the pond

People ask me all the time have you ridden your horse yet and when are you going to ride Shyloh and how come you are not riding? When I tell people I have a horse or when someone sees a picture of her on Facebook, those are the very first words that come out of their mouths. (it just happened yesterday and today!) The most honest answer that I can come up with is that I am not experienced enough to ride her. . .yet. However, I don't tell most people that! I give an answer that contains truth, just not the whole truth. I will say that we are working on groundwork (true), footing (true), and building confidence levels (true, for both of us). I need to work on my riding skills and Shy needs to work on her trusting skills.

I think I knew when I bought Shy that I would not be able to just hop up and ride. But to me, owning a horse is not all about riding. It's about building a relationship, trust (because I have to trust Shyloh when I am on her just like she has to trust me when I am on her or off of her), and communication, so that me and Shy can improve ourselves, and having a mutual respect for each other. When I bought Shy, I knew a little about her history from the lady I bought her from, but I did not know that she was as damaged as she was. A friend said that if she would have went with us to look at Shy, she would not have encouraged me to buy her, which I think is a nice way of saying that she would have said not to buy her at all. The moment I saw Shy, I knew I needed her and she needed me. If someone else bought her, would they have the patience and understanding with her that I do? I think probably not, but I cannot really answer that.

Trying to see the glass half full, I believe that Shy is still young and much of the damage from her earlier life can be undone or reversed. It might take years, but that is okay. I have that time available to me. In the little over a month that I have had her, I have seen her improve way beyond my expectations, so I am hopeful that we can continue our progress together.

This giant place is heaven! Why have I never been here before?

And we are progressing! Today was more proof of that. It was HOT today! So, the stalled horses did not go out, because there is not any shelter in the pastures. They will probably go out overnight if the weather cools down. The big pasture, the one with the pond, that I have been wanting to take Shy out to did not have the herd in it, so out we went. I swear, Shy just seems more confident outside. Her walk is bigger, her head is low, and she doesn't spook. As soon as we got in the pasture, I turned her loose! Shy took off! She was in heaven! She explored, grazed, trotted, and just had a good horsey time. 

Exploring through the tall grass

But the best part came when I went to get her. I wanted to walk her around the pond. A few people said that she might spook; it has frogs and other things that we can't see but make noises. Anyway, I walked toward her and she trotted off. I thought (actual thoughts) shit. . .now I am never going to catch her in this big ass pasture! But I got out my peppermint, crinkled the wrapper, and she stopped and waited for me. I hooked the lead rope up and we went to the pond. (!!!!!!!!!!!)

The pond. . .the reeds are real high so we couldn't really get too close to it

Another surprise! Shyloh did not spook at all! Frogs were jumping in the water, birds flying out of the reeds, and unknown animals making noises in the water did not bother her at all. In fact, she seemed quite at ease. There is a little slope going to the pond because the water is real low right now, but Shy was incredibly sure-footed! I am glad that my horse likes the great outdoors as much as I do!!

My pretty girl trotting