Well today was... pretty sweet!!
It's Wednesday and I don't normally ride on Wednesdays, but I'm trying to make it a point to do so. It took about an hour and it was fun!
Aleythia and I took the green halter with the black lead rope and went out into the paddock with all the other horses. We worked with the fillies and pretty much did the same thing. With Coffie and Frosty we moved around on their back. I can so see Coffie becoming our next wreck. She moves around so much when I'm moving around on her back. Frosty was really good about it. She didn't move and was pretty good about it.
We did the same thing with Toffy and Dash, but took it a little bit farther. I taught them the cues of moving their hindquarters and shoulders. And seriously they move just that. Pivot on the back feet, pivot on the front feet. Yep. I only ask for a few steps to the side, but it'll get better. They do understand it. They learn it extremely easily. Pretty soon I'll be able to sratch off one of my goals.
Aleythia had a thought about how Dash and Toffy weren't listening when they bucked. When we took them away from the other horses on walks they listened, so what's different now?
We think it might be because we've never taken them on walks. They haven't realized that they can be comfortable with us without the other horses. Do you know how nice it is to have a horse that doesn't worry where his friends are? It's a lot less stressful. Flicka was awful. We couldn't get her to go away from the other horses if she didn't want too. Those little things are really nice for a horse to know. Like being able to mount them from a fence, standing still for bridling and saddling, groundtying, leaving the other horses without a fit, leg pressure. Ok leg pressure isn't little, but my horses don't do it.
I had a good laugh today. I was working with Dash getting her to move move her hindquarters and shoulders when Stretch comes over, puts his nose of to Dash's neck and laughed at her.It really sounded like a mocking laugh. He did this nicker thing and it sounded like laughter like he was saying "haha, sucker." Oh he makes me laugh.

The other thing I wanted to talk about was Parelli.
I haven't been that into Parelli. I guess I think it's kinda touchy feely whatever. Whenever I here someone talking about "be one with your horse" (insert hippi voice) I tune out. It's not like I don't want to become one with my horse, but when it's said like that I get like "ya... right..."(insert sarcasm). Now if it's said like how your riding instructor would tell you how to keep your horse's shoulder up, I would take it more seriously. So plain and simple I guess I'm saying that prefrence in horse trainers is a lot about the trainer's character. Parelli's training works, no doubt about it. So does Clinton Anderson's, Craig Cameron's, and all the other big trainers out there. But anyway, that's not really what I wanted to talk about.
The real thing I wanted to talk about is something I took away from a DVD on Parelli that HM let me borrow. I was watching Linda Parelli do some roundpen work with a horse. It was pretty much all about teaching your horse to have a good attitude and keeping his attention. See, that's a lot better than how the video came across to me. So she did something different than what I normally see. Or maybe I have seen it, but not really explained and done for a purpose. She first did what she called the feel good game. Or something like that. So I (take note of the singular noun) just think that's sappy. I would just call it making the horse comfortable. But what she did was rub the horse all over to get him to like being around her. After that she sent him off and then waited until he either ignored her or come into the middle. When the horse ignored her she would look at him and crouch down, or make movement to catch his eye. When he looked at her she turned her back on him. She said she was using the horse's natural curiosity to her advantage. When he came into her with his ears forward she turned her back on him, and let him come in. Then she would pet him. Gradually you could see a slight change in the horse's attitude and that he wanted to be with the person in the middle. Eventually he even licked his lips.
But the thing I took away from that is using your horse's natural curiosity to make them interested in you. And here's how it works. I walked up to Toffy, flung the rope over her neck and she started moving away with her ears back a little ways. I moved in the opposite direction and she came back to me with her ears pricked. She expected me to come after her so when I didn't she was surprised and wanted to know what was up.
So I'm not all that into Parelli, maybe because I haven't seen a lot on it, but I do like Clinton Anderson. I see stuff I like in Parelli and stuff I like in Clinton, so maybe I could combine the two in a way that I like more. I think it would be great to go to both trainers and learn from both. That would be ideal. We'll see.

Happy New Year!!!

So Aleythia rode Dash today... and she got bucked off.
It happened while I was riding Santana.
Dash was trotting around, on her own accord (really nicely too), and then she cantered, on her own accord. Then she exploded. I don't know if it was just the fact that when she exploded I had asked Santana to canter or if she was frightened by Aleythia's movements on her back.
Aleythia did do ground work before she got on too.
Aleythia and I got to thinking... Flicka never bucked us off... why?
We came to the conclusion it was because she didn't care what we did on her back. In some ways that was a bad thing, but in others it was good. We climbed all over her. We moved all around her just for the heck of it. Stand up, take a nap on her back, sit backwards on her... yep we did it all. She never bucked us off. She was so used to our shinanigans that she never bucked. Ok, maybe not never but never because of any movement we did on her.
So we are going to start doing that with the fillies. We did it today and we'll do it again the next time.
I'm kinda glad we're doing this. I got on Coffie bareback and started moving around and she was not okay with it. She wasn't gunna go bucking on me, but she wasn't relaxed. We'll do that before or after every session.
Toffy did really well today. I did a little bit of ground work reminding her what a tap on the neck meant or a tap on the hindquarters meant. I didn't feel like dealing with a sliding saddle so I got on the water pump and got on her from there. She took it pretty well. A few circles around me and she was fine. All I did was stand there and teach her what each signal meant. I would put my foot against her side, then tap her  neck with my crop. When she moved her shoulders over I stopped. When I wanted her to move her hindquarters I put my foot back and pressed with my heel, then tapped with my crop until she moved her hindquarters over. It did not take long for her to catch on.
I rode Santana and worked on getting him to flex at the walk and trot. I did canter once, but it wasn't real pretty.

I rode Misstack bareback too! Out in the paddock even. Nothing to eventful, just flexing.

 

Did anyone else stay up all night? Happy New Year!!!

....Oh....

I am going to be really sore tomorrow. I am happy though. I rode Santana bareback and Aleythia took a video. I was having a hard time being able to stay on Santana's trot, but I think I'm getting it. I just have to remember that I can clench with my knees and still go with the movement of my horse. With bareback riding you almost have to slouch. Learning how to ride bareback makes you feel like you've never seen a horse before. It is getting better though, and I am determined to be able to do everything with Santana bareback.
I attempted cantering him and it really helped that the first time I asked him to canter I didn't fall off. I did notice that he was swishing his tail and it almost looked like he was bucking. He looked like a teeter totter. After that I just got him more riled everytime I asked him to canter. Probably because I'm riled about it. Terry thinks that the reason Santana swishes his tail at me all the time is because he doesn't like all the bouncing I do. I can see that.

I did have a very nice canter with Santana at the end though. It was beautiful and surprising. He even made a turn and I didn't fall off!

One thing was a little nerve wracking though. I decided that I didn't feel like driving the fillies today and so in order to get out of the monotiny of it I would do something different. Like ride! I saddled up Toffy and got on. I wanted to teach her that thing I saw on Mugwump.
Aleythia led Toffy to the gate while I was on and when she got to the gate she felt that Toffy was too close. She wanted her to back up, but she wouldn't, so she applied more pressure. And then Toffy freaked. She was bucking and rearing and hoppin around. Her bucking was not that hard to stay onto. Then my saddle started slipping... So I was bucked off and I landed right beside her in a snowdrift. I paused for a second and then out of the corner of my eye I saw Toffy rearing almost right above me. I scrambled out as quick as I could. I paused again and looked back at her and she was still way to close for comfort. I scrambled out to a safer distance, got up and watched her until she quit bucking. Aleythia had just let go of the lead rope and we just watched. She quit and the saddle ended up being shoved up past her withers. Other than that she was fine, and lucky for me so was I... Thankyou Lord... I led Toffy into the paddock and did a little bit of luneging I even had her canter. Nothing. She trotted and cantered beautifully. So Aleythia and I were just like what's her problem then? We didn't know and I got ready to get back on but before I did that I figured I should flap her stirrups. She jumped away from that really quick. It only took a little more time to get her to not freak out over the stirrups and then I got on. I had a whip in my hand and the halter and lead rope in the other. It was kinda a challenge to get her to go in the direction I wanted. She did walk when I kissed to her (my second que, the first being a squeeze with the legs), and she carried me extremely easily. She even trotted though I was not okay with that. The problem I had with trying to get her to go the direction I wanted is that she wanted to go to the gate where she could get out. I ended up having Aleythia go get another lead rope so that I could at least be able to put her in the right direction. I think what I'll do next time is ride in the little pen behind the barn. I won't have so many obsticals to work around then and I can just work on getting her to turn without worrying about her running off.
Thinking about her bucking fit it could have been prevented. I didn't prepare her enough. It's been a while sense she's worn a saddle. There were also a couple warning signs. The first was when Aleythia put the saddle blanket on. Toffy jumped at that. The second was when I got on. She didn't feel relaxed. The third was how she wasn't listening to Aleythia. How could I have prevented her bucking episode? Well, I could have desensitized before I got on. And do a little bit of ground work. It would have been so easy. It would have probably taken a grand total of five minutes and she never would have bucked.
The lessons we remember the most are the ones where we got it wrong the first time.
But here are some really nice pictures of beautiful little Toffy.

and others...

santana was laying down when we came

poor Ana

Cowgirls Dont Cry Part II

So, lets see...
I thought of another thing with Santana.
I was in the paddock with all the other horses and I think I wanted Santana to stand still when I walked up to him to say hello. You see he would always walk away with a very unpleasant expression on his face. Like he wanted to be left alone.
Well when he started walking away I followed him and then he turned around and bit me. Oooh he got it. I was lucky in the fact that it was the middle of winter so I was wearing my winter coat. I didn't realize until I got home that he had actually torn my jacket. So, now there's a cute little horsey right where the tear is. I actually don't have that coat anymore though.
That story reminds me of Flicka.
I was in her stall doing who knows what and all the sudden she lays her ears back and bites me. Curious how I've only been bit by a horse when I'm wearing a coat. I slapped her nose good and hard for that. Never had a problem sense. Ya know almost all the baby horsies have to try that on you at least once. A few of the fillies have tried it, but it wasn't very hard and a slap on the nose gets them over it real quick.
Flicka also tried to kick me once. I was with Aleythia and a boy who was in the same class as me. Fifth grade maybe? Well, we were out in the alfalfa field and I have no idea why but Flick bucked out at me. It never came in contact but I felt the air of her hoof flying past my face.
I also remember falling off Flicka riding bareback and I think Aleythia was leading her. I think we were leading her away from the horses and by that time she had learned that we couldn't keep her from running away so she bucked me off and ran back to the herd. That's the only time I can ever remember falling off Flicka.

Blacky was always fun. She was the first horse I ever rode and man was she a handful. It took some muscles to get her to slow down. She has always worn a hackmore and she definitely tried to get away with as much as she could. I probably fell of her much more often than I can remember. The only one I can remember though is because of her saddle. She wore a little pony saddle and it didn't really fit that well. Cinch it up as tight as you want it'll still end up crocked. It never helped that she had a lot of hair either. I was riding along and the saddle was slipping. I fell off because I couldn't get the saddle upright again and she ran off with the saddle upsidown on her back. That's one of the reasons we want the fillies used to the saddle beneath them. It's less dangerous if there at least not afraid of the saddle beneath them.

We've had trouble with Ana's saddle doing the same thing. We've tried almost four of our saddles on her and maybe this last one is finally gunna work. Before that the saddle would always slip. Cantering was the worst. I've never fallen off because of it, but man it could get pretty far.
Have I ever told you how scary Ana is to ride bareback? Seriously. So first you're riding this horse that doesn't really have breaks and has very little concern for you falling off. Her trot is floaty. It's really nice to watch not so much to ride bareback. Once you master it though it it a lot of fun. The first time I tried riding her bareback outside was really scary. All she wanted to do was trot and I was not ready for that. I just did an emergency dismount and went back in the barn to ride. I've done that dismount maybe twice.
There was one time I was riding her in the pasture and I was having a really bad time. So, finally I just let her go. We were heading back to the barn and she just ran. It rivaled Santana. And it would have been fun if I hadn't of felt like I was seeing my life flash before my eyes. My seat was pricarious and adrenalin was just pumping through me like electricity. Heightened by the fact that we were running straight towards the barn wall and I wasn't sure how I would get her throught that tiny little gate back into the paddock without killing myself. I was also underneath trees and some of those branches were low. It was alright because I think when we were really close to that wall she slowed down a tinsey little bit and I was able to turn her and avoid going through that stupid little gate.

And then there's Misstack. I've been bucked off by her once, but oh can I tell you about the stories of what she's done to other people.
The one time she bucked me off is one you probably already know. I was trailriding with Aleythia and Aleythia's horse, Ana, wanted to go faster. Of course. I didn't want Misstack to go faster though and she did. Not a good combination. It resulted in her getting into a trot, me pulling back, and then her bucking. I hit the ground on my back. Got up and walked around a little bit. That was not a good feeling. I was fine though so I gave Misstack a little bit of a lesson in manners and got back on.
She also doesn't like it when I ask her for a sharp turn when she wants to gallop. She bucked then too. I stayed on though.
Another thing she did was when my older brother came to ride. I saddled up three horses for him. Misstack included. She was a doll actually. She didn't do anything stupid and she was actually really nice. I figured she would be. If she's in a familiar place she's a perfect little angel. Sorta. Well my older brother suggested that we ride double. We were in the barn and so I was like what the heck. He got on behind me and we started walking. Have you ever gotten that little voice in your head that says you should quit something. Well, I got it right then. And guess what? I ignored it. What a stupid little child. Three seconds later Misstack bucked and my brother fell off... and he landed on his feet. Who does that?! Well, I told him he had to get back on so he did and she bucked again after a few steps. This cycle went on at least five more times. Then my brother had the idea to try a little monkey in the tree. We have this rope in the barn just for that purpose and I agreed if not a little hesitantly. It definiteley did not end well. My brother had gotten a hold of the rope and Misstack freaked out because of the rope. She didn't buck but she did back up. Really quickly. Jorgen got back on one more time and this time I didn't ask Misstack to move. We ended there. Always Listen To Your Little Voice! Terry was not happy when I told him about it. I know what I should have done instead though. I should have just got my brother on once, stood still, and then left it that way. It's what I did with Santana. He takes a second rider, at the walk anyway, just fine.
This was with Terry's granddaughter. She was going to go to a parade with Misstack so she trailrode over to the parade. One problem. It was Misstack's first trailride. Remember how I keep tellin ya that Misstack's a nut job? Well this is what happened. She was maybe halfway to the parade and Misstack freaked. She bucked her rider off and then jumped into a barbed wire fence. And then ran home. Terry's granddaughter got a broken wrist. Misstack got a gash on her front leg right above the hoof. There is now a patch there that doesn't have any hair.
Another thing Misstack did wih the same rider was at fair time three years ago. They got into the arena and probably got into the canter and then Misstack exploded. Terry's granddaughter ended up with big bruises on the inside of her legs. Man that girl can buck. I've seen her after she's been cooped up in the barn for a while. She starts bucking. Seriously she jumps into the air from a standstill. All four feet off the ground. And that's the horse I want to ride in an upcoming show. Fun. Actually, I do think it will be fun. Go right ahead, call me crazy.

I seriously think God's been watching out for me though. I hadn't realized how many close calls I've had. I've never broken anything riding horses. I've never worn a helmet either.
I'm sorry if this discourages anyone from ever riding again. Horses do happen to be unpredictable creatures and there is no such thing as a bomb proof horse. I personally have found horses to be extremely rewarding. So, if you're willing to take on the danger of riding horses enjoy it with every thing you've got. The joy I have had riding rivals almost anything else.

Snow! I Love You!

I honestly don't understand. It does not help my self esteem to fall off every time I ask Santana to canter when bareback.
First I just could not get a hold of his trot. It was just a pain trying to stay on. I don't know if he's just wiggly or I really can't stay on. Then I was like ya know, I want to canter. So I lined him up to the fence and the part of the paddock with the most snow. I have not had very good experiences with getting him to canter bareback.
I asked him to trot and then a canter. He was way too strung out and I still urged him into a canter. And then I don't know what happened. I think that maybe he does a little buck or something because I always end up on the ground. I landed on pillows. No seriously when I fell of I landed in a big snow drift and was kinda surprised because usually when I fall off a horse the impact hurts a little more than that. I landed on my back which hurts a tinsey little bit.
Maybe I should have Aleythia video tape it. It might give me an idea as to how to fix the problem. Or maybe I just need to get better at trotting before moving on to the canter. (sigh) If I can learn how to ride Santana bareback I'll be set to ride almost anything.

I was reading in Mugwump about how horse A gets Horse B to move (read here). A lot of the time Horse A doesn't care were Horse B goes as long as Horse B is out of Horse A's space. But when Horse A does want Horse B to go somewhere she'll bite Horse B. For example if Horse A wants horse B to go faster Horse A will get closer and bite Horse B on the rump. Slower? Horse A fades off a little bit. Left or right? Horse A will bite Horse B's neck or ribs in the desired direction. The head never comes into play. All this means is that we should be able to direct horses while riding the way another horse would. Without the help of a bridle. Mugwump explains it so much better than me so, go read it!
My thought on this was first I have experienced it before. Remember the time I got on Ana bareback and bridleless in the pasture. And remember how she hated it? I understand why. It's because she was being bossed around via me. She was being told what to do like she would be told by another horse. This was something she totally understood and responded the way she would respond to another horse. One of these days I am going to have to really experiment with that on her.
My second thought was maybe I want to train the fillies that way from the start. Their very first actual ride won't include a bridle. Just me, a saddle, and a crop. I'll probably have a halter and lead rope too just for my safety, but I won't use them. The crop is so that I can emulate a horse's bite much easier than what I could do without. I am seriously going to enjoy doing it. The fillies taught how to go without a bridle from the start. Love it!

Cowgirls Don't Cry Part I

I'm looking for something to do. That being the case I will start my close calls post.

Ok, I mentioned the one of being backwards on Santana.
And the one of getting on him bareback.
So I'll go over all the ones I can remember with Santana.
Ok, so when I first started riding him he hadn't been ridden for at least three years and was kinda a disaster waiting to happen. Terry said he was mellower than what he was... I can't remember the reasons, but every once in a while he would go into a bucking fit. The most prominent memory I have of one of his bucking fits is of him wanting to go back into the paddock from the pasture, and I wanted him to be calm in the pasture. So, I turned him away. This turned him to exploding into bucking. I was a better rider by then and I was able to stay on, but he bucked like five times.
I'll try to give you an idea how bad Santana really was. He bucked often enought that I would judge how much better I was at riding by how many of his bucks I could stay on.
Do you know about the story of why Aleythia doesn't ride Santana?
I was riding our little black pony Blacky and Aleythia was riding Santana. Well we kinda got into a race and a few strides out Santana bucks... and Aleythia falls off. She gets back on and a little bit later he bucks again. She falls off. She gets back on and after a little bit Santana bucks again, and Aleythia falls off. After that she didn't get back on. The only reason being was because her arm was hurting a little bit. Terry's granddaughter was there, so she got on and when he bucked he got it good. He quit bucking after that. And that's when Aleythia stopped riding Santana. It's not that she's afraid to ride him, she just doesn't. Terry thought that it was because he was just a one person horse. There has been times when I think that might have been true even though it's not anymore.
When I broke my leg (not from horses), I wasn't able to ride for at least six weeks. I was consoled a little with all the horse magazines Terry gave me, but I still was itching to ride. When I no longer had to wear my brace I asked the doctor about riding and he said that if it was a safe enough horse I could ride. My first thought was Flicka because she wouldn't do anything but walk anyway. When I got to the horses and told Terry I could ride he wanted me to ride Santana instead of Flicka because Terry felt that he would be safer. His reason being that while I was indisposed he had a few girls who wanted to ride (relatives I think). So he got out Blacky and Santana. Black went fine. Santana? They couldn't get him to move. Like seriously Terry tried he just wouldn't go. He was the first horse I got on after six weeks of being unable to ride. He was perfect. I guess I felt like he knew that I just wanted an easy ride and he gave me one. 
Now done with this touch feely stuff let's go back to the guts and glory.
Once again I was riding Santana bareback and I wanted him to be able to carry two people. So, to help him get used to it I slid back a little ways on his back and asked him to walk. He went out fine five steps later I was on the ground.
Another time I was also riding bareback and I think I wanted him to canter. That didn't go over to well. He bucked and I landed with my head under his stomach. I got up really quick and he reared. Somehow I had kept ahold of his short little barrel reins and when he reared it jerked on his mouth so I let go of the reins, and then he was fine.
I was riding Santana in the alfalfa field with Aleythia who was on Flicka. We were nearing the end of the alfalfa field and I just let Santana go. He started bucking. I didn't have a very good seat to begin with so that didn't help my situation. The first thing that happened was I lost my left stirrup. After that I knew it was a lost cause to try and stay on, so I let go of the reins and dove head first to the right. I hit the ground and Santana was already gone. He was running toward the barn with his head high and his tail flagging. I just sat there and watched him run. Got up and walked back to the barn. He had stopped by the trailer and I got back on and rode around for a little bit. But the idea of getting on again scared me just a little bit.
Then at fair time this year I fell of twice. One I have a video of and you can probably remember it. I was doing jumping figure eight and at the end of our run I decided to late which way I wanted to go so he picked a direction and then I picked. It looked like I fell off on purpose. The other time we were trying to figure out the order for 4-in a line, and Black was in the front. She took off and the other horses followed. We came within sight and hearing of the fair rides and it's like he stepped right out from under me. Santana ran and would probably have gone back to the trailer if he hadn't have been caught. That is why it's nice to do everything with your horse starting and ending at the trailer. The horse will just run to the trailer when he's escaped because he sees it as a good place and a familiar place.
Not too long ago I cantered him with no stirrups and when he turned I just fell off. I am trying to improve my riding with him so stuff like that doesn't happen. Bareback riding here I come.

You may think I'm crazy, but I still love to ride that stupid horse.  I think it helped that every time I fell of I always got back on. People always tell you that you have to get back on after you fall of because other wise the horse thinks he won. That's not the reason I get back on. I get back on for my sake. If I had never gotten back on Santana every time he threw me off riding him would scare the livin daylights outa me.
Ok, I have many more of these sort of stories to tell, but this post is getting too long. I can't think of anymore from Santana (there are probably quite a few more), but I've got ones from Blacky, Misstack, Ana, and even Flicka that I do remember.

Merry Christmas!!!!!

Get Over It.

Mwahhaha! You'll never guess what I did today! And I'm not gunna tell you until I go through the other stuff first. Mwahahaha!

So, Aleythia rode Ana bareback

Do you see that white stuff? It's called snow, and we finally got it!

And I guess she was pretty good.
While Aleythia rode Ana I was driving Coffie. Nothing exiting going on there... she only bucked twice... ok, ok. I had asked her to trot and we we trotted a little ways and then she bucked. Lucky for me I was far enough away that she didn't get me. Hmm I have quite a few close calls with horses... But anyway... Aleythia said that her buck looked pretty. I didn't really do anything because I was kinda surprised. I mean seriously why would she buck?


The next time I asked her to trot she bucked again. This time I had more space between me and her. So she trotted... few steps later.... BUCK! So in the split second it took for me to look at her I processed that I had reins in my hands... that were across her back... so, I used them. Took my end of the reins and slapped the rein against her butt. I think she was kinda surprised, but she didn't buck after that.

Does this look like an evil horsy?

Never.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the "scab" that coffie has on her back. It was were she had ringworm. It's flaky. We don't think that it's ringworm.

 

I rode Santana bareback. I do believe that I am sorta getting how to ride his trot. A little tip. Don't hold onto the horse's mane. I couldn't use his mane because I was riding him in a  snaffle with two reins, so I rode two handed. For some reason it pulls you more off balance than it helps. What you need to do when riding a horse's trot is sit back on your jean pockets. If you lean forward at all you'll loose your balance.

 And as long as were on the topic of tips... if you're gunna get cowboy boots and you live in an area that gets ice don't get a smoothe soled boot. You'll regret it, like me. This will become the story of your life... you step on anything that has a slant and there you are on your butt. Another thing. Corral boots are not the best thing to do work in. Standing for more than 10 minutes? Absolutley not. The next time I get boots I will get a square toe, traction on the soles, and a lower heel.

 He looks pudgy :/

 

 

And now the grand finale!!!!

I rode Misstack BAREBACK!

The idea of riding Misstack bareback scared me. I mean I don't know what she'll do and I have no desire to get bucked off. She doesn't like someone riding double. Like seriously she doesn't. She bucked my brother off.

So because of experiences with Santana and getting on bareback... (I'll tell story's a little later), I took my hand and did a drum roll on her back. Terry gave me a leg up and I just layed over her back on my stomach. Then I swung my leg over. I did flexing and it was fun! I kinda felt secure on her back. Another goal checked off.

 

So, about the story with Santana.

Well, I bridled him up and asked Terry for a leg up. He swung me up there and I landed on Santana's back... BUCK, BUCK! Fun right? I actually can't even remember if I stayed on. And another time I had him tied up to our trailer and I just went to rotating on his back. I was on him side saddle and I was gunna swing my foot over his back. Well, when he felt my foot on his back he arched his back like he was gunna buck. And being the semi stupid kid I did it again. So I was on him backwards and then... he bucked... sufficed to say I do remember how that ended. Not with me on. And the only thing I got was a big bruise on my elbow. One of my close calls.

On one of those boring days I will have to make a post reminiscing on all the close calls I've had.