A Not So Good Friday

AJ had long thought Bob had more potential than the place he lived, but it didn’t seem like there was any flexibility on his location or part-school-horse-board bill. So she just tried her best to offer him some chance of development, one ride a week, gas money provided, while taking an informal break on her own progression as a rider or trainer, concentrating instead on her radio projects. She thought of herself as his occassional yoga teacher and made sure to log at least 20min of trot in her fitness app for each drive out there.

He had some new bad habits. Backing up for no reason, not standing at the mounting block etc. He had actually banged her in the face with his neck as she got on. Was it related perhaps to the fact that he had been ridden by the student worker “every day this week.?” AJ thought so, but decided to concentrate instead on some improvements, like the fact that he actually chewed on the bit when she put on his bridle! The teenager must have been getting lighter in the hand. The brunette in branded stable attire had asked AJ, privately, “so how do you like working with Bob?” AJ said, “Well he is definitely a BOB.” and admitting he’d been hurting her ankles a lot lately, “Because, I am old. And when he does his spook-turn-bolt thing, I tend to jam my feet down in the stirrups.”

After some ground work and mounting in the arena, they did a bit of work at trot and then headed out into the sandring to repeat similar warm ups and patterns. Then, AJ headed out for the small training exercise she was inventing on the spot for him that day, as she did each time she rode. They began walking down the spooky driveway. She did not trust him around the fields, but he was usually dead in the ring. Since she had already got him to relax and stretch long and low in the ring, she wanted to spice things up a little bit and go do something a little scary for a minute and then return to the ring for some more relaxation, but with some extra impulsion. It was their regular routine…

Unfortunately, after just one car length, she was being yelled at! “Turn around turn around. There’s too many machines down there, he will freak out.” The farm owner was loudly freaking out, in front of many visitors, as usual. That’s why AJ avoided riding evenings, holidays or weekends… The screecher was making it clear she felt AJ didn’t know what she was doing, and AJ didn’t appreciate being treated like a 12yr old beginner. “Can’t you see there are all those tractors doing stuff?” The so called head coach thought one should avoid scary objects, instead of school them. Jill was a sane and cautious rider, but not a fearful one.

The bossy shouter suggested AJ and BOB head out to the fields an alternate route. AJ said she’d just wanted a tiny challenge, and didn’t want to take on the risk of the actual fields…

“Aha” was her smug retort. It was the layers of rules the screecher kept adding to that prevented AJ from schooling him out there.

first it was no figures or circles, then it was no use of draw lines, then it was no going out with other horses “Bob makes them crazy,” and then it was no going out around with fields with any other riders…

AJ walked the few steps back to the barn, put him in his stall, whipped off all his tack and put it away. A minute later she returned to the stall door and said I love you Bob, but I am done here.

Luckily as she exited the building she ran into the Grand Prix rider she’d shared the arena with one tornado-day ride a few weeks back. She’d been wanting to get in touch with him! “Next we’ll be asking for autographs around here.” The farm owner was a bit pathetic in her effort at a joke as she overheard the celebrity equine biz owner agree to guest on the horse talk radio show with AJ… and exchanged contact information in the warm spring sun.




You have to CLOSE one door for the next one to open right?