On Friday, while I was doing paperwork at school, one of my students' moms stuck her head in the door to say "Hey!" B also happens to be a 4H leader, and beat the pants off Kate and me all last season in walk-trot with her little sorrel overo mare, Helen. We got to talking horses, and she invited me to join her at a little local indoor (about 10 miles down the road from our farm) where she gives lessons on Saturdays. It gave her an excuse to bring along Helen for her to ride.
Originally, I thought about taking Kate, 'cause I really need to get her canter/lope going. But then, again, I thought, I never did get pictures of Maddie for the blog last weekend, and my SO was dying to try out his new lens (I've got to let him spend money on his hobby once in a while!), so maybe it was time to get Maddie off the farm! I thought about taking them both (same haul-in fee), but decided I didn't want the one tied to the trailer screaming the whole time, not to mention digging a hole to China when we were guests at the facility (a very nice facility, at that, which is for sale, if anyone out there is shopping).
So, in the style of Roxie, here is Maddie's narative of her trip.
Whadda ya mean, go in dat big door? This int mah barn! Besidz, I'll hafta get mah pretty little feetz wet crossin dat huge ditch dere!
Dere's udder horsies here, dat Iz never seeded before! But mah hoomin wontz ebin letz me worryz 'bout dem--Shez makin me go round in mah pretty little circulz, witch I do berry well, tankx you (unlike dat knotty sistr uv mine, Kate).
Well, deys stayin at dere end of dis arena, so I guess I letz mah humin get on mah back and I letz her walk me round--as long as dey all stay at dere end! I DO like da durt in dis place--itz got no rocs an no icies an no sno, like at homz.
I'll jus stay here, makin nice circuls in mah corner, an maybee dey'll leab me alonez.
WHAT! U wantz me to go down to DERE end?!?
An nows dere folloin me aroun in mah circuls! An dat red horsie, he keeps makin nasty faces at dis prettie spottie horsie!
Dees horsies keeps sneekin up on me! Why, da firs time, I neerly jumped outta my spotted hide! But den, I jus sorta stopt and lookded at dem wen dey goes by, and den, I pretty much ignorded dem. It wuz amazin dat dey cud cantrlopes wif dere hoominz up der on top o dem--As long as my hoomin duznt get no ideaz! I'm still wurkin on walkin and joggin wif her up dere.
An den I getz to play follo-da-leeder with mah new BFF Helen. Sheez a prettie spottie horsie lik me! I canz be sneeky wif her, cause she cantz hear mez sneekin up on herz, cause she's def, cause of the wite colorin on her face goin up inta her ear-wurks an makin em not wurks! Itz not as scarie when Im doin the sneekin up.
LOOK! I canz do line up, jus lik the horsies at the horsie sho! (ebin tho the nasty red horsie is STILL makin faces at me).
Takes me HOME now, pleez?
Um, um! Gud hay noms and a belly scratch--I guess it wuz hokay to go to the big city.
It's me back in, now. I WAS very pleased with Maddie's work yesterday. It was only her eighth ride. And, although she's been to a few 4H shows for halter classes, she was always very agitated and NOISY. Although she did call a few times today, she never did much except worry (like her dam) and the one jump the first time one of the geldings trotted up behind her. (That and the seemingly magnetic pull of the out-gate each time we went by.) Nothing a little reassurance and encouragement couldn't help.
She wuz...oops...was a good girl!
Helen is a beauty, but I still love Maddie. Congrats on such a great ride!
ReplyDeleteQuite the challenge to work out in new surroundings. Very successful day, I'd say, and I thought your horse to human translations were probably dead-on accurate.
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