a nice kind of sore

First things first, my derp moment of the weekend. . .

This was Shy's derp moment. . .

One of my favorite buckets flew down the road and across the street in the gale winds we have been having. I decided to go retrieve it in the field. After I crossed the street and got into the snow covered field, I decided to run. My next step sunk me down past me knee and I fell over. Oops, forgot about the ditch. . . I laughed at myself, brushed off, and took another step. Turns out, that under the snow there is still icy cold, yet unfrozen water in the ditch. Usually, the Muck Boots keep out the water, but when the water goes over the top the the boot, it is a no go. Brr! I did not make it to the bucket and had to borrow a pair of socks from Jaime. Good think I have extra boots in my car.

Now, on to my saddle. This is seriously the most comfortable saddle I have ever sat on. I tried it out Friday and was very impressed. I actually rode Shyloh Sunday and didn't want to get off of her! The other saddle I had for Shy made me want to get out of it right away. I did not like the position it put me in or the feel of it. This saddle. . .heaven. And Shy seems to like it, too. 

Shy, not looking like a derp

I can tack her up, untied. She just stand patiently while I fiddle with the saddle, trying to get everything just right. It takes the longest to cinch her up as I try to get both sides even in these initial trials with the saddle. She is so patient with me as I move from one side to the other. As far as I see it, if she really hated riding (same with driving, she stands like a gem for her harnessing), then she would be dancey or something, right?

She was incredibly relaxed the whole ride. No tenseness, no holding her breath, nothing. A little bit of sass and making sure I meant that I really wanted her to go forward when I asked. But no scoots. It was amazing. Shy made me work for what I was asking her, but that is okay. When I got more firm, she knew I meant it, but was okay with that and not scared of anything bad that might happen. 

I know I get a little nervous when I squeeze or bump her, because in the past she would scoot or rocket forward. So I tend to ride her with my legs on on her that much. I worked on that and Shy didn't mind at all. In fact, when she got stuck, I really had to squeeze to get her moving (and that took a lot out of me, mentally, to know she would scoot from under me). 

Very good, even knowing she had a pile of hay to get back to!

I stayed on Shy for the longest time I had been on her in over a year! Even Shy was like, um, you have been on for too long, time to get off, when she walked me up to the mounted block and sidepassed herself square to it! This horse is smart and even though I don't use the block to dismount, she knows what it means. I did not get off then.

But later, when I did get off, Shy was super cute and seemed very happy. Jaime even said that she seemed happy when I was riding her. And that makes me happy! I am actually a little bit sore today, but it is a good sore.  I am using leg muscles I have not used in a while. And I can't wait to ride this horse again!

I got good job licks after our ride