horse to pick up his or her feet more promptly and precisely.

Once in a while, my overachieving and spirited mare puts it in her mind to jump a pole or two, instead of prancing prettily past. And, each time we pass through that hurdle, we have won another wee battle.

Where can jump poles / ground poles be found?

Ready-made Jump Rails are available, but it’s simple to make your own.

Wooden landscaping beams, rounded wood poles, and PVC lengths may be found at home improvement stores. Most of these retailers will even cut poles to size. Carpet stores frequently offer heavy cardboard rolls for free, after their stock has been installed.

Gotta love those ground poles.

The Mane Point: A Haven for Horse Lovers is participating in the April A to Z Blogging Challenge again this year. Stop on back, so you don’t miss a single post!

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S is for scary shrubs and other spooky stuff

S is for scary shrubs and other spooky stuff.

Shrubs are significantly scarier to horses than actual predators. A swinging branch, crinkly plastic bag, or whirling leaf can elicit more of a bolt, buck, or spin than a snake on the trail or a bear in the woods.

And don’t get me started about blue herons and turkey vultures, that rise up suddenly from the underbrush on the trail.

Even the most bombproof trail horses are not immune to startling at scary surprises.

Stop that, silly steed!

The Mane Point is participating again in the April A to Z blogging challenge, posting daily with alphabetical entries.

For this year's A-Z event, a month of posts will offer Turfy’s A-Z Rules of Horsemanship, with all due apologies to the original Murphy of Murphy’s Law,  which basically said, "If anything can go wrong, it probably will."

Horse lovers may have heard some of these uncannily true, yet often ironic, statements in various forms in the past. Or not.

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by JDan

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Turfy’s A-Z Rules of Horsemanship

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