In Reflection ~ But…I Want to Ride

Pride.

Ego.

Impatience.

Stubbornness.

These characteristics got me in trouble on April 13, 2006. I paid the price in pain, humiliation, embarrassment.

Upon arriving at the barn, I jumped out of the car as soon as Tony parked.

I want to ride.

From the beginning, signs of trouble were plentiful and clear. I chose to ignore them.

I’m going to ride.

I went to the pasture to get Reecie. Cheyenne was in a bug-bitten tizzy, covered with gnats and biting flies. Reecie follows Cheyenne, so she was being difficult to catch with her pasture mate in such an emotional state. Reecie wasn’t willing to come with me, but I ignored it. When I finally got her haltered, I led her to the barn for grooming and saddling.

I really want to ride.

Reecie spooked in the barn when her butt hit the saddle rack in the aisle. She was jumpy, more than usual. But I ignored it.

I really want to ride.

After I had her saddled, we went to the round pen for some groundwork where things didn’t go smoothly either. She bucked in the round pen, but I ignored that too.

Impatient, eager to ride, I cut the groundwork short and moved to the mounting block in the main arena.

As I prepared to mount, she spooked and darted away at the sight of the hay ring being rolled across the pasture by people relocating it. Again, I ignored that she was frightened.

I REALLY want to ride.

Finally, Reecie stood still at the mounting block long enough for me to place my left foot in the stirrup and swing my right leg over the saddle. I settled into the saddle and did my warm-up stretches, reaching forward over her neck and reaching back toward her tail, on either side.

We started our ride. Yay! Finally.

But…Reecie’s mind was on the pasture, returning to her friends, DINNERTIME! I ignored all of these things.

There wasn’t any way to ignore what followed.

Reecie pulled on her bridle and sped up. Heading toward the pasture.

Crap! She’s headed to the pasture, going too fast. I need to stop her, what if…?

My brain lost all focus, my legs clenched. Tightened in the saddle my body hunched over, almost in a fetal position. I tried to steer with my reins, but my hands pulled too hard when turning her back toward the barn. Reecie, now in horse self-defense mode, bucked!

She bucked across the arena. Crow-hopping back toward the barn, she launched herself into the air to get rid of the screaming “monster” on her back.

Image by Debora Delaney from Pixabay

Yes, I screamed, “Help! Help!” As if that was going to do any good….

Off I went.

Onto my face.

In the sand.

Ugghh, sand tastes terrible. At least I’m still alive and nothing is broken.

But…I feel so stupid.

It certainly wasn’t the ride I’d wanted, expected.

Tony caught Reecie, stripped off her saddle and put her back in the pasture.

In Reflection –

Things to do differently when I want to ride. Respect the mood of my horse. Help my horse to relax. Be patient. Take lessons so I learn not to pull too hard on the reins. Do more groundwork. Don’t let pride, ego, impatience, or stubbornness rule over common sense and intelligence.

There are so many ways that pride, ego, impatience, and stubbornness get us into trouble. Think of what to do differently to stay out of trouble. God gives us great warning in His word.

“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall,” Proverbs 16:18 (NIV).