We had a saddle fitted for Ducati – and then Emma was eager to ride. We just had the flat area in Ducati’s paddock for Emma to ride in. She could ride in the shape of a dressage arena. Walk and trot were very nice! It all went well! Success. He handled it very well and Emma was happy. I was also happy that this time it was working out. Phew!
I wasn’t overly fussed on the saddle – to me it didn’t look right. But I assumed the saddle fitter knew best. I didn’t know much about saddles so left it to the experts. The saddle in the photo above is not the one I’m referring to – it belonged to someone else.
I had already noticed on Ducati some white marks on the wither area – and I knew that was from poor saddle fit ….. and he was just three years old! I had also noticed a ‘dent’ in his rump. It was only seen sometimes. I had never seen that before. No skin was broken so what was it? I assumed it was ‘just how he was’. I have only just discovered what it really is!
I’d watch Ducati race around the paddock – he was still a youngster and enjoyed playing. It frightened me though. There was no way I wanted to be on his back! Still Emma was okay with it.
One day, she decided to do a nice canter as well as the walk and trot…………as he started, I could see something was wrong . Was the saddle worrying him? I didn’t know… but he started to get off balance – it was a weird little hop – like something wasn’t right with his leg or back. Emma came off and landed on her back. I was horrified. Ducati took off in fright down to the fence and stood there trembling. I rushed to Emma – fortunately she sat up and wasn’t too badly injured , ie. It didn’t mean a trip to hospital!
I then went over and got Ducati – he was okay – just shaken. I walked back to the top part of the paddock with both of them – took off the saddle and gear – made sure he was okay – then walked a sore and sorry Emma back to our shed where we were still living.
Sadly she lost her confidence after that – and her desire to continue with horses. It was the start of 2005 – Emma was 15 – and her focus turned to other things. It seems to be the age, if you have been a horse mad child, when things can change . This is what happened – and the fall was the catalyst.
So I now had two horses! Two horses who would never have been here if Emma hadn’t found them! Little did I know that these two horses would lead me on a journey with highs and lows, and open doors to people and information that have enriched our lives. They have given me so much!
Coming up – MEETING UNDER THE MAGIC TREE!
IF YOU ARE NEW TO THIS STORY, PLEASE START HERE AT THE BEGINNING Part 1 – An Introduction
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