Well the title kinda says it all. I was back to trotting on Clipper this week, and my knees were pretty much glued to the saddle. Pretty cool! I seriously felt more secure trotting on him than ever before, and more comfortable trotting PERIOD than ever.
Of course I lost all my other aids and was back to making amoebas. Le sigh. I think by next week I'll regain my errant calves and hands and make some nice circles again.
Clipper was not thrilled. He much preferred last week's walking-only lesson and refused to pick up trot on the left at all. (It's his "bad" side.) I tricked him by riding figure-8's, and I did manage to keep enough leg on to keep him at a trot for at least one "circle" to the left at a time.
He is a huge faker. When I unsaddled him, he wasn't the slightest bit sweaty at all. Horse, you are a LIAR!
After my lesson, I tried to go fishing. Last weekend I fished more than I rode and I caught a dozen bream - Cersei and the cats ate fish for three days, and I still have six in the freezer for me. I guess I'll get brave and cook them this week!
Anyway, last week was my first fishing trip with a rod and reel, and also my first trip where I cruelly slaughtered and butchered my catch. It was pretty horrible and gross for the first few fish, but it got easier.
So today I went back for more. Except... nothing. I fished three different ponds, for probably 2-3 hours total, and didn't get a single hit. One pond I suspect is fishless, and the other two were just full of lazy fish who didn't like my lure. See last week I fished with crickets, and this week I tried some artificial worms that the guys were using (and CATCHING FISH WITH) last week. I suspect I am just not jiggling it around in a way that the fish appreciate, but nonetheless, I yelled at the guys when I saw them. Accused them of sneaking crickets on there with their horrible fake worms. Heh.
I fished two ponds out of my truck, and I made my long suffering Champ cart me and my pole out to the third pond. He was slightly skeptical of the giant stick I was carrying, but didn't pitch a fit at all. I leashed Cersei to a tree (where she usually stays during the actual fishing), and ran a rope between two other trees, through some tall grass, for a high-line for Champ.
And no, I'm not quite sure how I would've gotten the fish home had I actually caught any.
I love it that you are plotting against fish. That so describes my daily routine. And sometimes I am the fish
ReplyDeletehehehe, I found you through Paige and wanted to say "Congrats" on passing the bar. Good job.
ReplyDeleteI am not a fish eater so I don't catch them either, but I do have horses and dogs so we still have a lot of stuff in common. I'll be back to visit again!
That is awesome, riding out with your fishing pole! :-) something almost Huck Finn about the mental image.
ReplyDeleteI am going fly fishing tomorrow on the Kootenai River in Libby, Montana. Great big trout, supposedly. I am not much of a fish eater either but i sure like catching!
grrr stupid fish! I am still mad at them. On Monday I bought two new kinds of lure thingies at Walmart and surely I shall snag some this weekend.
ReplyDeleteThank you Holly! Do you by any chance know any Mississippi attorneys who want to hire me? Dear god I need a law job.
Anyway! Apparently I'm not really Huck Finn til I can ride bareback in a halter with my pole, like my new riding buddy has done. I don't think I'll ever be HF - Champ has a very bony back even when he's fat.