In which all things pile up!

Well, the last couple of days have been interesting to say the least.

I took on the challenge of the third ride, which everyone says can be "terrible"... while we didn't do anything new or exciting (except be out about 20' on the longeline), TOEH was also not terrible. He is so laid back. If someone was showing me a video of him being ridden like the video I had taken - quiet, natural headset, ears forward, responding to rein and leg pressure, and then told me he is also a 6 year old stallion with minimal groundwork who has only really been used for breeding and has 0% vision in one eye and probaby right around 50% vision in the other, I would laugh you out of the room!

While sharing with some friends on a couple of forums, I got the comment, "You cut him, didn't you?". NO suckers! He is still intact and such a sweet, relaxed soul. It is like riding my mare again (for those who don't know me, I lost the definition of bombproof to colic last year)... not a spook in him yet.

Anywhoo - I planned to ride him yesterday off of the longe (thereby meeting my first mini-goal!) ... I felt that he was quiet enough and we are now riding in a makeshift round pen (visual guide more than anything - 24$ worth of rope and recycled fenceposts!). First, I wanted to show my mother how well my draft filly was doing on the longe in the round pen and didn't I step in a hole, very hard.

I heard a crunch and landed on my face like a monkey, my filly still trekking it around me on the longe. I could not bear any weight on it at all and after trying to contact my family doctor (who was busy in the OR that day) decided to go to outpatients at the local hospital. I was in for about an hour and a half, had X-rays, etc, and was prescribed ten days OFF of the foot, crutches and icing it three times a day. What a cramper this puts in my plan!

I'm afraid that I will have to hand the TOEH torch over to my mother for a couple of rides (the most formative, so I am really disappointed), to keep him in work for me and pick up where she left off. It is likely that she will accomplish my first and second mini goals - provided I heal in a timely manner. My palms are already getting calloused because I don't take well to being bedridden.

Here are a couple of photos that my sister snapped from the third ride. Look how relaxed and quiet! Ears forward! I did get a little bit of flack about being "too big" for him, it was mostly revolved around a false perception that TOEH is actually shorter than we say he is (I said 15.1-15.2hh - he sticked at 15hh after I said that - sue me!). Anyways, that all cleared up...

Mind the following things - I am 5'11", he is 15hh, and the saddle I ride in is too small for me because I have a synthetic that fits me well and would fit TOEH well but I like the good old leather for the first couple of rides -- I admit, I don't trust the nylon yet!