Next came Hunter -- in his late teens (I think?), this rangy 17 h TB sets a new bar for quirky. I don't have a picture of him right now, but just picture a tall dark bay with solid bone, no white, & a truly noble face. He ended up giving me something very valuable. First, some background...
Hunter is another of TN's personal horses. Most of her horses, Rocky being the exception, come to her because everyone else has given up on them. They have been labeled "unrideable" or are rife with physical issues. TN truly has a gift for these horses, no small part of which is her seemingly endless patience (seriously, I am in awe of this woman's capacity for calm).
I only know bits & pieces of Hunter's story: he did event, has done some dressage. He's a sensitive horse, particularly emotionally. He has definitely had some rough patches in his life. As a result, he had become volatile, which is understandable as I got to know how particular he is. So he carries baggage, which I certainly don't begrudge due to my own familiarity with the concept. You can't put the reins over his head from the front, you probably can't catch him if he doesn't know you, you can't carry a whip around him, & if another horse canters up behind him in the ring, he might tuck his butt & scoot. And as we recently learned, a brand-new, stiff saddle pad is akin to torture & he will be unable to trot & will carry his back somewhere around his navel.
Hunter is Special.
Despite this, he has a deeply kind & patient nature. He likes to be ridden a very specific way, but as long as you don't get aggressive, he will wait for you to figure your shit out. Even if you are a slow monkey like me. Thanks to TN's years of work with him, generally the worst he'll do is give a kick out if he thinks you have used too much spur or asked something unfairly, which I have no problem with. When you do finally sort it out though, he'll give you a nice, respectful contact & a delightful canter.
Some days I feel like this... |
As I mentioned, I was looking forward to the opportunity to work on my seat. It's workmanlike, I think, but I know there's a lot of room for improvement. It's something that is difficult for me, in large part because I have facet joint arthritis from about L13-S1, so things stay a little stiff, lopsided, & creaky in my lower back/pelvis region. I never could convince the PT to take up residence in my spare room, sigh.
To get to the point of a story which is in danger of rambling out of control, Hunter showed me how to really sit the canter. Of course, I have long been able to sit ON a canter, but I never felt like I really mastered that supple, following seat which just flows with the saddle inseparably. It really frustrated me for years because I just couldn't put my finger on why I was failing at this. I knew it was one of those things that you have to feel to understand, but I didn't know how to stumble into that feel.
Enter the gift that Hunter held. TN was talking me through our initial ride as I learned what he liked & what he didn't. One of TN's other strengths is a fine-scale eye for body alignment & feel. She had me put Hunter on some 10-15 m canter circles, where he found his cadence & gave me a soft, receptive back to sit on so I could focus on following his motion with my inside hip. And "suddenly," there it was -- my hips were part of his back, with no intermittent gap between ass & saddle, with the two of us completely, finally, moving as one.
I put "suddenly" in quotes, because as I'm sure many of you know, that was actually really hard work. I've had to learn what I call "Hunter Time," which means "Super Slow & Patient" because Hunter does nothing in a hurry & gives nothing away for free. Of course, me being me, I yelled out, "OMG! THIS is what sitting the canter is supposed to feel like!! This is what I've been looking for for YEARS!!!" I figure TN can at least have some free entertainment while she's on crutches.
On that day, it felt like this |
At present, I can't break it down into words & I don't have any magic analogies for you, I'm really sorry about that. I will keep thinking on it & if I come up with something, it's yours! But I can say this: when you have the opportunity, ride different horses. You never know what gifts they may give you.
To be continued...