Old MacDonald had a farm,
Ee i ee i oh!

And on that farm he had some horses,
Ee i ee i oh!
With a spook, spook here,
And a spook, spook there

Here a spook, there a spook,
Everywhere a spook, spook
Ee i ee i oh!

 

Sound familiar? <Sigh> Because if I didn’t know better I’d think it was Halloween around here. Why? Because the spooks have come out to play. Mwahaha!

Seriously, since the temperatures have dropped, er, become more seasonal, I’ve been taught a lesson or two about spooking.

Lesson number 1
Do not grip with your lower leg as this encourages the spooking horse to go FASTER!

Lesson number 2
Resist the urge to scream, yelp or in any other way vocalize your shock at the sudden change in direction. Terrifying though it is <gulp> the horse will be even more terrified to discover the spook (uh, that’s you) is now on it’s back.

Lesson number 3
Use your thighs. Yep. Strong thighs will keep you on that horse. Kneel into those thighs! You’ll feel it afterwards but like any workout sore muscles are a good thing. Ow, ow, ow. With any luck you may even collect your horse.

Lesson number 4
Sit up! Keep your center of gravity over the horse’s. That means sit up!

Lesson number 5
Doors are scary monsters to be avoided at all costs! Even if the horse sees that door every day of it’s life.

Lesson number 6
Expect the unexpected. If the horse always spooks approaching the door from the right, eventually she’ll spook approaching from the left. Believe me <sigh>. That time I didn’t think I’d be able to stop her.

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