Moving On

Well, it certainly has been quite a while since I blogged about any of my own riding adventures. Things have definitely changed quite a bit for me. I was riding a Thoroughbred gelding named Fortune who does the 3'6" jumpers up in Wellington; but, unfortunately, I felt that I needed to move barns (don't you just hate barn drama?!), so I'm no longer riding Forty. Luckily, I am a resourceful girl with a lot of horsey connections, so I wasn't without a pony to ride for too long.

Since last weekend, I have been riding Certs, a lovely little Appaloosa gelding. He and I have a very special bond -- a few years ago, Certs came down with a serious case of enteritis. He was a very sick boy and required 24-hour care; he was on IV fluids, had a gastro-nasal tube that was literally stitched into his muzzle (I called it his "snorkel"), and had to have his front feet in buckets of ice water 24/7 to prevent laminitis because of a very high fever. I pretty much got a crash course in nursing care (learning to change IV bags, etc.) and stayed with Certs every night to oversee his care. Let me tell you, it was nerve-wracking; I had to keep an eagle eye on the line of IV bags, make Certs kept his feet in the buckets of ice water, give him medicine, make sure he didn't lie down, etc. The poor guy was so uncomfortable and constantly snorking up the most disgusting-smelling stomach juices. But the good news is that he pulled through it and is none the worse for the wear. Certs' owner Jeanette still calls me Night Nurse Meghann. :-)

You might not believe that Certs is an Appaloosa, as there

is nary a spot on his sorrel hide -- but I assure you, he is

a full-blooded, registered solid App



Doesn't he look laid-back and innocent? Well, I was certainly under that impression; so imagine my surprise when, yesterday, I walked Certs up to the mounting block and he threw a tiny tantrum. He kept wanting to walk forward, but when he felt some pressure on the bit, he did a half-rear/pull-back/run-backwards move (which, of course, ripped the reins out of my hands), and then high-tailed it back to the barn! Hhhhmmmph. How embarrassing! Well, that earned him one all-expenses-paid trip to the round pen. 

Luckily, a few minutes of round pen work and a five-minute session on standing still while being mounted were all Certs needed to remember that he does, indeed, have manners. He is such a trickster! Jeanette warned me that he can be quite the devious little devil at times. Actually, I kinda like that, as it will keep me on my toes. Thankfully, today Certs was much better and it only took a few gentle reminders to get him standing as still as a statue while I mounted.

It has been quite a while since Certs was ridden, but luckily he is a pretty straight-forward ride. His trot is bone-jarringly springy (like, if you try sitting to it, you can feel your brain sloshing around in your skull), but his canter is awesome! It's smooth, balanced, and sooooo comfy -- like Jeanette said, it just kinda sucks your butt into the saddle! I'm pretty excited because, once I get Certs into shape, I can start jumping him.

OK, so this picture is pretty crappy, but it's the best I've got. I look huge on Certs (he's only around 15.1 or 15.2), but thankfully he doesn't feel tiny.

Hopefully, I'll have some better pics soon. :-)