Bareback Bumbling

As all has been going well with Kika's lungeing i took the plunge last night and after I was happy with how she'd worked on the lunge; plenty paces transitions walk/trot/canter all obediently undertaken and not a foot out of line. I decided to hop up bareback to cool her off, she is not great to walk on the lunge for the cooling off period.
I'll hold my hand up and admit i had been planning on doing this when i took her out of the walker, as although i hadd been previously lungeing her off her headcollar for the last two weeks i had her bridle and my helmet with us should the situation present itself and i could hop back up!

I would have done so earlier in the week but when i got to the barn on tuesday i found Madam with a new wound/cut on her left hind leg, just above her hoof on the outside of her foot (I have no idea how she could have done it and i'm afraid i forgot to take photos), so tuesday's notion of riding went out the window although we did do our lungeing as she wasn't lame on it. So when all continued sound last night, i figured I'd cut my losses and hop up for a cool down, ;-)
She was good as gold in walk, even rememebring how to hold herself in a correct outline! *jump-up-and-down-with-joy* I am so glad that what we had been working on prior to her accident was not forgotten!

So i decided to be brave and try a little trot, well Miss Kika had other ideas, she shook her head, bunched herself up and refused point blank to go any faster. I'm sure there was tail swishing involved, but as i was focussed on not giving her a chance/excuse to rear i wasn't paying particular attention to her backside! *blushing*
I had to resort to pony club style kicking to get the reaction i wanted out of her, I was not going to let her get away with not doing as she was told.! *Mumble-Grumble-Mare* I had originally only planned on asking for a few steps of trot, but seeing as she had point blank refused my request (not just ignored, i got a reaction out of her - just not eeh one i wanted). So when i realised she had no problems trotting, she wasn't sore or lame - just being a diva...we ended up doing a little more than the few steps of trot I'd intended. Because of her Drama Queen antics i insisted she trot a circle at each end of the arena before finishing up.
It may have been too much too soon, i hope it wasn't as she has three weeks of solid re-building lungeing behind her; and anyway i hadn't intended to do so much trot with her...as usual she forced my hand trying to play boss when she knows she is not!

I then dismounted and picked up her headcollar and leadrope, I left the lunge gear in the arena so that i could hop back up and ride her down to the yard. There is work starting to make new boxes and enlarge the small lungeing arena into a full sized one (i think - i was told by the yard owners months ago but i forget, *blush*) so there was all sorts of horse eating monsters in the shape of JCBs, sand piles, piping, slates etc etc to greet us on our exit. K had had a look at some things on her way into the arena, and we all know how terrifying these things become when seen from another angle! *roll-eyes*
So was as ready as i could be bareback  for anything she might try to do. My angel ponio redeemed herself from our trotting dispute and did not bat an eyelid! We rode right down into the yard without any issue, nice careful baby steps as her shoes can sometimes slip if she tries to go to fast (rarely happens) or takes too large strides.

I was over the moon and on cloud nine (yes it hangs out above the moon, :p), deliriously happy with my girl. Rinsed her new wound out with the house and sprayed it with the stuff i had been using to treat her initial wound - thankfully i have plenty left. Gave her her treats and brushed her off again to make her all pretty before tossing her back out to the field.
Now here i was bold/naughty, ;-) her field is a bit of a walk away from the barn (it's half way down to the woods - like 5 min walk at most, when she's dragging her feet). But it was drizzling and we pass a bench on our way down, so as i was still high as a kite from my earlier spin, i fixed the leadrope to her headcollar in such a way that I could use it as reins and hoped up again to take the final few (well like 20) steps to the field gate. Not a peep out of her, she was goog as gold! Yippeeee!
(although perhaps best to try and keep the excitement in check, I don't want to get ahead of myself and cocky! - surefire way to ask for a dressing down that would be!)

My good friend L has offered me the use of her saddle, she has the lovely chestnut mare O, seen in earlier pictures - namely Kika's first day out in the field back in April. We tried it on her on saturday (before she tried to do her headstand - thankfully saddle was long gone from her person when she showed me her lack of gymnastic skills in attempting her cartwheel), while not perfect Kika did not object to it's presence on her back while lunged in it for a bit. Further clue that the saddle i bought for her in October doesn't fit as she always has something to say about that one when being lunged - she's very expressive in her bucking/plunging/attempts to take off. L is going on holidays tomorrow, so will lunge K in it this evening and have another spin off her tonight, with the saddle this time. Again just walking, maybe with a little trot - just to make sure everything greased and in place. I shall ring the tack shop this afternoon and see when the guy can come measure her for a new saddle (ideally this evening - but may well be too short notice) and then hopefully i can purchase one that will hopefully fit properly this time and it'll be onwards and upwards for us again soon....I hope!

As usual this has gotten much longer than I'd intended! *blush*
As a reward to anyone who was good enough to read all of that waffle - here are some pics i took of her ladyship on the 11th of July for comparison as we get her back into work.

"Look at how well my shoulder has healed...you don't believe me?! Watch me flex my muscles!"

"What do you mean that's not what you meant by pose?!
How about a bit of Zoolander?"

"Oh alright, we'lld o it your way! *ahem* Boring!"

Now for the other side:

I have no idea why she's standing with her back legs spread, i hadn't noticed till i seen the pictures on screen she looks funny...She's not as badly conformed as her stance makes her look...silly mare, always has to put her twist on pictures!