Bareback!

My eyes look really creepy and it's fuzzy but this is my first day riding bareback.  The picture was taken by a tall man on a tall horse so Poco looks small and I look long but it's not quite this exaggerated in reality.

It just wouldn't be my blog if I didn't post about horseback riding.  So, I rode bareback for the first time last week and it was amazing!!!  I am in love.  It is completely organic riding one with the horse, no saddle as a barrier.  I feel much more connected to the horse (Poco) because I feel her spine, muscles and back right there with my legs and somehow that feels really primal or instinctive.  I had been practicing riding on a saddle outside of the stirrups and that has helped immensely in getting comfortable riding without that support.  This helped in easing the transition from riding with a saddle to riding bareback.  In fact, as soon as I got on the horse (which was actually the hardest part!!) I knew I was going to love it and feel comfortable doing it.  It can also hurt too though because there isn't a shock absorber and you really rely on stability to stay on.  One hard bounce off balance and you are landing on your tail bone or pubic bone...ouch!  Plus I found that my inner thighs are really worked in order to hold on at times.

I was mostly worried about getting ON the horse because without stirrups to hoist you over you are really reliant on other means.  I had no idea of how most people do it so I ended up looking up on YoutTube videos of girls getting on a horse bareback.  View this link to see what I found: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSfDFrv78Bo.  This girl makes it look EASY, or maybe I am just s wimp but when I watched it I thought, "Oh yeah I can do that!"  Poco is a small horse and it looks simple enough, right? Wrong!  I smacked right into the side of her 7 or 8 times before I got my leg up high enough to pull myself up the rest of the way and even then it wasn't nearly as graceful as that girl.  Poco was really patient with me and let me try over and over.  Eventually I was able to mount almost without having to totally hoist myself over the rest of the way but only after doing it time and time again.  Oh and did I mention that I had to ultimately stand about 5 or 7 feet away from Poco and get a running start to actually mount?  So I never got to the point that girl in the video did while standing right next to the horse and just hopping on.  One day though, I will!  But it is interesting because I can always sense when the one jump is the magic one that will get me on.  I feel it before I even get over and I somehow need to figure out what happens those times and replicate it.  But the experience of pulling myself on is so rewarding, like I have connected more with my primal self somehow. 

I went again today and rode bareback for a while. I took some video and tried to post it here, but it is having issues. It's not the most exciting footage anyway because I was alone and couldn't zoom or change angles.  But anyway the second time again, the hardest part wasn't riding bareback, but actually getting on Poco.  I had to try over and over again and smack into her side until I finally got that momentous leap that I knew would send me over.  I got it about 3 different times, which was encouraging

Also, I went on a beautiful trail ride on a trail in Kennecot with Jenny and Gerry (Poco's owners) this November and it was so beautiful!  The three of us ended up in this meadow covered in fresh snow and we just started loping together, side by side.  It was so impressionable for me because it was something I had never done.  The white snow everywhere, running through it together and the cold breeze in my face was exhilarating.  I have posted one picture below.

Love Poco!

These bottom two were obviously taken before it snowed but I liked them so I thought I'd post. :) Notice my pretty new (at the time) saddle!

Party in Clinton!

I recently house sat for 4 handsome creatures residing in the sunny city of Clinton.  Nikki (the Blue Heeler) seems to be the matriarch of the furry family as she routinely would attempt to put Maggie (the Shepherd mix) in her place to ensure that her round belly was fed first.  However, Nikki doesn't have one mean bone in her body and wouldn't even know how to hurt little Maggie if she wanted to.  But it was adorable to watch Nikki growl and bare her teeth at young Maggie in a ferocious attempt to look mean and ensure first dibs on the treats.  Maggie appeared completely oblivious to Nikki's protests and just bounded around her in playful jubilee.  So, as much as Nikki attempted to protest, she really is just a big, soft paper tiger at heart.  In fact I couldn't stop her from trying to crawl right up onto the sofa with me so she could kiss my face to death. Unfortunately, her elderly legs didn't quite allow it causing her to bark from the ground while Maggie bounded up on the sofa, showing off and demonstrating that she was runner up in the matriarchy.

Maggie, Nikki, and I took a walk along the path that followed the stream near the house and enjoyed the beautiful weather.  Nikki got tired sooner than Maggie but was determined to keep up. 

Nikki

 

Maggie

Fiona and Kit-Kat (also known as Angel, but it's been reported she doesn't quite live up to this name so we will refer to her by her nickname, Kit-Kat) are the kitties of the household.  They are almost identical and for the first few hours I couldn't tell which was which.  Once I deciphered that Kit-Kat is a gray tabby and Fiona is just a solid gray, I started to notice their distinct differences.  Fiona, the elder of the two, used to be a therapy cat for Intermountain Therapy Animals, where I work.  She definitely lives up to the standard of therapy animals too: very loving and social.  Plus she has the most adorable meow that makes me want to pet her eternally.  She and Maggie play this "game", which I think is much more of a game for Maggie than Fiona, where Fiona will very quietly try to pass by Maggie as she is sleeping, like a prey passing it's predator, trying not to wake her.  This just excited Maggie beyond all belief and causes her to perk up immediately and chase poor Fiona down the hall barking.  Of course Nikki (who is starting to go blind due to cataracts) would become startled and excited by this sudden game of chase and join in.  The result would be a herd of creatures barking and stampeding down the hall. 

Fiona

Kit-Kat was quite oblivious to any threat from Maggie or Nikki and traipsed around without a care in the world right in front of them, which leads me to think Fiona unintentionally initiated and established the stampede relationship she has with Maggie and I can't help but giggle at it a little.  Kit-Kat spent most of her time by the door looking out the window and meowing in eagerness to be allowed out.  She had a lot of kitten energy in her but if at anytime I filled up her food dish she would come running from where ever she was, regardless of what she was doing to satisfy her insatiable belly.  Fiona was more content in her hiding spot, only emerging when Maggie was fast asleep. 

Kit-Kat or Angel

Overall, the Clinton adventure was a success!