SUBSCRIBE TODAY Smiley face  Get updates via email! 




We Are Flying Solo

December 2, 2011

A Dark, Cold, Ecstatic Night

Encore is bored with my circles and I need to come up with new ingeniuos exercises for his quick little mind.  So he got last night off and I saddled up Solo.  Last time I rode Mr. Shiny, he felt like crap on toast and his canter was gone, but when I longed him last Wednesday, he had some spring to his trot, even though he still fell out of canter at times.  But he still needs to move and I looked forward to riding a trained horse with buttons fully installed.

He strode out and stretched down at the walk and trot well and I picked up the reins to work on some bending.  Imagine my surprise when he immediately lifted and carried himself on the bit at the walk (he HATES walk work) and then pushed off in a lovely trot transition.  With a cautious smile, I did a bit of lateral work and he was strong and forward (Solo code for I feel good).  As I bent him around the corner, he started cantering vertically, trying to pull the reins from my hands and find his hand gallop.

I was stunned -- this meant he felt REALLY good which pretty much...makes my heart sing.  With a giggle, I brought him back to trot (insert annoyed orange ears and gnashing of teeth here) and made him find his rhythm again.

Me:  Ok, buddy, NOW it's your turn.  I asked him for canter with a soft outside leg.

Solo:  WAHHOOOOOOO!!!  He lept into the air with a flip of his head, then twisted into an exuberant buck and launched forward.  Thank goodness he didn't do his trademark QH spin or I'd have been eating footing for dinner.

I couldn't stop myself from laughing out loud.  It was like coming home.

After a couple laps of insisting that he NOT gallop all-out at this point in time, he came back to a rather round, rhythmic canter.  We did a couple more transitions, er, caprioles, Solo celebrating the joy of motion and energy and fire, and I grinning ear-to-ear at my partner's rediscovered power, lost since springtime.  I dared not let him hop over a tiny fence as I was certain it would become a 6-foot leap followed by potentially unrideable acrobatics of glee.  But he finished with a big, powerful, sweeping trot, stretched and rounded nose to tail, lofting with huge strides over the ground.

I don't know that he is magically fixed.  All I have had to give him is time, so that is all that he has gotten.  Maybe it was just a good day and maybe it won't last.  Everything is measured one day at a time and it is impossible to predict or guarantee anything.  Nonetheless, I can't stop the little chirp of hope from singing quietly in my chest.  What if, what if, what if, its soft melody teases.     

We'll see, we'll see, we'll see...

Photo by Pics of You

19 comments:

  1. Yah! So glad Solo is feeling better. I am sure that boulder on your shoulders lifted just a little with this development. Enjoy the moment!

    ReplyDelete
  2. OH, this made me tear up! YAYYYYYYYYYYYYY Solo!! We all have that little bird chirping now...

    ReplyDelete
  3. That is SOOOOO good to hear, erm, read!!!!! Yay Solo!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. YAY for Solo! Thats great news.

    ReplyDelete
  5. There are good days that make your heart sing and remember how good it was, and then there are the days when their bodies just can't keep up with what their spirits remember. You live for those days when they know they can jump the moon, if you would but ask.

    Here's hoping for many more of those good days - or dark, cold nights, if that's what works!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Those glimmers of hope keep us going! I hope it's a sign of things to come for Mr. Solo!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thank you, thank you! It's not like I'm going to run out and compete him again, he owes me NOTHING. But I would love to be able to let him run and jump again someday, even though I'll never point him at anything big. I just want him to be comfortable and happy and I know him well enough to know that he is happiest when he has a job and gets to go to fun places.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Got me grinning from ear to ear over here.

    ReplyDelete
  9. WAAAAAAAAHHHOOOOOOO!!! :-D Awesome news! Now, can ya send some of that Healing Power down south?

    ReplyDelete
  10. I cried tears of joy for you reading this post!
    I Hope, I Hope, I Hope............

    ReplyDelete
  11. Wonderful news! I sincerely hope it lasts!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Sure sign that he LOVES his job! Made me miss our Henny for a moment once again. So very happy you had that ride and hope for many more!

    ReplyDelete
  13. This is such great news! So happy for you and Solo!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Thank you, thank you, all! Frizz, I will try to will you all the healing powers I can!

    He was definitely sore the next night from his acrobatics, haha, I gave him some massage on the knots and he couldn't stop yawning. There is no pressure for him to do anything, so I will just keep on keepin' on, staying slow and letting him go at his pace.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Glad he's feeling a little better! Here's to hoping, for continued improvement!

    ReplyDelete
  16. That's awesome news, I'm so happy for you!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Oh, Solo!!! YAY!!! Count me among those who teared up a little :)

    ReplyDelete