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Volume VII Date: 12/11/2001 Family Christmas Party It’s our house that is the site of the family Christmas. This year we held it on December 9th. I like to have the horses home when the family celebrates Thanksgiving and Christmas, so JR came home for the weekend. It was warm here in Missouri and so the kids got to ride a horse! The little kids choose JR to ride, since he’s the cutest and friendliest! I put the Parelli bareback pad on him and hoisted up the oldest child. We walked quite a ways and things were cool. The next kid got on JR and we walked far out into the yard. I was walking right along with JR occasionally rubbing my shoulder with his nose and ALL of A SUDDEN, I dropped to the ground like I’d been shot! I fell into a golpher hole. I flailed on the ground for a moment trying to get to my feet. THANK GOD, JR just stood there and looked at me. He didn’t jump or flinch. The child was safe and not scared to death. JR is now priceless! I told the two girls that they got to ride JR before me. They were 2nd and 3rd to ride JR. My turn is coming! First Experience with THE GAIT Jenny and JR have spent time just passenger riding which JR choose to do at a walk. The emergency stop or bend to a stop was instituted before JR moved. Then they added direction with reins, stopping, backing, fore and hindquarter turns. I know that Jenny has asked for the soft feel and probably have done a little sidepassing. Our philosophy is to FIRST get JR to be a versatility horse and learn the athletic moves plus flying lead changes. After this is accomplished, we were going to help JR with the gaits. Jenny’s famous words when we finished our philosophy conversation were, "I bet he will gait up a storm". JR has already done flying lead changes on the 22’rope. I am ecstatic at this news. Actually, I felt weak in the knees with no air to breathe! Well, Jenny has just now progressed to a speed faster-than-a-walk when riding JR. Her first experience was on a horse with a big head nod and a flat foot walk! The first time she asked for a faster-than-a-walk speed, she had a difficult time keeping him going faster than a walk. He did well going from the back of the arena to the front, but dropped to a walk often going anywhere else. Tonight, Jenny yelled at me because I didn’t get there sooner. She had JR going at a flat foot walk and a Fox Trot! She was almost certain it was a fox trot. She asked her husband, the lover of quarter horses, if he saw JR trot. Tony said that he never saw him trot, but he had no idea what it was. We are frustrated with non-Gaited husbands! On this night, she had a much easier time keeping JR going for a short but significant time. Jenny doesn’t think that JR will trot with a person riding him, even though he trots in the pasture. WOWEE! A hard-wired fox trotting horse and he belongs to me…plus he can do flying lead changes (on the ground). I couldn’t ask for a better Christmas Present! |
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