It was a quiet evening at the barn. There was no bustling of activity in the barn that night.
I was riding Freckles, a small flea bitten appaloosa in my riding lesson.
Freckles could be a little nervous. She was a little head shy. A sign that someone had been over bearing and possibly abusive in the way they had treated her. She needed a calm and confident person with her.
I was learning to use my sensitivity in the situation. Guiding with calmness. It's sometimes a not- so -easy thing to do.
Thoughts can run through the mind, like a wild train. Sometimes a thought can seem to jump out and stir emotions.
I had my own experiences and dark moments in life. Negative words said in a bad relationship.
Then a medical professional that decided they couldn't be bothered to listen or help me with my issue. She tried to act like it was just in my head. It turned out to be something physical that needed attention.
I felt violated.
Yet thankfully I didn't just cave in. I eventually found the support and compassion from people that I needed then in my life.
There I was riding Freckles. I was focusing hard. A negative thought flashed by in my mind. I stiffened up. The opposite of what I was trying to do.
In the quiet arena, riding,
Carol, my instructor, said, "Let it go".
I knew that's what I had to do. I had told myself it before.
Yet having someone else say it in this certain situation gave me the space to really take it in and make the adjustment.
I no longer had my thoughts fighting each other.
I relaxed. Freckles relax. We were OK.
I was very grateful.
We finished the lesson on a good note. I untacked her and put her in her stall.
I thanked Carol.
As I left and drove home, I looked toward the night sky with stars here and there.
I softly said, "Thank you".
I volunteered for about a year at Red Sams Stables.
The owner had a 22 yr. old palomino horse named Star.
There was a younger girl that volunteered there that used to ride her.
At one point that girl's parents bought a horse for her to have as her own.
She no longer came to the farm.
I'd been helping clean stalls regularly on Saturdays. I occassionally got to ride. There was a little brown mare that the owners were rehabilitating and going to sell. I got to ride the little brown mare for a time. I walked and trotted her to get her into a healthy form.
The women owner decided to allow me to ride her horse, Star.
Star was a palomino. Her coat color was a light gold coloring with a cream colored mane and tail. She had a white strip down her face and four white socks.
Her life at this point was leisurely.
Her saddle now fit just a little snug.
The other girl rode her bare back.
I felt confident enough to ride her bare back.
She was rather comfortable to ride bare back since she was a little round.
I rode her around the farm.
I used the ramp near the barn to get on her back.
The farm consisted of a big barn on the hill. The barn had two levels. The main floor's entrance was at the top of the hill. The second level was a basement floor. The entrance to the lower level was on the west side of the barn, on the hill's slope.
There was a smaller barn in back of the main house on the property.
There were two corals.
One big main coral, and a smaller coral near the small barn.
The farm used to run trail rides.
But at the time I was there, they were no longer doing trail rides.
There was a good number of boarders, who boarded their horse there.
In good weather, I would go for a ride on Star. We had our riding routine around the farm. I would mount her and we would walk past the small barn down an easy slope. Near the big coral was a short trail. We would walk the short trail through the trees. This brought us near the big barn.
It was up hill from there. She liked to go fast to get up the hill. She'd go into a canter. This was a little new to me since I had rode mostly in a saddle. I would ask her to go a little slower into a trot. She was good about adjusting her speed. She would trot the rest of the way up the hill. Then we would walk.
She was a good teacher. And gradually I got more skilled at riding her bare back.
We had fun.
I love grooming horses, too. That quiet time being with them and brushing them.
Star enjoyed being brushed and pampered.
On really hot days I'd take her to the big barn's lower level where it was cooler. I'd spend time brushing and talking to her. Her favorite scratch spot was on her neck just below her mane.
