First sit on my pony for 8 months!!

Haven't felt much like doing anything all week as had tonsilitis and just felt generally lacking energy but today, I thought I would make the effort as the sun came out. I took my saddle down (only comes out on nice days at the moment!!) and Pete came with me. I didn't say anything to start with but I knew that today I wanted to have a sit on Alfie.
I did some groundwork first and he was great (apart from wanting to check what was in my pocket - must stop treats when working I think, although it does encourage very quick responses when he thinks he is going to get something to eat). He did lead past, hindquarters disengage, change direction, all remembered from the other week and was even better than then. Always find that with him - sometimes some 'thinking' time makes him good at something he has previously struggled with.
Things were good so I took him in the little paddock with the mounting block and got Pete to hold him whilst I got on him. I wasn't nervous about getting on him, but I felt VERY vulnerable once I was up there.

I think some of it was the combination of not having been up there for such a long time and only having a halter on him. One of Alfie's little quirks (maybe his age?) is that if something worries him, he will jump a bit and if the thing doesn't go away then he just panics and gets in more of a tizz. This didn't really bother me before but I guess feeling vulnerable generally, that was very much on my mind. What was going to spook him in the little paddock standing still I don't know!!!

He showed this last Sunday when I walked him on to a huge piece of plastic which Pete had laid out to dry. He walked on OK, then once he got into the middle (his choice!) he wanted to get off, but of course everywhere he walked, it made a scrunching noise so in the end he was spinning round in a big panic not knowing where to go and I just had to let go of him. I did get him back on in a sensible manner, but that kind of shows his nature a bit.

So, I guess all this is a confidence issue and only to be expected. Also he very much picks up on me and my feelings. He was really fine with me getting on and was quite sweet really. It must have felt so strange to him and he kept looking around with a definite feeling of mild surprise! But cos I was feeling a bit edgy, if I wriggled too much or moved my feet around, his head came up and he was definitely wondering what I was about to do.



Its OK Alf, it's only mum!

Having said that, he does look fairly relaxed on these pics!! The good bit was that our saddle was VERY comfy - I hope it is for him too! I could have sat there all day. It is funny, I am glad I did it. I really really wanted to, but also its a bit of a non-event as I can't do it again really now for another few months. I suppose if I was one of these supremely confident people, I would just go and ride and darn well make sure I didn't come off, but I'm not, so I will just have to keep my feet on the ground for a while longer.
What did I learn today from sitting on Alfie? That I need to build up a bit more strength in my arm still - I could really feel it when I leant on it a bit to get off; that when I do start to ride again I need to breathe and relax and think positive things  and have someone with me; that in an ideal world, maybe I need to think about someone riding him for me first then me hop on at the end.
In the meantime, I need to desensitise him plenty for both my confidence and his. When I was working with him on the ground with his saddle on, the end of my rope banged on his wooden stirrup and made a strange noise and he was worried about that. So I stopped him, shook his stirrups, banged them about, flicked the rope on them...etc etc.. until he stood quietly and realised it wasn't an Alfie-eating monster!