The Novice Horseman Blog

I’ve had my fair share of falls and most of which I’ve been able to bounce back  quickly.  It seems, though, the older I get, the more apprehensive I’ve become about getting back in the saddle.  As you’ve read, I had a pretty significant fall at the first of January.  It took almost 3 weeks for me to heal enough to walk with no pain.

Oklahoma had a record snow in February which stayed on the ground for about 3 weeks.  That is very unusual for our weather.  So a few weekends ago, the weather finally cooperated enough to allow time to ride again.

I got Dollar from the pasture, groomed him and tacked him up.  I adjusted his cinch again just before we reached the mounting block.  I can’t mount from the ground anymore because of bad knees.

With one foot in the stirrup, I was getting ready to swing over.  Then  . . . WHAM . . . a back spasm.  I had to stand on the mounting block for a bit to let the spasm subside.  I don’t know if that was caused by the accident or if anxiety played a part.  I think both.  I told my trainer I thought this might be a short lesson.

After about 5 minutes, I mounted Dollar and off we went at walk.  I had a lesson in finesse riding that day.  I did lots of straight lines, counting steps for precise turns,  leg yielding, serpentines, etc.  Gait transitions were to be clean and immediate.

Amazingly, I made it thought the entire lesson.  Dismounting was not as easy as it usually is.  I had to swing my leg over and hold on to the saddle so I could make an easy drop to the ground.  I will admit I was a little stiff, but not as much as I thought I would be.

Riding after a fall for anyone can be daunting.  When to get back on a horse will depend on how well you have healed.  Be smart about your injury.  When you are ready, try a short ride at first to access how well you have healed.  Also a good short ride will help you regain your confidence.  If you hurt too much afterward, give yourself more time to heal both physically and mentally.

Also, don’t try not to do extensive training of your horse or a demanding lesson for you.  You may find that your body just won’t cooperate.  Instead, go back to the basics.  It never hurts to refresh on the simple things.  Concentrate on giving good cues so that your horse knows what is being asked.  As stated above, have short rides at first but make them count.  As always, stop on a good note for both you and your horse.

I haven’t got to ride since just before Christmas.  So when this last Saturday rolled around, I was ready.  Or so I thought.  The fall I took  was not big.  I just slipped off Dollar while trying to ride bareback.  I landed hard on my rear end and also hit my head on the ground.

I noticed at the time that my helmet was not quite right.  It wasn’t until I got home that I found all the damage done.

The outer shell is split and separated from the inner shell.   The inner shell is cracked at the back bad enough you can see daylight thru it.

I guess I hit harder than I thought.  I’m glad I’ve become very diligent about wearing a helmet.  There’s no telling how bad of a head injury I would have had if I wasn’t wearing my helmet.   I’ll being buying a new helmet this week.

I can’t stress enough that if you ride a horse, PLEASE wear a helmet.

I try to be at the barn every Saturday for my lesson even if I’m not at my best for riding.   That’s what happened this last Saturday.

I had just spent most of Thursday mowing my mother’s place with my husband trying to get it ready to sell.  It was hot and humid.  My back was already hurting from other things and this just compounded the problem.

But being the horse nut that I am, I was determined to ride on Saturday.  I told my trainer that I was not going to be able to do much in the way of intensive training.  So, we decided on no formal lesson, no intensive training . . . just ride.

We went out to the pasture and just meandered around.  We talked about her daughter’s upcoming wedding, my vacation in a few weeks, the recent horse shows that we’d been to and some future events that we would like to attend.

Even though we were not doing anything that could be called a lesson, I did make sure Dollar was doing what he was supposed to do.  He had to walk straight lines, make correct turns, and maintain the speed I asked of him.  There is a small strip of land behind the pond that is shaded by trees.  The horses sometimes find this a bit spooky because it is a confined space with the pond on one side and the fence on the other.  It was good to just walk calmly in and out.

We did a few turns on the forehand and the haunches.  Then I had the great idea.  The pasture has collected an amazing amount Canadian geese over the years.  My first horse (Iggette) loved to herd ducks, so why not try to herd the geese.

My trainer rode on one side and I rode on the other.  Very calmly, we captured about 10 of the geese and moved them along.  They waddled along in the direction we wanted.  We moved them into a smaller grouping.  They didn’t fly off.  Because there was only 2 of us, some escaped.    So we just rode off out into the pasture again.  When we came back to the geese, we cut a small group.  Again, calmly moving them around as we wanted and then riding off.  At then end of our ride, the horses were not stressed.  They had not tried to stop at the gate every time we passed it.  I rode without putting more stress on my back.

Riding your horse doesn’t have to be all intense lessons.  Riding your horse doesn’t have to be all about  training for that perfect pattern.  Sometimes riding your horse is just about taking a break from lessons and training.  Sometime riding your horse is just about enjoying a nice morning or afternoon with your horse and friends.  Sometimes riding your horse is just that . . . just ride.