Actually, I had planned another entry for today about a different topic, but I decided to write about a happy event which took place yesterday first.
I haven’t blogged about Rajmani for quite some time. This is due to the fact that I don’t really have a lot of time working with him and because we have not done a lot of exciting stuff together. I have ridden him a couple of times on the farm to get my own and his confidence back and we have gone for some ground driving walks together. He has been an attentive and good student for the last couple of weeks, but I have been busy with other things and haven’t done much with him, baring a few short sessions.
Yesterday I had decided to ride him again, the plan was to ride on my little training ground, doing the usual halts, slaloms, turns and backings. The basic training for any riding horse. The boring stuff which does not merit a big blog entry, even though it is important and absolutely necessary for any young horse freshly taken under the saddle.
But when I saddled him, I felt I wanted to go for a ride rather than just get hot on my training ground which was already more than half in the sun. By that time, I was drenched in my own sweat and I felt like riding under shady trees, enjoying the gentle breeze outside.
So, without thinking too much about it, Rajmani and me went on our first solo ride outside.
For a young horse, it is always reassuring to have another horse going ahead of him. Following is always easier than leading the way and for young horses, the world outside is always full of hidden dangers like sunbeams dancing through a thicket of bushes, an oddly shaped rock, a plastic bag on the side of the road, a honking motorbike and so on. So, going on a ride without the company of another horse is a scary thing and not at all easy. However, it should always be part of the training, as it is something a horse should learn and be comfortable with.
Rajmani and me had been on a few walks together and he knew the route I wanted to go. I thought to myself, let’s just do the tiny round I have done with him when we did our ground driving and see how it goes. If he puts up resistance, I can always dismount and lead him for a bit.
I did not even bother to wear breeches, as I had not intended to go on a longer ride with him. I only put on my helmet and off we went out of the front gate, with our two Dobermans running up to join us. When we passed the second gate and Rajmani saw the other horses already outside, enjoying the grass, he stopped and did not want to proceed. I pressed him onwards with my legs and encouraged him with my voice and he started to walk again.
We passed the construction site near our farm and went around the lantana scrubs on the dam on which my little path is situated which I always use to go on my rides. Rajmani walked calmly over the dam. The path here is narrow; on the lake side there is a wall but on the other side, there is a steep drop down into some Lantana bushes and not much space. So, any resistance here, might get us into trouble as he could lose his footing and tumble down the slope.
At the middle of the dam is a small building made of rough stones. A brown palm branch was laying on the path and Rajmani did not like it. He stopped, turned on his haunches and went a step backward over the edge. My heart skipped a beat, but I was lucky as this was not quite the steep bit yet and Rajmani was sensible enough, when he realized he had no footing there, he quickly did two steps forward back on the path. I decided, this was not the place for an argument, got down and led him over the dry palm branch. I continued on foot until the path widened a bit and I could stop him and ascend back into the saddle. He stood still and waited for me to pick up the reins.
We continued on the other side, Rajmani walked on calmly and an idea entered my mind. Why not ride a whole round. I have different riding rounds, tiny, small, long, longer and so on. The small round was around 3 km, half an hour ride if we would just walk. Much more, than I had planned, but Rajmani was in good spirits and so was I. We continued, riding along some fields, shielded from the sun by large trees and groves of palm trees and Lantana scrubs. After descending a little hill, we encountered a big tree root winding itself over the path. Rajmani stopped and looked at it. I felt him tense up and he tried to turn. I dismounted again and led him past the root, giving him ample opportunity to look at it. Again, I mounted and again he stood still, waiting for me to sit up properly.
We resumed our journey and came to a small lake by the side of the path. A group of buffalos was lazing in the water but looked up alarmed at the sight of Rajmani and me and our two dogs. Pixie, the younger Doberman likes to bark at them and for a flash second, I had a vision of the buffalos jumping out of the water on the path, towards us and Rajmani getting frightened and bolting home with me sitting on top unable to stop him.
I immediately berated myself and of course this was not what happened. I called my dogs back to me and we continued, passing the buffalos which remained in the water throwing us suspicious stares, but remaining where they were.
We continued over a bit of a stony, pebbled road and Rajmani carefully walked over the rough surface. He had no shoes and I usually put boots on him, but today not having planned a ride, I had not done so.
The rest of the ride was uneventful. I stopped to let Rajmani graze for a minute a few times and we returned to the farm from the backside, via the horse fields. We passed the other horses and I returned to the stable where I opened his saddle and tack and gave him a wash. Thanks to the high humidity, he was all sweaty and so was I.
For the rest of the day, I wore a huge smile. Finally, we had made a big step forward.
P.S. Rajmani finally made a friend. He and Poonam struck up a friendship which makes me really happy as Poonam was also alone since the death of her friend Ganga. Both of them stand together at night in the paddock and like to hang out together during the day. Sometimes they are joined by our filly Ambika.
