This morning Walker had his shoes pulled by the farrier. I wasn't expecting him to be at the barn until next week, and although it's usually a good surprise to have the farrier arrive early/on time, I wasn't entirely ready for Walker to lose his shoes. Most of the horses don't need shoes in the Winter where I am because of the snow and because we're mostly in the indoor arena where the footing is really soft. My barn owner insists that it's also good for their feet to get a breather and get to act like hooves for awhile. Since Walker was due mid-November, I decided it was the perfect time to get it done.
However, as expected, he was really tender today. So much so that he could barely get to the cross ties without looking lame. I felt really bad, and I didn't want to ride him under those conditions. I wouldn't be surprised if he has never had his shoes pulled before, so I decided to ride another horse at the barn for my lesson instead.
The horse I chose was named Lucky, and I have to admit that I was pretty lost without Walker. I haven't ridden another horse in 7 months since I got him. I was entirely on edge, even though this horse is a lesson horse sometimes used for beginners and is Western Pleasure slow. When we got out to the arena, my instructor suggested that I take my spurs off because she was sometimes "forward" in the evenings on a cold night, and one of the little kids in the lesson before said that when she rode her last week, she was going in circles a lot. When her head flew up and she was breathing fire, I became instantly on alert. It was kind of funny actually. When we were cantering later (yes, that's right, I actually got to canter in a lesson for a change!), she would pick up the speed on the way to the gate and I would lose the canter. My instructor was laughing because she said that she could see me tense up and pull her down unconsciously. I was expecting her to bolt like Walker always did, and I was also expecting her not to turn as easily - so much so, that we almost ran into the fence because I wasn't giving her enough direction to turn. I was just automatically assuming that she, like Walker, was going to fight me on the turns and I was preparing for the temper tantrum.
Lucky was actually a really nice horse, and once I calmed myself down, I was able to get her into a nice little Quarter Horse frame and moving pretty well. It was a lot more work without spurs though - is that what you people go through? It was actually a pretty good experience because it taught me that I'm not actually that bad of a rider. I asked my instructor if my hands were unquiet like she always says they are and she said no. As suspected, my hands and arms flail so much with Walker because he makes it so difficult to do simple things like turning that I get frantic. With a horse like Lucky who, surprise surprise, actually turns when you ask her to (such a novel idea), I didn't need to be frantic.
All that being said, I'd take my boy any day! Even though I gave Lucky some treats for being a good replacement, I had to give Walker some too (I'm such a pushover). My barn owner is going to give him some bute tomorrow to see if it helps him with the soreness, but she says I can ride him anyway. I will have to play it by ear. If I get out to the barn and he's still limping around, then I will just give him lots of love and call it a day, but I will for sure ride him Friday. I was actually sick today so I'm sure I could use the break tomorrow.
Also, my trainer hopped on him the other day, and even though they got into a mini-argument at first, she eventually got him cantering just fine on both leads. She says my legs are just not strong enough, but I imagine that it's a combination of that and something subtle that I'm doing - and the fact that Walker knows how to push my buttons, of course!
Even though Walker is so much trouble and really makes me work for everything, he is always worth it. ♥
The joys of horses. It is always nice to get on different horses so that you can get different rides! It makes you stronger :)
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