Hi ridecampers; I was reading the posts about the stumbling geldings this a.m. I particularly took note of the one in which the writer suggested that the owner of such a gelding, should let him fall down once so he learns his lesson. "Bosh! " I thought to myself. "Such a task should only be undertaken by a pro-fessh-ion-al! For instance, you wouldn't want to try that on a 2 foot wide cliff hugging trail with rocks. I decided to go riding, and stop reading such silly things. So I took my new gelding Bravo , and my 3 year old filly Passion, and went to our public arena.
I rode Bravo a while, using my "100 trail riding exercises", and practiced some dressage stuff, while the filly practiced her standing tied training. Then we practiced our "Spook and spin" technique, and I marveled at my professionalism in sitting through that, in my most excellent endurance saddle with giant knee rolls. As I contemplated entering in a local team penning or cutting competition with the excellent saddle, I noticed that the gelding was getting fatigued. Maybe I do dressage, "endurance style", and he is a couch marshmellow. I thought back to my old skiing instruction, where the adage is, "Quit when you are tired. Otherwise you will crash on a black diamond slope and careen into a rocky crevace". But that wouldn't be an endurance motto. Quit when you are tired, indeed. So we practiced some extension and some collection.
We were doing the nicest slow and easy collected canter, sort of a 4 foot show-trail thing. I noticed that the people who graded the arena have been building up the sand a lot on the one side, which isn't how my husband used to grade that arena, but then they just had a big show, so its all torn up anyway. About that time, the gelding decided that the deep sand would be a good place to try the "stumbling gelding and practice falling" technique.
Quickly I reviewed the methods I learned by watching my kids do their gymnastics lessons, and I went into an immediate, offside, laterally twisting forward barrel roll with a tuck. In the process I did an shoulder dermabrasion on the place where I had a skin cancer before and it's been trying to grow back, thus eliminating the need to go see my dermatologist, and I saved $10 in the process!
Bravo then got up and trotted off and I made a mental note to work on his Monty Roberts, "Joining up" technique, so that when we practice barrel rolls on the trail, he won't leave me there. Either that or I could tie a 50 foot release rope that I could grab onto and stop him as I executed my falls.
After our crash test session, I practiced using weak tea Betadine squirt in the usual fashion, on his scraped knees, and my dermabrasion site. I found the results to be unsatisfactory later at home, when I found chunks of gravel imbedded in my hide, and had to scrub them out with a stiff brush. Consequently I went and scrubbed him too , but used a natural sea sponge to avoid damaging cell tissue, and that worked fine too.
Another unanticipated side effect of our crash testing was that I tore my brand new shirt that I got at the Walker Calif. Mountain View barbeque, where they have really good food and very nice waitresses. . Luckily I wasn't wearing my husbands brand new "bite me" shirt with the red hot chili pepper on it, or I would have had some explainin to do. Now we have to go all the way back to the Walker river to get a new shirt. That will cost the $10 I saved at the doctors. So, so far I'm even, and I don't think that I committed a $10 mistake. I didn't use that many first aid supplies either.
I ran out of time after that and didn't get to ride the young filly, but she got to watch our session so I'm sure she will be careful about stumbling on trails. It seems all anyone has done is complain about stumbling geldings all day anyway, so maybe, being a mare, she won't stumble.
Next week we will get the cruel shoes on the gelding and make sure he builds up those hind end muscles so he can perfect his deep sand dessert manuevers. I myself am ready for the marines or something, they would be proud. I didn't even scratch my glasses even though they were full of sand, and my eye doctor is getting suspicious. I am wondering if you all on ridecamp think that this "test" constitutes a good reason to get a new helmet. It did get all full of sand, and I have sand in my ear very deep and couldn't wash it out with the weak tea betadine flush. My sandy helmet was rattling like peas, and has some skid marks too. Maybe I should send it back with a possible defect now? I think that could cost $10, so if I skip the trip to Nevada, I should break even. What do you all think. ?
I wondered if I should call the paramedics on myself when I drove off with the trailer tack door open, because of a possible head injury. But then I found that I was oriented times four, (Beth Glover, in California, Sept 10, 2000, and Bill Clinton is the president) so I know everything in our world is just swell.
keep on ridin!
Beth (Should I get a beige or a white helmet?)
Curt (Why does Bravo have purple leg wraps, is he celebrating Gay pride day?)
Bravo (Excuse me they ran out of Red, White, and Blue!)
Passion ( I owe Bravo some beet pulp for getting me out of work.)