The Rise And Fall Of LSP Pt. I - The Horses

It seemed like a good idea to go riding on Friday, so that's what we did. Drove over to Waco, saddled up a couple of half-wild Arabs and went out in the round pen for a warm up.  There you have it, the rise of LSP.

All went well, so we went out in the pasture and stepped it up a bit. Fine, except that the horses weren't used to doing anything outside of a walk/trot in the round pen.

Looks Normal is Crazy

Well I didn't care and urged the uncollected, nervous, rebellious Arab forward and, when she started tossing her head and trying to get back to the barn, I turned her in a tight circle away from temptation. She hated that and went full retard horse spastic at the top of the circle and popped me off. Sic transit, the fall of LSP.

I hit the ground on my hip like a bergan full of wet charcoal landing on concrete, then got up and took stock. Could I walk? No, the old left leg was as mutinous as the horse herself. So I stood there, catching my breath.

Good Arab

The Recruit caught up soon enough, led his better behaved beast back to the barn and brought the truck around with BE. They levered me into the cab and drove to the nearest walk-in ER, which took an X Ray.

Oh dear, the upper femur was fractured below the ball joint joining the bone to the pelvis, a nasty injury, especially if an unstable bone slices through an artery and you bleed out. That hadn't happened, thank God.

Recruit Wearing a Helmet Riding an Arab

Next thing you know a busted up horseman's in an ambulance heading towards Waco central and surgery.

Moral? Never Trust An Arab or You Don't Bounce Like You Used To.

To be continued...

LSP

Ride The Horse

It was a balmy 68* in the Texan winter, as I galloped up a hill on my friend's ranch, which made me wonder if I'd made the right decision in wearing a lined denim jacket. "It's kind of warm in this coat," I cleverly informed my equestrian friend, "but you know what, it protects against thorns." And so it did, they're a hazard.

A Typical Texan Road

We rested on top of the hill and looked out over the countryside to I35, some 10 or 12 miles in the distance, with the setting sun reflecting off trucks making their way north and south along the highway. There we were in the saddle, with the sunset behind us, and there was the traffic, speeding silently towards its destination; quite a divide.

This led to a horseback discussion on the state of the country. Would there be another civil war, my friend pondered, and if so, how would it come about? Through the centrifugal forces unleashed by financial collapse, when the Debt Star decides to collect payment? Through what seems to be increasing, nationwide polarization? One thing's for sure, after 8 years of Gun Control Barack, everyone's armed to the teeth.

Several trot, canter, gallops later we were back at the barn and giving the horses some hay. They attacked it with gusto.

I love riding. Thanks, RP, for the opportunity.

Stay on the horse,

LSP

Boot and Spur

When we walked into the Pitt Stop yesterday to get hamburgers, one of the riders was wearing spurs. An old timer looked up from his booth and said, "Spurs?" and my friend said, "Well you can't be a cowboy without spurs, can you now."

The old timer thought for a bit and kind of beamed back, "I haven't worn a pair of those in years!"

I hardly ever ride with them and maybe that's a mistake, but here's some basic spur wisdom from HorseChannel.com:

Spurs are no substitute for good riding skills. By no means will they help make you a better rider.

“You have to know how to ride a horse correctly before you put spurs on,” says Sherryl Crawford of Lipan, Texas, who grew up running cans, trains her own barrel horses and also team ropes. “If you don’t really know what you are doing as far as riding or training a horse, and you’re also spurring him, you’re just going to end up with a big problem that you can’t fix.”

“Spurs are a good tool if you use them correctly; they’re not for looks, and they’re not to be used as a weapon,” says Earnest Wilson of Tolar, Texas, who is a well-respected Paint Horse trainer with 46 years in the business...

Spurs should be applied with steady pressure—pressing the spur into the horse’s side, not poking him. You can increase the pressure as necessary, but if you poke or jab the horse he’s going to lurch or jump. Then you risk grabbing with your legs to hang on, and grabbing his mouth, too. That will simply scare your horse. 

Ride on,

LSP