Enter Janie. I'm sure I was emotional and overwrought when I saw her standing at a local sale just two weeks after Johnnie's death, but there she was and she reminded me SO much of Johnnie that I wasn't about to let her go to someone else for a mere $250.
She's very nicely bred with Obvious Prophet as her grand-daddy. She's pretty sweet, but boy does she have some issues! We've had her for 15 months now and she still has fits when I touch her ears... BUT she's much much better about her feet. There were many times when I'm certain she was hoping my brush or carrot-stick were my head when she lashed out with those hind legs.
She had a big bump on her face when I first met her and we were told they had some trouble trailering to the sale. I didn't ask for further details, but it made me wonder. Heck, she loaded fine into my friend's 3-horse slant to bring her home. Maybe it was the drugs? lmao.... dunno.
Soooooooo... over the year we've ridden her, gotten bucked off... realized that she did NOT like a bit or headstall put on. We backed down to a bosal, but the first several times we had to unbuckle the headstall to get it on her.
Once it was on, she was ok, but she was pushy with her head.
She and I had an episode where I got over-confident and hopped on her bareback next to the trailer. The tack-door was open and we skittered into it... it caught us (I swear to everything I find holy, that trailer door is out to get me) and off we went in a bareback buckfest with me stupidly grabbing on with spurred feet trying to hang on. That didn't work.
I must admit I stepped back and took a second look at her and I had some hesitance wanting to get back on her.
Enter, hubby Jay. He's a cowboy from years and years of being put on green stuff from a young age and his testosterone led him to take on Janie as his own. He worked quite a bit with her and took her out on quite a few trails too! That's all grand and fine other than he broke his ankle in January of this year, and he doesn't trust that lack of strength yet to start working with her again.
Sooooo here I go again (snort). I've been playing on the ground a lot with her over the winter. I got her to let me stick my fingers in her mouth.. and from certain angles I can touch her ears. She's doing GREAT with her feet too (carrot sticks are a wonder distance tool). The farrier had very few problems with her last week.
Anyway... since I started playing with her, I found myself really wanting to ride her again. She's so dang pretty and I know she can do a lot more than moseying down a trail (although that is one of my favorite past-times). But I just have a feeling that she can grow into something so much beyond that.
After all the ground work and bonding, I decided it was time for me to suck it up and take her on again.
So off we went! Ok, so our first outing last weekend didn't go QUITE as I had planned when she planted me after getting poked in the butt by a dead branch. But the next day on the trail went GREAT!
On that second adventure of the weekend, I had her ponying the 23yo gelding... backing to maneuver in a small area... tiny sidepasses... she was willing to try to take me up a sand cliff, and she bounded up a smaller steep trail as eager as you please! Then she came back down very controlled and happy.
She has a very sweet collected trot and she pays attention to her surroundings. She's not "slow" like her former owners led me to believe. I know she has some pep, but she prefers to move along at a fairly nice pace.
I will ride Janie at the annual Friday Before Mother's Day Ride coming this Friday. I'm really looking forward to spending more time with this girl and seeing what we can do.
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