Hi-Ho Silver

Yesterday afternoon my friend Maleah (Smoke’s new mom) called me up and promptly told me she needed some exercise and what was I doing this evening?  She’s a very straight forward, no fluff kind of gal (one thing I really like about her.)  I mentioned making dinner and blah blah blah – why?  What did she have in mind? 

“Well, you wanted me to ride your horse right?  I’ll make some chicken wings and bring them down to the arena.  Meet you there at 6:00pm.”  Okay, sounds great!  Don’t have to worry about dinner and get my horse ridden.

I haven’t ridden my little Miss Annie Oakley for two years!  I took her to a Jerry Tindell clinic in early October and she did amazingly and I was so proud.  A week later I became pregnant with my baby and she has been sitting in the pasture, waiting to come out again but me, always choosing a horse much easier to work with.  So, I walked her down to the arena, not a quarter of a mile away to meet up with Maleah.  I turned Annie Oakley loose in the arena while we munched on chicken and she ran around getting used to the dirt and surroundings.

Enter – Hi Ho Silver.  We put the saddle on when Hubby got there and this is the reaction I was expecting.  I had saddled her up a few months back in the round pen and got the same reaction but she settled in nicely after a little temper tantrum.

Anyway, I have had some pretty bad horse related accidents in the past and have been a little “spooked” since so I have been very hesitant about getting back on – lucky for me, Maleah has all the confidence in the world and is also very nice to me (but doesn’t give me any slack either) about my shyness.

So Hubby likes to run the horses around on foot before getting on, he wants all their kinks out.  He and Annie Oakley started out a little bouncy.

But of course, after a little more bouncing, she had settled in and was ready for her rider.

And what a pretty little trot she has!

Maleah worked on just walking right off the bat.  Annie Oakley got stuck many times, like her feet were in cement.  She would protest in balking then she’d give little half-hearted attempts at crow hoping but Maleah didn’t give her any slack either.  Pretty soon they would make a complete circle around the arena at a nice walk.

Things were doing very well, and Maleah decided they would kick it up a notch.

Annie Oakley’s trot is very lovely, once she gets going.  It smooths out and is pretty quick, but easy to sit to.

Soon Maleah was making my little butter ball move out faster and faster around the ring.

Her cute little smooth trot had turned in to a full out racing trot that looked much more bouncy but sure covered the ground!  Doesn’t she look like a Standardbred (but much shorter?)

Maleah was trying with all her might to get my little horse to pick up a lope… she just kept trotting then finally, she started loping, let out a little protest in crow-hops and then Maleah got her to pick it up again and off they went.

They settled in to their lope and Maleah ended there, on a good note.  She then offered to do this a couple times a week.  Yay!  I’ll get that little mare of mine out in no time.  I won’t want to sell her now… Though I already don’t want to.