[tennesseewalkers]

I got a chance to ride tonight, don't get to ride that much anymore with school and gymnastics and dance and the fact that 90% of the time I'm at the barn I'm mucking stalls, but I've been making a point lately to try to get on at least once a week, even if it's just for like 15 minutes (which shouldn't be that hard considering I'm there for at least 4 days of the week if not 6 and I'm there for anywhere from 4-12 hours).

Anyway, I got to ride my favorite horse tonight (a stubborn, old black mare named Sue who thinks she decides when she's done but with the smoothest canter I've ever felt and the most chill personality I've ever witnessed in a horse). I've been really stressed with school and home lately, and I was so happy just to hop on her bareback.

I started inside, rode bareback, bareback backwards, rode on my knees and tried things like that, then I took her outside (she loves cantering outside but has been reluctant to canter the past few weeks).

She was cantering better and more consistently than she's ever cantered for me before. We were flying and she was smooth and I could just relax into her rhythm instead of focusing on keeping her in it. It was amazing. She was sweating like a pig afterwards but I cooled her down and chilled with her. It was almost 4 hours ago but I'm still on a high from it. Not really a point to this just wanted to talk about the feeling and no one in my family and very few of my friends are into horses.

 

[boots]

You're in the right place! Pretty sure most of use do understand those "perfect" rides.

I only got to ride for 45 minutes last night before it was completely dark and I had to get home to company. We did nothing spectacular, but plodded around the paddocks and watched deer come in to drink at the creek. It was very enjoyable.

 

[horseylover1_1]

There is nothing like it. Non-horse people don't get it of course, but nothing feels better than a good run on your favorite horse.

 

[evilgreen1]

Yesss! I finally managed to get my little QH into a collected, poppy, upright canter on Saturday and am still feeling the rush of it Totally know how you feel!

 

[ChieTheRider]

AMEN. There's nothing like cantering like that. Again, I don't know how to explain it but it just is.

and is she doing better bareback than with a saddle? If that's the case I'd check to make sure her saddle fits. It could be bothering her when she's urged to a faster gait.

 

[tennesseewalkers]

is she doing better bareback than with a saddle? If that's the case I'd check to make sure her saddle fits. It could be bothering her when she's urged to a faster gait.

I don't think it's a problem with her saddle. I always ride her bareback, but there's another girl who loves cantering her like I do who rides with a saddle and it seems like she does fine with her, probably even better because that girl has 10+ years of experience on me.

I think it was because everybody else who rides her except for me and the other girl are younger or less experienced or just don't like cantering, and since I wasn't riding her for a while and that girl got caught up with college she got used to doing slower gaits and just needed to be reminded that she's allowed to canter with a rider.

 

[ChieTheRider]

oh ok. She sounds like a great horse. Breed?

 

[tennesseewalkers]

oh ok. She sounds like a great horse. Breed?

Yep, she's an amazing horse. There's a reason she's my favorite. She has never kicked, reared, bucked, spooked, or even come close to it with me on her. And I've never seen or heard of her doing it with anyone. Granted she can be stubborn sometimes and some people can't get her to do anything but I can usually figure out a way to make her listen. She's a Tennessee Walking Horse. The barn I go to only has TWHs (when I started riding my horse friends were confused when I was a few lessons in and still had never trotted because I didn't know what a gaited horse was and thought I just wasn't good enough to trot yet).

 

[ChieTheRider]

TWHs canters are amazing if they do it right. It's really like you're not even moving. <3