Another One Bites the Dust

Word to the wise: When you have a horse who is prone to buck, who has been severely abused, who often FREAKS OUT for no good reason, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT lean all the way back in the saddle and SLAP her on the butt to kill a fly.

Just don't do it.

Yes, Naysa bucked me off today. It's the second time I have been "separated" from her during a ride. She has attempted to buck me off on other occasions, without success, but today she caught me off guard and off balance, (i.e. reclining on her backside with the reins at the buckle actually smacking her on the butt.)

There is no question. I am an idiot.

The first buck sent me flying forward, the second buck sent me over her head in a somersault. I landed flat on my back.

Naysa remained where she was, looking at me like, "WHAT?"

Once I regained my composure (and my breath), I put my foot in the stirrup to get back in the saddle, but the girth wasn't tight enough so the saddle slipped a bit, sending Naysa into another bucking frenzy. I tightened the girth, walked her forward a bit, then put my foot in the stirrup again. This time she let me mount without problem, and we rode off like nothing had happened.

In the meantime, Carla's horse Sandy was attempting to get Carla off her back by rearing and bucking, and Leslie's horse Barney was shaking his horse head, looking back at his mom as if to say, "What's their problem?"

Naysa's first response to new stimuli is to buck. The first time I pressed my heals into her sides (gently, mind you) to ask her to go forward, she bucked. The first time I rode her bareback, she bucked, The first time she had a bit in her mouth when I was on her back, she bucked. The first time she had a rider lean back and smack her on the butt, she bucked. And the first time she felt the saddle slip to the side, she bucked.

It's simply her response to new things. That's who she is. Something different happens, and suddenly she's no longer herself. She is no longer my Naysa. She is that malnourished, tortured, beaten, bloody horse with a gaping hole in her face whose spirit refuses to let her die.

Once she has experienced something, it no longer triggers her bucking response. I can press her side to make her go. I can ride her bareback and with a bit. And I'm sure from now on I can swat flies off her backside. She's just scared of new things. Aren't we all?

Actually, I don't mind when she bucks. I just hate hitting the ground.