The Reality of the Heart

Alex and I rode Meg and Cocoa (Chiron's Foxtrot, pictured above) the day before yesterday as part of their training for the Mud Ride coming up April 25th & 26th. Anna came along on Dante. 

It was raining. Nobody cared.

Picture the action of a Saddlebred Morgan cross. If you can't, I'll tell you what you need to know: they have shoulders that are sloped way backwards, unlike other horses. This causes a few things to be different. For one, they hold their heads very high. Those shoulders are set so far back and slope in a way that pulls the neck and head up in a beautiful, muscular arch. For another, they can reach very high with their front feet. Again, the shoulders are out of the way so they can have amazing action going on in front. Key word: Drama. And also, when you ride this type of horse, you sit further back so that you aren't limiting that wonderful shoulder action. But this means that you can't just plunk up and down on the post. You aren't landing on shoulders that are supported by legs when you post--you are landing on the weakest part of the horse's back. It is necessary to be a good partner for your horse that you ride smooooothly.

I have never done this before meeting Cocoa and getting him to the point of being ridden (after a good year & a half of effort because he was PSYCHO HORSE whe he first got here). The first time I rode him at the trot I couldn't figure out why he bounced me back up into the air each time I tried to land it. Alex said, "Stay up longer. Stay up for two."

"Two what?" I asked, going th-thud th-thud th-thud all the while.

"Two--you know, two! Two of the things you do when you post?"

"What, like go up on the right going forward, touch down, then (th-thud) go up on the (thud) left going forward?"

"WhatEVER," he said, losing interest.

Teenagers, I thought. What's the use of having a bloody talented kid working at your farm if he can't tell you what makes him great? (Hi Alex).

I thudded around a bit more, then went in and did the research.

Next time, I was ready. Treeless sheepskin saddle--my favorite, favorite saddle of all time. Sit the wrong way--instead of ankles, ass, & head in a line, sit like you're on a Harley. Davidson, I mean. Feet way forward, trust your body to stay on. Square those shoulders. Notice the extra leverage across the reins to the head--wow can you ever keep that horse in a line sitting so far back. Hands up, chin up, smile.

And it was magical. Sitting so far back, I could use rear haunch power to propel the post. It wasn't up-down, up-down any more, it was glide up&forward, relax, up&foward, relax. No banging on his back. And then he cantered. Glorious! He kept his head up--he reached dramatically up so high and forward it was like he was reaching to gather the whole land and sky under him for the next bound forward. That rear was right under me, propelling him with incredible power, and yet--there I was, in the midst of all this drama and action, hardly moving at all. Sit back, I reminded myself. Head up, chin up, smile. 

Just then we moved up on Meg, who was doing an ordinary horse canter, and Alex. I turned my wrists for extra elegance, straightened my shoulders, liftd my chin a little more, then turned only my head sideways and smiled at him as we passed. "Bye-bye!" I sang.

"You...!" he said, startled, but just then we were in the zone and he--he just wasn't. He was riding an ordinary horse. We galloped handily past. But I felt like I was sitting in a rocking chair.

Truly this horse needs to be ridden side-saddle by a beautiful woman with long flowing skirts, a  a tailored cut jacket that emphasizes a shapely bosom, a completely unnecessary riding crop that just serves to show off how steady the hands are, and an elegant hat set at a rakish angle.

What's particularly wonderful about this horse is that, even on the dirt roads of Charlotte, clad with dirty barn clothes and a cheap knit hat, drenched and dripping, I am that woman. 

Reality on a horse is always the reality of the heart.