Trails, Training, and Pain

Shame, shame on me! So much has happened, and I forgot to update. How will I remember it all now? I shall attempt.
So last...oh, was it Thursday? Yes it was. I was out to ride miss Gypsy, and I was waiting for lessons to be done in the arena. So I was just sitting on Gypsy outside on the blacktop. Well here comes two other riders that board at the barn, and they are planning on going for a trail ride. I asked if I could come along, and they said Sure! Then, on our way out, one more rider joined us. So our foursome was off! Now remember how I said Gypsy likes to remind me that she is NOT, in fact, a trail horse of any kind? Haha. Add to that how slow she walks, because she is half the size of all the other horses, so she had to kind of prance to even keep up. We walked through this big ol field that was grassy and a bit hilly, and still squishy from rain in parts. Now don't get me wrong- I was very proud of my pony. I was expecting some mass disaster. But no, she was just prancey- But there were some moments while we were out there that Gypsy got miraculously calm and walked around like she was A-Okay! But she resumed prancing and was getting a little boogery on the way home...But nothing I didn't expect.
That same day actually, before this little ride of ours, I had walked Gypsy down the grassy path to this field. There are a couple cows on the other side of the fence in a pasture, and they thought Gypsy was fascinating! Just had to come over and check her out, and eventually got brave enough to come right up! Gypsy was none too sure about these man eating cows at first, but got over it. Have a picture on my phone I was planning on putting on, but I am lazy and forgot.
Besides that excitement, I had yet another painful day at work! I swear I haven't had accidents as frequently as I have at work...ever. I was working Miss Drafty mare, and she was being fabulous! She has been bad about pulling back while tied...But she wasn't this day! I curried her up [the sharp-toothed, growling, death-to-mankind curry comb] and brushed her down, without her pulling back once! I would brush her a little, then step back and relax and stand on her own. Seemed to work really well. Then I untied her and picked her feet out in the middle of the arena- she's been bad about that as well- I wanted the tying-up that went on to remain pleasant and wonderful for her. And she was a little better about her feet! And then I lunged her, and she is getting so much better about cantering on lunge without me having to kill myself! Fabulous! So off I went to tie her up to saddle her. And she did wonderfully there too. Success! But alas, apparently a bad happening is overdue at work. The owner's husband came in the barn at the same instant I was untying Mare from the metal ring...And I am assuming the noise he made doing this is what spooked her....But Mare jerked back and did her pull-back trick, effectively ripping the lead rope from me. My thumb got trapped in between the lead rope and the metal ring, and I very easily could have lost my thumb completely. I got lucky though, and it only tore out some skin on the underside of my knuckle, and rubbed skin off, but didn't break skin, on top of the knuckle. OHHH but it hurt something fierce! But I was in the middle of a good work session with Drafty Mare, and I didn't want to quit on that! So with bleeding thumb and all, I did some head yields on the mare, and up-downs in the stirrups. Then I mounted for the first time without anyone's assistance to hold the lead rope or anything! And she didn't care at all! Perfectly calm! And So I did more head yields from up there, and then tried to get a step or two forward outta her. Haha, Oh and she just did not understand at all! I gave a little squeeze, and she didn't budge a hair. I ended up having to give a soft whack on her bum with my hand, and she walked off a very short ways. So I ended on that wonderful note, and got the heck outta there. My thumb still hurts real bad, and has been swollen for some days now- But I was able to get my thumb ring off for the first time today! Ha! So thats been real fun...I have some real compassion for people who lose fingers now....I felt like a hampster without full use of my hand.
Ahh so, what else? Hum. I went with my loverboy to his hometown in Eastern Oregon this weekend, to his parents place. They own a ranch with about a bazillion head of horses there, but most haven't had anything done on them. But his dad trains horses a sometimes, and was showing me how he does things. It was fascinating, really. I guess he uses combinations of Parelli, Clinton Anderson, and the like. Makes his horses very soft, very responsive. Rides his horses western on a completely loose rein. I found myself somewhat confused though, learning how he does things. Where does this fit in what I already know about horse training? Some of it was so very different from how I was taught- BEING taught in school right now. What is right? Or can both be right? One side tells me that there should be no contact on the reins- there should be complete freedom and self-carriage- and the other side tells me they never like to ride without contact... And I must say, I ride Gypsy with contact, oh yes. I can't really ride without it, unless we are walking around. How can there be so many different frames of thought for the same idea? We all want the same ending product, where was it back in time where the road became so divided? I don't know where to place myself in the Classical Training VS Natural Horsemanship scheme of things. Someplace in the middle, perhaps? I think both sides have something they could learn from the other. Oh I don't know. I'm too tired for thinking of any depth right now. When did this blog become home to deep thoughts anyways?