A buck, and then a jump

It's been a little bit of a rough couple of weeks. We have had emergency vet surgery on the goat, meds, antibiotics, more meds, another emergency vet call, and ended up putting Sam down this morning. We also had a runaway Rufus- gone for 6 hours, after dark, after running away into the woods with his leash attached after a pack of deer- last week. I finally found him after knocking on doors at 9 pm, and my neighbor looked on Facebook and saw someone had him around.. 11 pm. Logan and I were both in tears thinking our dog was hooked up in the woods and was going to be out all night. *Shakes head* We have also had an almost ER visit for Logan when Andi bucked him off last Sunday, a real ER visit for Logan last night, wraps all around for some mystery puffiness for Sher, and.. Rain. Lots of rain, which means lots of mud in my paddock. But this morning was definitely the kicker. I walked outside, prepared to give Sam his hay, check in on my sick goat, give him his banamine, and... turned around to tell Logan it was time. I was done with this week by 8:30 this morning.

Thankfully, Logan wouldn't let me reschedule my riding lesson on Andi- even though I miswrote the time AND was late on top of that, so had to bring a brand new horse into a group lesson- because it went spectacular. There is a God in this world. Walk, trot, canter, and even redoing some baby lessons- walking over jumps. The canter was a bit rough, but got consistently better, and Ann believes that someone cranked on him a couple times during the transition, so now he's expecting to be hurt. I agree- because once he settles in, he's totally fine. I was surprised when she said he wasn't a typical adult amateur's horse- shocked, even. She laughed at my shock and asked the other woman in the ring if she'd get on him- "Nope!" Then she told me I have some of the biggest cajones she's seen on an adult ammy, because she can't think of a half dozen people who'd volunteer to ride Sherwood, nevermind KEEP getting on her. Hence.. Andi seems easy. (Side note: My mom got me this hilarious sign from the Equine Affaire "Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway- John Wayne"!! I almost peed myself laughing- it's so perfect. )

Watch for yourself- he was reasonably well behaved after the initial transition, just an unfit young horse who needs some consistency, which he has been lacking. He reverts to some head tossing when he gets tired in the second video of the canter, so we got it back and then let him chill. The trick was redirecting- which I was being too nice about. "BEND!!!" was her yelling at me. "Rip his back teeth off if you have to, then immediately release when he's good." And.. by golly! It worked! Imagine. Professionals know how to get results.. Hmm.. ;)

What was probably the best learning of the day, for Andi, was the simplest for me. We walked up to a cross rail with some rules: Nothing faster than a walk, and you will go forward over it at some point. But you can sit here in front of it for as long as you need to. And so we did. We watched the other rider do some small jumps while we sat in front of our cross rail. And this horse went from twitching and sidling sideways, to cautiously watching the jump (it bites! I swear!), to... Big sigh, and huge relaxing droop. A couple minutes later, he walked over it. So we walked over a couple more- no anxiety or stress- and ended on a quiet note. He's been rushed a bit, but I think he's enjoying taking it back a notch. And I'm enjoying my second time around with a baby-ish TB who has his basics. It's quite lovely picking up where a pro left off, versus figuring it all out for myself. Poor Sher, she got shafted!! 😂😂

Trail Riding

There hasn't been much to update. Andi went for one potential viewing, but even though I was very careful in telling them he had had months off and no cantering, they were.. not happy about it. I'm sorry.. Do Novice level event horses with PROVEN records usually go for $5k if there isn't a catch? 

So, as if to prove what a catch he is, Andi went out yesterday with Shelby, Me with Sher, and Jess on Bridget, for a 3 hour trail ride in his cavallo boots, after a good 3 weeks off, and.. was perfect. Sher was fantastic too, but he was amazing. Moss on logs make him take a second look and small puddle are cause for alarm, but he was an utter gent. At one point, both him and B leapt a small (tiny- 1' across?) stream, and Sher made a POINT of walking through it, looking pointedly at them (it felt like) as if to say, "You two are such morons." And it's these days that remind me how much I LOVE my opinionated, terrifying, amazing, gorgeous Sherwood. And I can't wait to hop back on and go do some more fun stuff with her. Because.. she really does work best with me, when I am smart enough to pick up what she's puttin' down. LoL

(Funny note of the day: Sandro, Shelby's fiancee, asked her "So, what horse are you riding?" on the way out the door. She responded, very amused because he had never cared before, "The new horse." And he was satisfied. I asked if she would have been allowed to come if she'd said Sherwood.. She just laughed. *Shakes head* I think my mare has a reputation.)

In any case, Andi proved what a solid citizen he was to everyone. Honestly, I kept checking on him, but I didn't expect him to cause a scene. I've come to expect it- that elusive quiet easygoing sensitivity- of him. He's just so lovely. Having him and Sher in the same yard just proves the difference between Dragons and Unicorns, as Thoroughbred owners declare the two polar opposites. He's just as sensitive as her, but much more lenient. Not everything is seen through a lens of... anxiety? Fight or flight? "Are YOU trying to tell ME what to do??" I think his presence might even be mellowing Queenie out; she is so much more reasonable this year than any year before. She's more loving and more willing to just.. hang out. Maybe she's just growing up. But I'm beginning to think that Andi might be a blessing in disguise for us.. And maybe it would be a mistake to let him go.