I’ve been at a new barn for a year. 20 horses, very nice, and very quiet. I had to move my 27-year-old Paint gelding because he was not receiving proper care after 19 years at the old location. The BO there started his downhill slide when she locked the farm up for April 2020. His mildly ailing knee hardened up and he lost a lot of flexion He wasn’t getting enough hay. The new BO took him under her wing. He gained back a few hundred pounds and his personality redeveloped. He doesn’t look 27 (I’m told I don’t look 73) and he doesn’t act it either. I retired him from riding in July. He is too special to push to serviceably sound. He has boundless energy and should get to 30. We have taken up long lining which we both enjoy. I’m better at it than I thought I would be. It appears that no one there thinks I can ride, let alone know anything about horses. The only drawback is that when you aren’t riding you aren’t developing social connections. A good number of them aren’t worth the effort.
The first thing I noticed is that none of them, as in no one, knows how to post the trot. They aren’t soft and following the motion. They steer with the reins, not their bodies. They aren’t taking advantage of all that power in the back end. They are pushing themselves up and down with their legs. At the top they stiffen up, poke their belly out and sit down. Not a lick of softness anywhere. I think most of them don’t know about the elbow. You know, that joint between the wrist and shoulder that can bend. The mediocre instructor is okay compared to the totally incapable one. I heard the latter a couple of days ago telling the rider, who was trotting, to set up a little resistance. Then she had her pull the head around with the left rein low, going out and back toward her hip. I think it was supposed to be bend. She gets paid for that.
One of the younger women bought a nice gray gelding last spring. Very nice mover. She complained when she first had him that she was exhausted from posting his trot. I couldn’t imagine why. She’s in her 20s, tall, thin and athletic. The horse doesn’t have a gigantic trot. It must be the part where you push yourself up and down with your legs, stiffen up and push your belly out.
Her next project was teaching him how to pick up the right (vs. left) lead. Took two weeks. It was obvious within a couple of seconds that she was blocking him. There isn’t a transition. She keeps posting and sits down when she asks for the canter. Her horse is very consistent. He can’t get his back end under so he gives her the left "wrong " lead. That’s all he could do. He was very consistent. I haven’t watched them lately.
I miss riding my old buddy. We have a lameness vet. We had a shot at getting back to light riding but it wasn’t to be. I may be a mediocre rider, but can watch my last lesson with Susan Harris in 11/19 on video. She made some small changes to my saddle. Then we focused on my seat bones which helped my balance and posture. My posting is soft and he used his trot instead the relaxed lope. I followed his motion and used his energy to push me up. I managed to stand in the stirrups at the trot far longer than I imagined. I miss Susan so much (she passed away in March 2021). She set us up for 5 more months of fun with plenty of trotting.
