Kind of a dumb day

My mom fell off me today. That's never really happened before. Well, it did one time but that's because I fell down. Today it was because I was being Bad. I guess you could say I bucked her off.

But it wasn't my fault! It was a dumb day all around.

My mom started grooming me and putting my duds on when she got to the barn so I knew we were going to ride. When she started putting my saddle on, I put my ears back and got kind of bitey. That's because I noticed recently that my saddle feels different on my back. It's a little pinchy. I noticed it a couple of rides ago and I know my mom noticed it last time we rode because she always checks the fit when she puts it on. Last time, she spent more time than usual running her hand underneath it and checking it and I heard her tell Sparky's mom that it felt like it might be getting a little tight. Well, it was but it still wasn't too bad.

But today it was just awful! I don't know how I can grow so much in two days but somehow I do it. My mom noticed it right off too. She was concerned when she put it on and then as soon as she mounted, she felt underneath the part over my withers and told Sparky's mom, "This is really tight!" She rode me around a little bit and it was tight and then she asked me to trot and I immediately bucked. I don't like having a saddle that doesn't fit and I'll do my best to let my mom know that it hurts. Sparky was sort of shocked. He told me that he tries to tell his mom more gently than that and won't act up or buck unless she keep riding him over and over with a hurty saddle. Well, I couldn't stand to ride more than once like that!

As soon as I bucked like that, my mom knew that it was bothering me. She made me walk nicely just so I knew that I'm not allowed to misbehave no matter what but then she got off and brought me back to the barn. I was glad. I figured we'd be all done and my dinner hay would come and there'd be no more of this stupid hurting saddle business. Spark had left by this time - his mom took him for a Poop Loop so I didn't even have anyone to be with.

But instead of putting me away, my mom just popped my halter on over my bridle and put my other saddle on me! Well, I was mad! I'd already been ridden and it had been dumb and I'd had enough of it. Plus I was afraid this saddle would hurt too and I was afraid. I've had problems with saddle fit in the past you know, and back then my mom didn't know me well enough to know what I was telling her so I had to put up with it for kind of a long time. So I'm kind of leery about saddles in general.

By the time she got it on me, I was pretty fussy. I even picked up a hind leg and threatened her with it when she asked me to move over so she could tighten the girth! I haven't done that in a long time. She wasn't having any of that though. She immediately yelled at me and slapped me on my butt and made me get over pronto! I did but I was still mad.

She led me out to the Mounting Block and got on and we started riding. The saddle did feel better but I was still in such a bad mood that I hardly noticed. I kept stopping and being fussy and she ended up giving me a crack with her stick thing and that made me even madder. So when she asked me to trot, I kind of pitched a fit.

I stopped, and laid my ears back, and I bounced in place, and I tried to buck, and then I reared. She got really mad then. When I buck, she just makes the Bad Girl noise and keeps on asking but rearing is Really, Really Bad. As soon as I did that (and it was just a little rear), she yelled out, "HEY! NONE OF THAT!" and cracked me a good one. Then she turned me around in small circles and pushed me forward again right into a trot.

Well, I was mad too so my trot was pretty bouncy and unbalanced. I was trotting really fast, with my head up and my back all hollow and I was more jigging than trotting. My mom could barely post to it but there was no way she could sit to it and it was pretty awful but I didn't care. Even so, she made me keep it up around that stupid arena and every time I tried to stop, she'd push me forward and make me keep going.

The whole way, I was trying to get my head down and buck, or bounce sideways, or bolt, but she kept putting her legs on and I couldn't. Finally, I was coming around a circle and I managed to yank hard on the reins and throw a huge buck! I threw up my legs and twisted my body, and as soon as I hit the ground, I did it again! This time, I not only twisted but I twirled too and that was when my mom lost her seat and started going off to the side. She almost stayed on but I jumped sideways again and she just let go and fell to the ground. For a minute, she kept hold of my reins but she'd fallen quite a way away from me and the pressure on my head scared me so I pulled back and she let go. I kicked out with my kicking foot once or twice and then I stood still and just looked at her.

She got up quick and she was mad, though I could tell she was surprised and pleased that I hadn't run off. She picked up my reins and snapped, "What the hell was that?" as she led me toward the Mounting Block. To be honest, I was a little ashamed. I hadn't expected her to fall off. She never falls off, no matter how silly I get. I was just mad and fussy and didn't feel like being Good. But when I saw her on the ground, it made me feel kind of strange. I guess I think of my mom as sort of indestructible.

She lined me up at the block and swung right back on and marched me out to the arena again. Spark and his mom had returned just as she'd gotten up off the ground and Sparky's mom sat on him in the middle of the arena as my mom pushed me right back into a trot. I fussed for just a minute and she immediately whacked me hard with her stick so I broke right into a nice trot. I figured it was maybe time to behave.

She rode me in a circle a few times and then a figure 8 and I was really good. I trotted nicely this time and I could feel she was much happier with the way I was moving. I tried to slow down once as we swung around a corner and she just put her legs on and kicked me hard with her outside foot and I kept on trotting. I knew she meant business. After a few circuits, she asked me to walk and I was glad, figuring she was happy now and we were done but she just walked me for about half a circuit and then asked me to go right back into a stupid trot! I fussed again and started going sideways like I do when I don't want to do something and she just whacked me hard again so I did it. I trotted nice again but she rode me around until I was sweating pretty good. I know she was tired and had the wind knocked out of her but she sure can be pushy!

Finally, she told me to walk again and she let me go up to Spark and stop. She reached down then and pet my neck and told me that I'd been Good so I knew she wasn't mad at me anymore. Then we went on a Poop Loop with Spark and his mom. That was fun, but she did get a little mad at me again because I got sort of foolish going up the hill by Indian's stall. I was still kind of excited about the whole day, plus the hay truck had gone by. Then Spark got kind of ahead of me because of my fussing and I tried to buck and my mom whacked me again and made me go in little circles. So it was kind of dumb.

But then we caught up with Spark and I settled down and we rode down the hill by the manure pile. Spark had already pooped on his first loop so he didn't bother taking his detour. Our moms got off us near Beau's paddock and walked us the rest of the way which I was glad of because I was pretty hot and tired. I'd had a hard workout.

Our hay was waiting when we got to our barn and my mom hosed me off and let me eat while she cleaned and she laughed and talked to me and stuff so I know she wasn't going to stay mad. I wasn't mad anymore either. I know she didn't mean to ride me with a hurty saddle and as soon as she knew for sure it was bothering me, she took it off. I really had nothing to be so fussy about so I feel kind of bad about my behavior.

My mom says the saddle fitter is going to come look at my dressage saddle in a couple of weeks and until then we'll use the old one that fits. I hope he can make it all better because I really do like that saddle and I know my mom does too. The old one is all right but it's not as comfortable as the dressage saddle is when it's fitting right. My mom says that she's going to sell me and buy a horse that her saddle fits instead of having to keep buying saddles that fit her horse, but I know she's just kidding. She'd never sell me because she loves me too much. But I need to stop bucking her off because maybe she will get sick of me if I don't.

I don't have any pictures from today so I'll post one of my nose.