A Buck-Off Saga
- November 15, 2019
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- Jolyn Young
Posted in: Featured, Horse Training
I was playing outside with my kids the other day when I observed a little buck-off saga featuring my down-the-road neighbors. It was a warm, sunny fall day, perfect for late-season gardening, bike riding, or trail riding. I was busy adding assorted organic matter to my garden beds. My two older kids jumped on the trampoline while my toddler followed me around and ate dirt.
I glanced toward the road, where I saw two horseback riders leisurely walking toward the public land access gate located across the paved road from our property. One was riding a Paint horse, and the other was mounted on a bay horse. They were enjoying a warm Saturday morning after a string of cold days – which they probably spent cooped up in an office – by trail riding with their backyard equine companions.
I smiled to myself and silently wished them a happy ride. I also felt a tad bit jealous. In my pre-motherhood days, riding a good horse on a fall day was my absolute favorite way to spend several hours.
The riders plodded onward and I turned back to my gardening project. I watched my older kids perform aerial tricks on the trampoline that largely involved them yelling “Mom, watch this!” and then doing a somersault. After about twenty minutes, I looked up and saw a lone rider on a bay horse trotting slowly behind a saddled, riderless Paint horse. The Paint horse trotted steadily and purposefully toward the direction it had come with a rider just a few minutes before. The rider on the bay horse stalwartly maintained his following distance, neither gaining nor losing ground.
None of the three seemed bothered. I assumed the second rider was slowly walking behind the two horses and his friend. About five minutes later, I looked up and saw the already-riderless Paint horse followed by a riderless, saddled bay horse. A lone person walked behind the pair. Nobody seemed hurt, so I allowed myself an internal chuckle.
Because who hasn’t been bucked off, right? In this case, the situation was accidentally perfectly calculated to separate horse and rider.
- We’d had a string of several cold days
- It was a weekend morning, so the horse owners were probably eager to get horseback on a valuable day off
- The weather was warm, so the riders most likely neglected to warm up their horses before mounting up and taking off
So, I share this little saga as a reminder to warm up your horse before riding, especially when the weather turns cooler and horses feel friskier. Here’s a great eBook from the AQHA about longeing your horse with Joe Wolter. A little prior preparation could make the difference between a pleasant fall ride and a humble fall/walk.
Posted in: Featured, Horse Training
About Jolyn Young
Jolyn Young lives near Montello, NV with her cowboy husband and 3 small kids. For more, visit www.jolynyoung.com....