Wednesday, December 6, 2017

Moonlighting

Yesterday morning, I was slow and it was cold so I ended up not riding, but when I got home I realized I have another lesson on Saturday and probably should really ride my horse.  I don't have any lights, but the moon was really bright.  So I decided to see what happened if I rode him in the mostly dark.

Preferred evening position

Poor Stinker was very puzzled what the heck was happening.  He just wanted his nighttime hay and not to be tacked up.  I turned the barn lights off before I put the bridle on so he had time for his eyes to adjust back to the dark.  I think that was a poor choice because he got really nervous.  He was quite antsy at the mounting block.


Once I walked him out to the ring he went to work but was still quite tense.  My plan was to just walk him and get him settled and stretching.  It didn't take very long to get that accomplished, which was lucky for me, because my toes were freezing already.  So he got a face full of cookies and some extra alfalfa mix.  I was quite impressed with how well he worked in the mostly dark.

12 comments:

  1. Good for you guys. Have fun at your lesson.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The dark is so much fun to ride in (sarcasm). Everything outside the lights we have vanishes for Scarlet. He seems to think that the other 100 horses at the barn have vanished off the face of the earth and he is alone for forever.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He has come a long way and I think it helps that I don't have light because he could still see normally.

      Delete
  3. Courage was always TERRIBLE in the dark lol. It's a nice change for me because Zoe is actually fantastic.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I wonder what he'd think if you tried riding him with one of those red light headlamps? ☺️ Even with the moonlight, I still think you're brave. I'm not sure I'd do much besides hack in from the field on mine bareback in the dark -- and I would never try it on Cinna 😂

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I need to get new batteries so the red light is stronger, then I'll try it.

      Delete
  5. The winter darkness is the worst. I can't wait for Spring!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Riding in the moonlight is magically. I've only done it a handful of times.

    ReplyDelete