I truly believe Banner was miffed with me,
as he got worse as the day went on. We did about 22 miles, much of it was
brutal climbing. I could tell he was getting peevish with that
program. He wanted to stop periodically to rest and breathe, but my
husband said, "Don't let him get away with that, he'll make a habit of
it." I really shouldn't have listened to him, but to the horse.
Consequently, on a perfectly innocuous piece of road, at a slow trot down a
gentle slope, Banner saw his chance.....a big horse-eater attacked him, and the
next thing I knew I was on the ground. After that he spooked at everything
that came his way, except for people on bicycles. For some strange reason,
these don't bother him. He didn't like those funny people with strange
backpacks, however. Nor rocks, nor trees roots, nor logs,
nor........... Then my husband's horse, who was never a bad spooker, took
up the game, and those two spooked for six miles of level road down through a
forested canyon.
Just try to read your horse the best that you
can. Maggie is a pro at spinning and leaping sideways. She has
dumped me half a dozen times by doing this. Most of the time she
is truly scared, a couple of times she was p.o'd. at me and decided to show me
so. I don't think one can ever despin the horse. But one can be
and should be aware all the time of one's surroundings. And if not
certain, the right handed death grip on the horn or the pommel helps
immensely. Jeanie
