It isn't very often that it is warm enough to ride horses comfortably during the month of December in Kansas. This week has been uncommonly warm at 60 degrees so we decided to take advantage of the warm weather and get the horses out.
Steve and I enjoy riding but at 59 and 60, getting on the horses is somewhat of a challenge. First of all trying to get your foot up that high to get it in the stirrup is a big deal and then making that one leg push up in order to get the rest of the body up there and on to the saddle. I have used a bench to stand on and I get my horse positioned just right, I get on the bench and the horse moves about two steps away so that I can't quite reach to slide onto the saddle. I think if I would have had a video of the experience it would be a big hit on youtube... We rode the horses yesterday and today was much better getting on and off, just one day and the body has adjusted to new challenges.
We decided to ride in our neighbor's pasture today instead of out on the road and into town. We rode down a big gully and then up to another field. I have a little easier time of getting of and on my horse again so at the gate I get off my horse, open the gate and lead Silver through and then Steve and Jethro come through. I just left the reigns over Silver's neck and walked back to close the gate. Silver must have been so excited to be out in a big pasture that he left without me! I kept calling to him, "Silver, I am not on your back, you forgot me, come baaack." He didn't seem the least bit interested in coming back to see what all the fuss was about. He kept going at a fast walk to see what he could see. Finally about the middle of the 40 acre pasture, he must have decided that something was not quite right. He just stood there waiting for me to walk all the way over there to get back on. Steve and Jethro had walked over there and were waiting as well. The rest of our ride was uneventful but on the way back, I kept hold of the reigns while opening the pasture gate. I didn't want to walk half way across the pasture AGAIN to get him.
Steve and I enjoy riding but at 59 and 60, getting on the horses is somewhat of a challenge. First of all trying to get your foot up that high to get it in the stirrup is a big deal and then making that one leg push up in order to get the rest of the body up there and on to the saddle. I have used a bench to stand on and I get my horse positioned just right, I get on the bench and the horse moves about two steps away so that I can't quite reach to slide onto the saddle. I think if I would have had a video of the experience it would be a big hit on youtube... We rode the horses yesterday and today was much better getting on and off, just one day and the body has adjusted to new challenges.
We decided to ride in our neighbor's pasture today instead of out on the road and into town. We rode down a big gully and then up to another field. I have a little easier time of getting of and on my horse again so at the gate I get off my horse, open the gate and lead Silver through and then Steve and Jethro come through. I just left the reigns over Silver's neck and walked back to close the gate. Silver must have been so excited to be out in a big pasture that he left without me! I kept calling to him, "Silver, I am not on your back, you forgot me, come baaack." He didn't seem the least bit interested in coming back to see what all the fuss was about. He kept going at a fast walk to see what he could see. Finally about the middle of the 40 acre pasture, he must have decided that something was not quite right. He just stood there waiting for me to walk all the way over there to get back on. Steve and Jethro had walked over there and were waiting as well. The rest of our ride was uneventful but on the way back, I kept hold of the reigns while opening the pasture gate. I didn't want to walk half way across the pasture AGAIN to get him.
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