Last night was another gorgeous night! I met Stacy over by Cheryl's, and we played with Freckles. I brushed her out and picked hooves, and she was again terrific. I am impressed that I had her ground-tied the entire time!!! Even when I left to get tack and tacked up - ground-tied!! She is a really, really smart girl. I think Tracy would say she's the kind of horse that is looking to stay OUT of trouble. She is very responsive when I ask something of her, which is fantastic. I ask politely first, and if she doesn't respond, I increase the pressure. When she responds, I praise her. WOW! How simple is that!?!?! LOVING IT!
On a side note, got my handy stick from CA yesterday - all pink - LOVE. IT!
So I tacked her up and took her to lunge in the round pen before hopping on. She did good - there was one point where she "got stuck" so I increased pressure to push her in to a canter, and she whipped out one or two little bucks. :) Then she settled in and did what I asked without attitude. I got on, rode around a bit, and felt that she's still limping. Stacy said she wonders if she's just stiff from not being worked, but I think she needs to be looked at. I asked her if she wanted to have the vet out, and she said not yet. I have to respect that - she's not my horse. I just remember not to ask much of her and she'll be ok.
As we were talking, Stacy said she wanted to lay it out there for me that she is NOT in the market to sell Freckles. I told her that was good, because I'm not in the market to buy a horse right now. But I did tell her that if she told me right now that she wanted to sell Freckles, I'm pretty sure (sarcastically meaning there's no doubt) I'd take her off of her hands! :) I would snap that horse up in a heartbeat! But, as the conversation went on, she was saying things like "My goal this summer is to get you confident so you can ride other horses. Freckles is a confidence builder, and she will help you get to the point where you can ride other horses." When I told her I wasn't sure confidence "building" was what I needed, I feel that I need a mellow horse like Freckles, she started talking about how I've had bad experiences, and I need some good ones now to make me confident.
OK, I don't know that I need confidence building. I've kind of been there, done that. After 5 years and how many horses, I think what I need is a trusty mount - one that is in exactly the place Freckles is in. Smart, SUPER-sane, SUPER quiet, the perfect age, the perfect size… I need Freckles. How do I tell her that? Or DO I tell her that? I hate that now this has kind of thrown me in to a funk. I feel like "great, now Freckles will be taken away from me, too." Dumb thought. Really!?! It's March, and you JUST started riding again! How about I sit back, relax, ENJOY Freckles, and if I get to a point where I'm riding 2-3 times a week, I can work out a lease with Stacy. I know she's not going to up and sell Freckles to someone else - so I need to stop being in this funk. Really, maybe Freckles and I will forge such a bond that Stacy will be ok selling her to me. Heck, maybe I don't want to buy her! Maybe I just lease and let her take care of the vet, hooves, etc. I just pay and ride, that's all. Although if I fall in love with her, like I am, I will most likely want to have her as my own.
I guess I'll have to wait and see. Too early to tell what will happen. All i know is that I am HAVING FUN again, and it's wonderful! I love this horse. And I do think I want her as my own. OK, getting a little emotional. Gotta go for now!
Is this where I deeply regret not buying her when Stacy was going to sell her for $1,500? I already DO regret it. :( So Hans would sell me any of their three horses. But HE doesn't own Freckles. Hmmm. I cannot question why things happened this way - only trust them to turn out even better. Thanks, Jesus!! :)
No comments:
Post a Comment