After a couple of weeks of training with Phantom, today was the day that I would finally attempt to sit on his back. (Notice, I did not say ride – yet – as we needed to see how he would react to me being on his back.) I’d already been working on getting him to line up with where I would mount him using more than one location, and he was at a point where he was listening well for that. We had taken walks in several locations to see how he was with different surroundings as I wanted to know what might spook him.
Yesterday, Monday, it was decided that he was ready for the first stages of getting ready to ride him. I did a few warm-up exercises with him to make sure he was with me and not distracted by everything else going on around us, and then lined him up by the mounting stump. Today, it was just about testing him to see if he was ready to be ridden and then, if everything went well, getting on his back (no saddle).
I’m being taught the ropes of horse training by the ranch owner, so she was walking me through the process today. When I went to get on his back (after testing him by laying on his back), she stopped me and told me to basically flop on his back. Hmmm…. I don’t do flops all that well which was quickly confirmed when I landed “just so” on his back and heard a crunch sound followed by sharp pain. Yep, I either bruised or cracked my ribs. Ugh! But, I wasn’t going to let that stop our progress, but I did decide there would be no more flops for me. lol!
I was able to easily get on and off him three times. He felt really good, and he got more comfortable each time I got on his back. We ended the session as he did really well, and I believe in ending all sessions on a positive note. I was in pain, but I was able to sit on my boy for the first time which felt really good. Because we’re taking things at his pace and we’re learning together, it’s been a very rewarding (although difficult at times) training process. I’m thankful that the Lord decided to bring this type of opportunity into my life. It’s been a blessing for both Munchkin and myself.
