Under the weather

[glenatron]

The sky was very grey and it had been raining on and off all day. I knew the former because I was staring up at it, the latter because the sand of the arena was damp and solid with large puddles in the hoofprints. These puddles were slowly soaking into the back of my clothes. Zorro was stood patiently a few feet away, turned away and looking back at me over his left shoulder. I wondered for a while why he didn't straighten up then realised the tail of my mecate was looped around the saddle horn so when the saddle had sunk right around his right side it had pulled the rein tight. He knows that he's not supposed to pull on the rein, so he was just waiting in the space it permitted for me to sort it out.

What we learn from this is that if I have had to adjust my saddle a few times because it is slipping, I should probably tighten my cinch rather than just thinking "it will be alright" and carrying on. Because when he motorbikes around that corner and I use my weight to balance him out, I may find the saddle is no longer on top of him when he straightens back up.

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/_acerbusangelus/]

Beautifully written "I took a digger" post.

[feather-armor.livejournal.com]

I should probably tighten my cinch rather than just thinking "it will be alright" and carrying on.

I did that exact thing just the other day, but only carried on a few moments before visions of what you just described flashed in my head and I took the time to get off and fix the girth.

It sounds like you're okay, and that you have a very kind, smart horse! I also love the way you unreeled this story, it took a few beats to piece it together and it made me smile.

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

I do have a kind and smart horse, or at least one who has finally worked out that I probably do have a reasonable deal to offer him and that deliberately killing me benefits neither of us, though he's put the effort in a fair few times down the years.

[feather-armor.livejournal.com]

After eighteen years together, my boy still occasionally seems to forget that there will be no one to pay his room and board if he kills or disables me :)

[flax.livejournal.com]

Well, at least you'll probably never make that mistake again ...

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

If only there was some way I could learn from these mistakes.

[puddleshark.livejournal.com]

A classic in the slow-inevitability-of-gravity school of involuntary dismounts...

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

Concluding with a bit of a lie down in the puddles of the school.

The funny thing is that Zorro really hates working in the rain, like hates it this much:
(http://www.flickr.com/photos/glenatron/4552584360/)

But yesterday he was absolutely perfect and I still managed to fall off.

[puddleshark.livejournal.com]

Wow. Now that's annoyed.

[linasfyre.livejournal.com]

That is a GORGEOUS BEAST OH MY GOSH.
Even in all his annoyed glory WOW.

Loved the way you wrote this. Glad you two came out alright.

With the bigger boys I find it difficult to get the cinch to stay just so, kind of like tackin up a barrel sometimes :D

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

That's the trouble with Cobbo here. He is almost a perfect cylinder except I think the top of his back is a little flatter. I could probably have avoided this with a breastcollar, but that would mean attaching the spare D-rings I have to my saddle and otherwise being organised. And really, just doing up the cinch a little further would probably have done it...

[herecirm.livejournal.com]

Beautifully written - a proud moment to make up for the earlier lack thereof, huh? :P Glad you're all right.

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

Thank you. Weird writing outside myself like that, but fun to do as well.