mallet's Blog

That heading isn't entirely accurate. I haven't been out of the saddle for more than a week or two over the past two plus years. I ride whenever there is an opportunity to ride. Sometimes it is in a controlled setting with a well-trained horse. Sometimes it is in more of a free for all setting with a horse fresh off the track at Philadelphia Park and a large enough ring to enable any headstrong thoroughbred to scare the daylights out of a gutsy but inexperienced rider. But now I have again taken a few weeks off from riding. First we had a bone-chilling cold snap that made the trail between the barn and the indoor ring entirely too treacherous to walk a 13-hundred pound quarterhorse/thoroughbred from the barn to the unheated ring. It has been a brutal winter here in Wisconsin. Then, I got back in the ring with my favorite horse, Jenkins, and managed to drive us both into the rail at high speed. Jenkins was fine. He positioned himself so that my ankle took the full impact of the post as we cantered by. My foot was twisted around completely backwards for a moment, stretching all of my ligaments beyond their usual tolerances. Ouch. That would have led to a mere one week layoff, but then I needed to go to Philadelphia to see my folks. So, once again, I went two weeks without riding. So on Sunday, when I saddled Jenkins up, I feared a rocky ride. Jenkins is very smart and somewhat headstrong. If he is in a rebellious mood, he can be a handful. Fortunately, he was great on Sunday. Even better, my instructor attributed this great control and execution to me. I'm not convinced I can take credit for that. Jenkins is a very well-trained horse who knows what he is supposed to do. Our lesson went great. We cantered, staying in the corners and cutting across the ring when asked,. We broke down into a trot and then resumed the canter to clear a series of three jumps. The whole time, I felt very much in control of this horse. What;'s more, he doesn't mind. Jenkins enjoys the grooming and peppermints routine that precedes our lesson and loves the peppermint and untacking that takes place afterwards.