First Ride
As much as I'd like to say that I just hopped on Jujube's back and rode off into the sunset with her, no muss and no fuss... it wasn't that easy. Things never are. Unless, of course, you live a charmed life... which I don't. Though I'm happy to relate that my experience on that drizzly winter morning was far from the worst first ride I've ever had.
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Due to the weather I brought my mare into the covered arena quickly and gave her a rubdown before doing anything else, just so she'd be as dry as possible for the remainder of our little jaunt. With their thin fur and lack of body-fat, Nera caught chills surprisingly easily! Thus it paid to be a overcautious - a bit of extra work on chilly days was better then having to get the vet to come out and visit a sick animal! Besides, Jujube seemed to be enjoying the attention. As I worked my way from one end of her to the other, first getting the worst of the wet off with a sweat scraper and then finishing the job with a big fluffy towel, the mare's head began to droop and her tail began to sag. It was as if she were falling asleep on her feet. I couldn't really blame her though.... After all, I'd gone to the barn at 6 AM and pulled her from her warm, comfy stall without even feeding her breakfast, then I'd drug her out into the rain. Now she was standing there, dripping wet and shivering slightly while waiting to be saddled at a time she'd usually still be fast asleep in the straw. Truth be told, I felt rather guilty about it. But I'd been putting things off for far too long, and if I didn't didn't do this NOW, I'd be putting it off for even longer. I had other things to do today And tomorrow. And the day after... with a sigh, I gave Jujube's shoulder a fond pat and bent over to finish drying her foreleg. I didn't have near enough time to spend with my herd these days.
Once I'd gotten the mare as dry as I could, I kissed her velvety nose and turned her loose to wander while I gathered up the grooming stuff and bundled it off to the tack room, where I traded it for a shiny new saddle and bridle combo that quite literally had Jujube's name on it. This I toted back out through the drizzle, going as fast as I could while tightly clutching my armload of leather in a hopeless effort to block some of the wind. If I could have shivered I would have - it was truly an unpleasant sort of day and while my raincoat kept me dry, it did little to ward off the chill. So I was quite grateful when I slipped once more into the comparative warmth of the arena. I could almost
feel my bones thawing.
I shucked off my rain boots and quickly deposited the saddle on the rail near the mounting block, yet keep the bridle on-hand. I'd need it when I went to collect Jujube, who was clear on the other side of the arena and ignoring me in favor of fiddling with a jump that had been left out because I'd been too lazy to pack it up when I should have. Things like that happen a lot around here, unfortunately.... By the time I reached the mare, she had stopped trying to undo the bolts holding the jump together and had instead decided that it was the perfect thing to cure an itchy shoulder. Her enthusiastic rubbing on one of the main posts was actually causing the whole thing to wobble alarmingly. It hadn't been built for such strain! Quickly, before she shook it to bits, I called her name to get her attention and looped part of the bridle about her neck to create a makeshift lead. Then I tugged. Reluctantly, Jujube stopped scratching against the jump and began to follow me back toward the mounting block. After I'd gotten about six feet, I stopped, put the bridle on properly, then resumed our trek.
All too soon I found myself standing atop the block, facing a saddled Jujube and preparing to hop aboard. As with almost every other Nera I'd ever ridden, I'd prepared for this moment over the course of several weeks by adding gradually increasing amounts of weight to the mare's back until I'd exceeded my
own weight by a couple of pounds. Therefore I knew she wouldn't most likely wouldn't freak out completely. She was used to carrying a load. But... one never knew, did they? After giving Jujube's neck a final pat, I put my left foot in the stirrup and took my place in the saddle.
Almost instantly the mare danced to the side, as if the mounting block had come alive and was trying to get her. It took most of my accumulated skill as a Nera rider to keep my seat! Thankfully though, after her initial outburst, Jujube simply pinned her tufted ears back and chose to trot forward along the wall of the arena instead of flat bolting. It gave me a moment to collect myself. She certainly wasn't happy about this, and was far from being at ease, but didn't seem like she was going to buck me off. Her stride was long, smooth and even. I was halfway tempted to just let her have her head, and to complete a couple of laps before trying out the reins. But there was a problem. Jujube, in her agitated state, was headed straight for the jump she'd been messing with earlier. This didn't seem to me to be a great idea. Though when I tried to steer her away from the thing, she only lowered her head a bit and blatantly ignored me. She even picked up speed! Thus I was stuck... All I could do was tighten my grip on the reins and brace myself for the takeoff and subsequent landing. As I'd only ridden Sam over this very same jump two days ago - and that had been my first time riding
any Nera over
any jump - I wasn't sure if I could stick it out. Sam had been going a whole lot slower than this, too...! Suddenly, I felt Jujube's muscles gather beneath me, and I reflexively closed my eyes.
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When I came too, I didn't move instantly - I waited a minute or so until the the little microchip that powers my consciousness had finished doing a systems check. Only when I was sure that nothing had been seriously damaged did I try to sit up. Despite my theoretically fine operating condition, this first attempt failed. My head started swimming and I fell back into the sand with a soft 'whump' and a groan of dismay. The commotion must have attracted Jujube's attention, for she came trotting over soon afterword, her ears perked forward and her nostrils/vents flaring to catch my scent. I could hear the rhythmic footfalls before I could see the Nera herself - I had my eyes pinned on the rafters and feel like making the effort to locate her. She'd find ME soon enough. Indeed, almost the same instant she loomed into view, she began smushing her velvety nose into my face to see if I was really awake. Slightly irritated, though at myself rather than the mare, I pushed her away and made a second attempt to sit up. This time I succeeded. With a bit more effort, I even manged to cross my legs, so I was sitting criss-cross-applesauce on the sandy arena floor. And now I could see Jujube properly. With no small amount of relief I realized that, despite the fact she seemed to be dragging the reins around on the ground (how had that happened?), she appeared to be in much better shape than I was. She even sat back on her hindquarters several feet away and reached over to poke at me. Despite my daze, I laughed a bit. It seemed that Jujube was worried about me! In an effort to reassure the mare I steeled myself and got the rest of the way to my feet. I was a bit wobbly, but I didn't fall over. This wasn't the first time I'd fallen off a Nera, after all. I'd taken my fair share of spills. But it
had been the first time I'd lost consciousness... I must've hit my head on the jump or something, in just the perfect way to overload my system. This was no small feat, either, considering how durable I usually was!
It had been a day of 'firsts' for us both.
Despite my addled brain I took the time to unsaddle Jujube and make sure she really was OK - then I led her back to her stall and gave her another rubdown, though it wasn't nearly as thorough as the first because my head was bothering me. I trusted my systems - if nothing was reading as horribly damaged, nothing was likely to be horribly damaged, despite my discomfort. So I was going to do all that had to be done before I got myself looked at. I even took the time to pass out breakfast - though it was more like a late lunch by this point. I'd apparently been out for a bit. If I didn't do this stuff now, who knew when I was going to be able to do it? I didn't want my herd to suffer because I'd been too much of a nit to put away a jump... and because
I'd been the one to panic. Closing my eyes had been a huge mistake. In contrast, and from what I remembered, the
mare had hurdled that jump like a champ! I extended a hand and fondly stroked Jujube's flank before turning to leave the stall. She was contentedly munching away at the meat in her feed-bin, utterly unphased by the day's events.
All that was left was for me to begin making my way back up to the house so I could begin figuring out what was up with my head.
by MustangKnight » Sat Jun 20, 2015 7:29 am 
