a ride au jus

At our barn, we have a fantastic little quarter horse mare named Au Jus aka Louise. I guess she is a Juicer horse, and not knowing bloodlines, I think this is a good thing. She has competed for the majority of her life in reining, in fact this upcoming season her her last in the show ring. Then, she is going to be a mama mare!

I got to ride Louise yesterday! Louise is a sliding stop, spinning, goes straight into a lope from a stand still kind of mare. She is quite the different ride from Shyloh starting with the fact that she has been competing for longer than Shy is old. Louise is impeccably trained.

Robin took the photos! They are amazing!

I know, I know. . .no brain bucket. I was not plan on riding, but Louise's mom rode her right to the arena door as I was headed out and demanded that I get on this mare! So I did. I can't believe how uncomfortable I was without a helmet!

For being a reiner, this horse is lazy! She has zero get up and go. Louise is trained with spurs, so my bumping got her no where. I was told to kick harder, but, being used to riding Shy (forgetting the fact that it has been over a month since I've ridden her), I was so apprehensive about bumping harder.

But I did and I got her to walk on. . . we walked for a bit, a really short bit. Then I had her stop. She doesn't stop like normal. To stop Louise, you stretch your legs out in front and lean back. And she stops, immediately. 

I love her double eared bridle.

Riding Louise had led me to two separate conclusions. 

One, Shy is way way more green that I was led to believe. But that's okay. Even though I am green, too, I am more than willing to put in the time and money (and hence more time to get more money), and inevitable bumps and bruises to put into Shy to get her where I want her to be. I don't want to show her, I just want to trail ride and drive for fun with her. Basically, I want to have fun with her, which I am.

Two, I am much more afraid to get back into riding than I thought! I am reminded of this fall by the continuing pain my my tailbone every time I sit or stand. And if I am going to be truly honest with myself, my confidence is more shattered than I thought. So, while I had the opportunity to ride this excellently trained horse, I was still scared. 

But I have begun to take steps to correct both situations, so hopefully we are on the path to riding soon! I can't wait to write about it, hopefully next week.

And. . . I hurt my tailbone again!