A Horse of a Different Color: Riding Dante in the Arena

A Horse of a Different Color: Riding Dante in the Arena

I decided to give Cole a well-needed day off.  I can't remember the last time I did.  Some of the days that I rode him were just around the loop in the back of the property--easy rides that were only about a half hour, so I haven't been abusing him.  Still, I think it is good for a horse just to get a break from riding now and then.

It was my day to feed the horses at the barn.  Two or three evenings a week, I hay and water them, (between 25-30 horses,) to help defray the costs of having a horse.  I also clean our three stalls and take Ranger on his walk.  Instead of just doing chores; I wanted to have some fun.  I decided it would be a good day to start riding Dante, my sister's horse, in the arena.

I rode Dante in the arena about once a week last couple winters.  When the weather gets better, and I started riding Cole out in the park, I quit.  I guess that means I haven't ridden him in there since sometime in March.  Ellen has done a few arena rides, lately, when it was raining.  I did a couple with Cole, too.  She has done well with Dante--Cole was a little tough, but he always is when I haven't ridden him in there for months.

And that was one of the reasons I wanted to ride Dante.  As I have mentioned before, Cole has an incredibly gorgeous, powerful arena trot.  (I'm so glad he seldom uses it on the trail.)  He bounces me all over.  It is hard to sit--even harder to post--and can be quite intimidating until I get used to it.  Plus, he makes me very sore!  I have to build up to his trot.  Not to mention, he still likes jump and run if he is in the scary corner when he hears any little noise. I'm glad to say, he isn't near as bad as he was when he was young, but he does still do it.

Dante, on the other hand, is smooth and quiet--and never does anything sudden in the arena.  He is the perfect horse to prepare myself for Cole.

There is another reason I like to ride Dante--I get to use my favorite saddle.  I have never found a saddle that fitted me better, but it is just too big for little Cole.  The only time I get to use it is when I ride Dante.  I mounted up and the first thing I did was sigh.  Yes, it is the perfect saddle for me.

It is actually a WWII Japanese military saddle I found at an estate sale.  I didn't know what it was when I bought it.  I sat on it when I brought it home and decided it was worth getting repaired.  It has been my favorite saddle ever since.

I used to use it on Mingo.  He loved it, too.  If I tried to use a different saddle, he would become very uncooperative.  When he died, it became Cruiser's official saddle.  I really wish it fit Cole, but it does give me incentive to ride Dante.

We started out trying to walk along the edge of the arena.  He was like riding a snake--swerving this way and that.  Immediately, I realized that, once again, I got into a lot of bad habits riding on the trail all summer.

I firmed up my seat and focused my energy into straightening him out.  It worked.  I brought him to the arena wall and made him walk straight.  It sounds like such an easy thing, but it really isn't.

After a warm up, I asked for a trot.  Ahhh, so smooth, so lovely--we just slowly glided along.  After a few minutes, I realized that Dante, amazingly, was picking up exactly where we left off last spring when I quit riding him.  No horse does that!  I spend weeks reviewing our old lessons with Cole before we start to move on.  Dante is truly a special horse.  And then he decided to stop.  He might be good, but he isn't perfect.  Like with most horses, there is always something to work on--and right now, Dante thinks that whenever he is doing well, he should stop.

We worked on nearly perfect circles--perfect for him.  My body, used to just trotting down the trail, didn't want to cooperate with me.  I was losing my connection on the saddle, my legs weren't going to the right positions and I was having trouble finding the rhythm of the sitting trot.  Another thing for me to focus on.  We practiced until it started to become automatic.

And this is one of the big reasons I like to ride in the arena with Dante.  With his slower, smoother movement, I can work out all my own personal problems on him--instead of Cole.  It is hard to work on my body when I am flying around on Cole.  If I can get control of me, first, I have better control of Cole--and I am more confident, too.

I only rode about a half hour, but it was a very satisfying ride.  A few more like that, I will be ready for Cole Train.