15/365 Our first horse clinic

Today was what I would definitely call an adventure! We participated in our first horse training clinic. Also known as: Oprah and Shep's first test of minding their manners (and riders) in polite company.

They loaded into the trailer at 9:30 this morning beautifully. Tina held the clinic at the same ever-so-kind neighbors' indoor arena where we rode last weekend. Three other clients and their horses were there: Sally, with her dark brown gelding, Temper, who she affectionately refers to as the Black Stallion; Susie, with her quarterhorse/paint, Pepper; and Pat, who rides a pretty little pony named Ginger. The three of them have been working with Tina for at least a year, if not 5+, so they were a good test for Oprah and Shep. We didn't have to be concerned about the three of them being unpredictable or out of control (worrying about one horse at a time is plenty). Temper and Pepper were especially models of the perfectly-behaved horse.

Walking into an arena with three unknown horses put Oprah and Shep more than a little on edge. We didn't saddle them right away -- we believed the smarter route was to walk them around the arena on foot several times, letting them get acquainted with the others and the space. We weren't 20 feet in the door when Temper reached out to catch a whiff of this hot new mare, and Oprah wasn't interested in flirting. Instead he got a grazing kick to the hip that luckily missed Sally. It took me a second to register what was happening, and then Tina was yelling at me, "Don't let her do that! Get after her! Correct her!"

Everyone was fine, and Sally wasn't bothered at all, but it didn't calm my own nerves at all to make that our first experience at a clinic. Oprah settled down with no problem and behaved wonderfully the rest of the day. She trotted (unasked) in excitement a few times, but she listened when I corrected her and calmed down quickly.

About an hour into the clinic, Tina asked the others to trot their horses (we haven't officially worked on that yet). Shep had been behaving, keeping her feet to herself, but when the energy rose in the room and these strange horses started trotting around her, Shep said, "I'm out of here!" Before Mom knew it, they were walking fast... then they were trotting... and then they were hopping. Luckily that was the extent of her freak-out.

Oprah's final hurrah gave everyone a good laugh. She'd been doing a great job of ignoring the salad bar on either side of the arena (stacks and stacks of alfalfa hay). As our last challenge, Tina asked us to walk on the plastic on which the hay was stacked, because horses often have a great fear of plastic -- it rattles, it blows across the trail in front of them, it gets caught on their hooves, you name it. Shep did well, then when it was Oprah's turn, she avoided it at first but then obeyed and sidled over to walk on the edge. As I was praising her for doing so well, thinking our job was done, she seized her opportunity, reached out mid-walk, and grabbed a mouthful of hay from the closest bale. Everyone in the room had been watching, and the laughter that echoed through the entire barn ended the day on a great note. Needless to say, I'm not surprised that it was Oprah who gave in and snatched at her chance.

I took lots of pictures after we loaded them into the trailer for the trip home. Shep's favorite thing to do after we ride (or after we brush her) is pick the muddiest spot in the lot and have a good roll:


Both girls were happy to have a post-ride snack (even though Oprah had already had an appetizer).

We're all going to sleep well tonight!

All pictures: Canon Rebel DSLR. 1/500s, f/5.6, ISO 100 at 5:00 this evening.