Day 1 - on my own

Yesterday was the first day of my lease on G.  I also, as usual, had work in my classroom.  I decided to eat my meat before the pudding, and I worked first.  I was really excited to go to the ranch, but also had serious butterflies.

When I finally got to the ranch, I met more nice people.  Funny how many are teachers.  They all seemed pleased that someone was going to be giving G attention.  I took him out of his stall and spent a long time grooming him.  He has "rain rot" which I need to research.

Tacking him up was awkward.  His saddle has more straps than I'm used to.  His bridle was a little tricky too.  I felt pretty pleased with myself when I finally figured it all out on my own.  Then we were off.

I took the same route as we took on my test-trail ride.  It was fine until we got to the spot he spooked before.  Then he started backing and trying to turn back.  I didn't realize at first that it was the same spot.  I thought he was just testing me, but it was also that he was afraid.  I turned him in circles and then tried to go forward.  He would start backing and sidestepping.  I turned him in circles again.  This went on for years, or maybe five minutes.  Finally, with some firm kicks I got him past the spot and we rode along ok again.

After a while a truck approached us from behind.  It was a narrow road so I rode to the side and stopped.  G lunged up a narrow berm of dirt and then stumbled down it.  It was pretty terrifying to me since I'm so afraid that a horse I'm riding may fall.  We both stayed upright and so then it was just embarrassing.  The people in the truck waved as they passed and I waved back.  At that point I realized my pants had caught on a barbwire fence and ripped from knee to ankle.

So lessons learned:

1. Be prepared for trouble if you've had trouble in that spot before
2. Ride to a wide spot or a driveway where you can get all the way off the road
3. I am capable of dealing with challenges
4. G has more energy than I thought

I went home after cooling G and grooming him again.  After changing pants Gary and I went to Fox Feed for fly spray and something for rain rot.  We went back to the ranch and I rode for a little while in the arena.  A quiet end to an eventful first day.

After two test rides I signed the papers to lease Geronimo.  It's month-to-month so as long as I can remain somewhat detached, I can stop or switch to another horse with no penalty.

So here's what I know about him so far.  He is a registered paint, approximately 16 hands, and has one blue eye.  He is a cribber, which is not curable.  Because of that he is very thin.  He is also very out of shape.  According to the ranch owner (not G's owner) he is ridden only about once a month.  A girl at the ranch occasionally turns him out because she feels badly for him.

The first I rode him in the arena and he walked following my commands pretty well.  It was very difficult to get him to trot and nearly impossible to get him to maintain a trot.  I didn't try to get him to lope.  A few days later, yesterday, I rode him on trail with the ranch owner.

He was well behaved on trail, but obviously not in the same shape as the other horses.  He spooked and did a little spin when some minis ran up to a fence we passed.  I was easily able to get him under control and calmed down.  He was a little spooky when a loose dog barked at us from a distance. but this time I was ready and we had no spinning.  I was actually glad to see he had the energy to move so quickly.  We went over some long low inclines which was hard work for him, but he did it.

Geronimo is easy to groom and he picks up his feet to have them cleaned.  He's barefoot right now.  His coat is flaky and shedding, but regular grooming will help.

All in all I think I will gain confidence riding on my own 3 days a week.  G will gain muscle and become more responsive with regular riding.  I'm guessing I'll be ready to "move up" to a better horse in several months.  I just hope at that point I'm not too attached to G.  I also hope if he's in better shape, they will find someone else to lease him when I move on.

My new horse schedule is ride Geronimo Wednesday and Friday after work, Saturday a lesson at another ranch on Danny, and then Sunday back to Geronimo.  G is at a ranch only 8-10 minutes from home.  Danny's ranch is 20 minutes away.

What my dog ate and how much I care

Menchi ate the old hardcover version of Star Surgeon by Alan Nourse.  It was originally from an Orange County library.  Either Gary as a child never returned it or he bought it from them at a book sale.

How much do I care from 1-10, 10 being care deeply:

2

Menchi only ate the cover of the hardcover version of Moon Mutiny by Lester Del Rey.  This came from Villa Park High School.  Again whether it was never returned or bought from the school, I don't know.

How much do I care:

2

He also took my paperback copy of Eating an Artichoke: A Mother's Perspective on Asperger Syndrome by Echo Spring.  He didn't damage it at all.

How much would I have cared if he ate it:

7

We have learned over the years that old hardcovers are his favorite.  All early editions are on a top shelf in the closet where he can't get them.  We are a house of books though and he is bound to eat them from time to time.