Rusty and Gus are slowly making progress. When Rusty first appeared on the scene, Gus-the-kitty was Freaked. Out. He stayed barricaded in the back room, and even if I locked up the dog in his crate in a separate, closed room, Gus would totally lose his mind if removed from his hiding place. You can’t hold Gus down, though, and the two of them are working it out.
In other news, I had yet another horse incident on Monday. It is starting to be just a little bit lighter for a little bit longer in the evenings, and since the weather was nice, I started my riding lesson in the outdoor arena instead of the lighted indoor arena. The dusky time of night, however, is a bit tricky for the horses. Things are extra shadowy, so there is more room for freak outs. I had just started to get into a good canter, when all of a sudden, the horse just took off running.
But I didn’t fall off! (for once)
The difference this time involved a few things.
* One, the horse didn’t have a sudden start. We were already moving quickly, so he just increased his pace until he was bolting.
* Two, he was going in a straight line, more or less. There were no twisty turns to make me lose my balance.
*Three: I broke down and bought a saddle that fits me (I found one used for WAY less than I thought I was going to have to spend), and I think the proper saddle fit helped me keep my balance when the horse was going nuts.
*Four: I didn’t freak out. I mean, clearly I sort of froke out, but I was somehow able to keep my head about me. Because he took off somewhat gradually, I didn’t get as startled as I did last time the horse bolted (different horse, btw). Time slowed way down in my head, and as my teacher yelled things to me like: “KEEP YOUR HANDS DOWN!” and “BEND YOUR ELBOWS!” I was literally thinking to myself: “I am just going to keep my legs long and my heels down and keep my butt in the saddle,” as I tried to follow her instructions.
Eventually, the horse came to his senses a little bit, and I was able to slow him to a stop.
I was definitely shaken up (and, you know, literally shaking), but I was thinking about it on my drive to work yesterday, and I think it actually made me a bit more confident overall. Since I was able to keep my balance and (eventually) bring the situation back under control, I fell like if it happens again, I’ll feel like I know a little bit better how to handle it.
Although hopefully, I won’t have to test that theory out any time soon.
I think congratulations are due all around – to you for staying in the saddle and not freaking out, to Gus for being such a brave kitty, and for Rusty for not taking off after Gus. Good work everyone! (And I absolutely LOVE that the past tense of “freak” is “froke” – it’s perfect and I’m going to use it!)
I can’t take credit for “froke”: I got it from a former coworker, and it may be the most useful word in the world!!
That dog’s ear cracks me up! He looks perpetually quizzical!
“I fell like if it happens again” – was that a Freudian slip?
Total Freudian slip! I didn’t even notice, but it is obviously very appropriate!
Thanks for stopping by my blog today. Gus looks exactly like our cat Frank, they could be twins. You are doing so many things I want to do, but I am just planning and thinking right now! Good for you, keep it up.