trials and tribulations

as i arrived at my saturday lesson, i received some rather disturbing news. Brie told me that i would not be riding Ruby because she had caused a bad accident the day prior..so i would be riding Lusco. i pressed for details, and was informed that Ruby had an alarming spook that threw one of the strongest riders...apparently she saw a squirrel and instead of just a simple buck that most of the able bodied riders can ride through, she went into a blind panic and spun, bashing her rider's face with her neck, put her foot through the mounting block and nearly went down; which unseated the rider and cut both of them up pretty bad. now we could have chalked this up to a fluke accident, as Ruby is generally pretty steady..but she'd thrown another rider a week ago. this is not boding well for Ruby. brie was exasperated, and said she doesn't know what's gotten into this girl; but the spooking is not acceptable, especially at something so trivial as a squirrel. Ride On is not a stable where problem horses are of use. they need mounts who are bomb proof and reliable, as many of the riders are either just beginning or not strong enough to handle a true spook like that. as i mentioned, a buck is not so worrisome as a reaction in which the horse is out of control completely. and to unseat one of the strongest riders is a matter of deep concern. at this point she is on time out, until further notice. this is sad news indeed for me; as i am JUST starting to really gel with this horse. Brie luckily thinks that it's just a phase (who knows why..she is a mare after all) and that she'll get over it. but they're not letting me chance it at this point, and i'm not looking for another injury. the rider she threw is fine, and still riding; but it could have been very bad; Ruby is scraped up as well. not something i wanted to hear! 

we've all been there

anyway, i rode Lusco; which is also good practice so that i can put my learning to use on other (more difficult) horses. he really is much harder to frame; even though he's better at it than the western-trained Ruby. Lusco's had extensive dressage training, but is much more adept at avoiding the bit. it took me an arm cramp and 30+minutes to make that boy even begin to carry himself. brie had me regress a little and start from the halt to get him to give. then we tried it through all gaits, and by the end, had an acceptable frame. not great, but improved. we finished the lesson with me doing one loop canter serpentines around the entire arena; which is not simple on a horse who doesn't want to stay balanced! all in all, a good ride; tough but rewarding!
please keep ruby in your thoughts and cross your fingers that i'll still be able to show her..i think we could go through a few levels this summer if she stays sane!