Sore Shoulder

Several years ago I blew my right shoulder working on an old Datsun 280Z.  Friday our new horse re-injured it for me, but not near as bad as in the past.  So my plans of sighting in the 2 rifles with new sights will have to wait.  No way I'm going to be thumping that sore shoulder until it heals.

Once again I've been trying to ride a horse with little or no trail experience, and as yet doesn't truly trust me.  She's an absolute joy to ride when in familiar surroundings, and even when a bit nervous.  I've never been on a horse that's more smooth and sensitive to reins.

The first time we went up the road she got scared by a lawn mower, and walked fast back to the barn.

Friday we got up the road, quiet road, and into the field quite comfortably.  Everything was wonderful as we made our way in the grassy area between the corn, until she stopped dead in her tracks.  She just stood there staring into the corn.  I got her going but she stopped again, staring into the rows of corn.  At that point she was determined to head back to the barn. 

She fast walked the way we came, I turned her around but there was no way she was going up the trail again.  So we did a series a J manuvers getting closer to the road all the time.  I was trying to get her to go on up the trail, and she was insisting on leaving the area. When we were close to the road she acted like she was going to buck, so I got off and started walking her back down the road toward the barn.  She was still nervous when I saw a delivery van coming.  I got her off the road by the time the van got there, thankfully, because she fast walked in circles around me with fright.  Then I saw a dump truck coming, and got her about 30 feet off the road.  When that truck went by, the poor mare was in panic.  She reared up on her hind legs and jerked very hard on my arm holding the reins, hence I now have an extremely sore shoulder.  The same shoulder I blew years ago.

The mare is a bit nervous by nature and doesn't really trust me as yet.  She also needs to learn some ground manners.  It's supposed to be near 90 degrees all week, so I think I'll forget about riding and work on trust and ground manners a few days after work.  I then need to get her to be less sensitive to strange and unusual encounters.

Maybe next weekend I can get the rifles sighted.
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When the Boss rides, her back is pain free.  Another horse owner we know says the same is true for her. For me riding has been a series of small adventures, dispersed among tranquility.  There's something special about being around horses. 

I now have 2 effective stress relievers.  Shooting and horses.  The rest of the world disappears when I'm involved with either.