17 Hands of Wonderful

I just lucked into the best situation!

Our barn neighbor, L, recently acquired the loveliest Oldenburg gelding. He's a bit of a senior (late teens), but he is trained to a T, and a lot of fun to ride.

L had been looking for a horse for a while; her old man is more than 30 years old. She recently found Austin, a jumper who needed a much easier job. L isn't interested in jumping big things so it was a perfect fit.

Austin is BIG, like 17 hands big, but he's so well trained that he doesn't use his powers for evil. And even though he is a bit of senior citizen, he still has a ton of spunk and personality. He's cranky in the cross ties - grooming, no thanks. That girth, it's too tight. He's also opinionated in the arena - There's a shadow over there, and since I feel good today, I will do a little buck.  

Austin

L has been really busy right now and doesn't see an end to her crazy schedule anytime soon. She co-owns a very popular restaurant which means the holiday season is a busy time for her. We were chatting about it the other day, and I volunteered to help her out with the horses if she needed it. Since I am only riding one right now, I have some free time.

Before I knew it, we had hatched out a plan where I was to ride Austin for the next few weeks when I had free time. He doesn't need any schooling, he just needs to move to keep his joints lubricated and his soft tissue pliable and elastic. Those older guys get stiff pretty quickly, especially in the cold.

His two hind socks give him some very attractive chrome.

L ran me through his grooming and saddling preferences while I watched her tack him up. He hadn't been ridden in a week or so, but L assured me no lunging was necessary. I pulled the mounting block over and peered up at Mt. Everest. There would be no way I could mount this guy from the ground!

The first time I rode him, I felt so bad that I couldn't give him a good ride. I used a ton of leg, but I just couldn't get him to soften or move out. And when we tried to get a canter, he lurched into the gait with me pony club kicking him the whole way. L wasn't deterred by my poor riding. She told me to ride him as often as I had time for.

I am even using L's saddle which is WEIRD!

The next day, I saddled him and walked him back over to my arena. We did the same warm up as the day before, but for this ride, he was much perkier and almost immediately started offering a trot. I realized that the day before he had just been really stiff; it wasn't my riding that was problem.

I insisted that he walk however; there was no way he was going to tweak something on my watch! I wanted him to be thoroughly warmed up before we did too much trotting.
 
Once we did trot, I realized I was on a totally different horse. I didn't have to use any leg; he was already nicely forward. As we neared the shadowy corner, he sucked back and got a little light up in front. For a moment, I felt that sickening feeling in my stomach that I was about to be a passenger on a very large runaway freight train.

I did the only thing I knew, I rode him forward and protected the left side (he wanted to shoot left). All of a sudden, he shook his neck a little as if to say, yeah, I still got it, baby! and then he totted forward. Each time we came around to that spot, he tried to get a little uppity and bossy, but I kept my leg on and rode him forward. We circled through that spot a few times until he got bored with the show.

After the first oh crap! moment, I just laughed at his silliness. Riding this horse, even if only a few times, has already done a lot to boost my confidence. Every big horse is not set on my death or destruction. Riding him is certainly different from riding Speedy, who is fairly close to the ground. And even Sydney's 16 hand height doesn't compare to this dude's stature. Izzy is a solid 16' 3 (I used a measuring stick on him), so building some confidence on this sky scraper is just what I need!

This is his cookie face. :0)