October 18, 2006: Losing my Surfboard

Tequila Sunrise, or Quila as I more often call her, has been an ever changing challenge and exercise in patience... Solve one problem, and a new one crops up to take its place. Having “refreshed her memory” on the meaning of half-halts, and gotten her so that’s she’s responding nicely (once again) to seat and leg (more Jürgen’s doing than mine), I returned from cheering Susan on at the USDF Regional Championships only to find that she’d decided to morph into a surboard in my absence.

I cannot blame our poor Bereiter who was left minding the farm in our absence, because she is both an extremely difficult horse to ride that doesn’t follow the usual rules (it’s taken Jürgen and me quite some time to learn how to ride her to keep her supple and responsive to the aids, and she takes a bag of tricks that are all her own), but there also seems to be a physical component--as if she’s slept wrong, or has an irritation in the atlanto-occiptal joint: her neck will be straight until you get right to the poll, and then there’s a subtle twist to the left. It’s a LOT of work to get to her to let you see that right eyeball, even when travelling on a straight line, and so she’s been holding herself, and achieving a correct bend (and subsequently getting her through), has been a major effort for the better part of the last week.

I am SO grateful that she’s at least not pulling on me and hanging on the bit. If she were, I’d be back at square one with my shoulder injury, since crooked/stiff with an inability to go to the right, while at the same time running through the bridle and leaning heavily on the forehand is how I injured the muscle in the first place. Without the heaviness in front, though, I seem to be able to cope.

I’ve spent my last 3 rides flexing her first to one side and then the other, for 5 or 6 strides at a time, but more to the right than the left, softly and gently, until she gives and will come round. It was a bear the first day, somewhat easier the second, and finally (thank goodness), by yesterday she was starting to get much softer for me and after the initial working in period, we had one of the nicest rides we’ve ever had...

When she is neither leaning on the bridle, nor stiff in the poll, she is a joy to ride again, and I can do pretty much whatever I want to do... We rode simple changes yesterday and nailed every one, and when we returned to the trot after canter, I had merely to apply my leg to lift her back underneath me and get a nice trot and have her carry me along. It’s far short of what I can accomplish with Facet, but it is something nonetheless.

If we can continue this progression, there may be hope for Second Level (in a limited fashion anyway--we’ll still have our difficulties with the lengthenings) and a chance to move up for next way, as long as I can steel myself for her unpredictability. If not, I can continue to learn from Facet and apply those lessons to Quila... and see where that takes us at home, at least. And I think I’ll probably breed her in the Spring. That will give me another good year and a half or more of riding her, and then she’ll be due for a vacation, if not retirement. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. (And I should be pretty solidly on her daughter Promise by then).