Upshot of Yesterday's 'Accident' with Aitch

Aitch and me in happier days
Photograph by Janet Rosenfield

I've included this picture to remind myself that I am perfectly capable of riding a somewhat 'high spirited' Arab and do it with confidence. After yesterday, I must admit to feeling a little spooked by Aitch. When I visited the stable today, I went to the pasture to make up with him. He took one look at me, moved away, and continued eating his breakfast like I wasn't even there. Maybe he doesn't like me anymore.

Explaining what happened yesterday to my instructor, Kelly, was hard because everything transpired so fast. She started asking all manner of question: "Were you looking at his eyes?", "Were you looking at the poles?", "Was his head tilted to the inside of the arena?" I would have loved to answer these questions, but I really don't have a clue. These inquiries led me to believe that Kelly thinks this is 'rider error' not 'horse error.' She may well be correct.

All of this noted, Kelly said that I'd be switching horses. Now I will be riding a new lesson horse named Starz. He is a great looking horse and has tons of show training. She said she was going to switch me to Starz anyway even before yesterday's incident. I will give Starz a try and see how this works out. Sure hope if I do ride Starz that the tack I purchased is going to work on him. Don't want to buy new tack just to ride a new horse. I know the saddle will work, but not sure about the girth. Will have to ask Kelly about this on Wednesday.

Onward.