the wild mare gets ridden

I rode the wild mare for the first time today. Finally. She was awesome, its a shame Ive had to put it off so long.

For months now, every time i have set aside a date to get Fern the wild mare started, something come up, i had other people horses to work, i was going away, it was impossible due to weather. Well today enough was enough. I rode this morning in the pouring rain by the time i had ridden the wild stallion, the first horse of the day, i was soaked through 3 layers of clothing to the absolute bone, there were rivers ruining down the driveway, and lakes forming in the paddock. Clearly their was to be no more riding outside today.

Standing in the stables, leaning across the back of the wild grey mare, watching torrents of water rain down from the sky, and pour off the side of the barn, i pondered what to do so the day was not a complete waste. As the way i see it every day spent inside waiting for weather to clear, loses me time and money, it also frustrates me to no end, not to be achieving anything, so much so that i grump around the house like a stung bear.

Then it hit me, the answer was literally right under my nose. The Grey horse. She needed work, i was realistically never going to have time to take her off the property and get her started in a friend round pen, so why not start here,now in the stable. As soon as i thought i knew i would do, and that it would work. All the ground work was there, she;d had a saddle on, knew how to bend and turn and all those things, i had just never sat on her.

I started by untying her from her position in the corner with the hay net. Taking her to the middle of the barn, i did a few bits of ground work and rubbing her all over to get her attention. Then jumping up and down beside her til she was happy with that, not just standing rigid but actually relaxed with me jumping like a lunatic. Next i hooked an arm over neck and sprung as high as i could, laying my torso across her wither so she was supporting all my weight. Well Fern saw me leap, felt my weight on her back, tensed her body up like a plank, and then did....nothing, she stood there, tilted her head towards me and rolled an eye to see what i was up to, and sighed out a deep breath, as if to say she would accept my mad antics if not understand them.

Well in not time i swung my leg all the way over her back, and was riding in small circles around the barn. That wild mare never worried, she just accepted what i was doing calmly and quietly. We could turn both ways, stop and walk on within five minutes, and that was that, the wild mare has been ridden. bare back and in a barn aisle, but ridden none the less.