My First Ride On Hola

It's been absolutely gorgeous around here lately. We didn't have much of an October but November has been a knock out beautiful month. So I had the itch to ride Hola...




Last night. I went out to the barn straight after work so I could beat the girl who feeds and cleans and get my ride in on both Toby and Hola. As it turned out, I had a good but not stupendous ride on the ever opinionated Toby. He just gets too much enjoyment at trying to get away with as much as he can all the time. It's a game. But really he was fairly good for not being worked for a week or so.

As I rode Toby, the barn owner and her son were there cleaning stalls and then another boarder arrived. Turns out she was going to take a lesson in the next 1/2 hour. I had it in my mind that I was going to ride Hola that night and nothing was going to stop me. So I had to hurry to get the ride in before her lesson.

I quickly switched horses and took Hola into the indoor arena. All the lights were on and it was dark outside so the indoor arena had a different look to him. He eyeballed everything but was really quite calm and good.

So I got on him....

WHAT A WALK!! I was blown away at how it felt. He uses his hind end so well that even at the walk he was pushing me out of the saddle. Amazing! It covers so much ground and he wasn't being asked for it. I can't imagine what it'd be like if I asked him for more walk.

He has a narrow chest and a round barrel which I fit in perfectly (IMO). He was a wiggle worm just like a very green horse would be so straight wasn't anything he could do well at this time.

After we walked for a good bit in both direction I asked for the trot. WHAT A TROT!!! It's so floaty and easy to ride. Incredibly comfortable and it covers a ton of ground with minimal effort. He just marched around like a good little worker bee.

He can easily become tense but he relaxes quickly if you "coo" to him. So I sang softly the whole time. His ears flick back and forth and you can feel his muscles relax underneath you. That's when he will give you what you want... the roundness! And boy did he get round and floaty!! I was in awe and kept looking in the mirrors at us. He was gorgeous! Another horse came into the arena and he made himself even more round because at this point he was trying to impress the "girl horse." But he never lost step and kept on working. I love that about thoroughbreds. They are such good workers and enjoy having a job.

I kept the ride short and positive. He was just so good! And I was on cloud nine...

I cannot believe how lucky I am to have this guy. He's perfect!