Saturday, October 11, 2008

Making my heart sing...





My Grand daughter Ariel asked if she could learn to ride Badger.

Well she will be 5 yrs old on the 21st. So when her brother went down for a nap, we caught up Mr. Mule aka as Badger.
Ariel began to actually learn how to ride.
First there was brushing...
Then the most important lesson of the day.

How to properly get on and off Badger. Since I cannot lift her onto Badger who is 60" at his whithers and I am 64" tall with a bum elbow...we had to devise a way for her to get on without me lifting.

I had her step on my leg and then into the stirrup. She learned to reach the saddle horn and get her 'hind' leg over the back of the saddle.
She also learned how to properly dismount with an adult help.
She learned how to make Badger walk forward and whoa. How to turn him left and right and how to make him backup.
[This all done on a lead line for safety.]

Why does it sound like I am as excited as Ariel about this whole thing?
Gosh, maybe it is because I LOVE teaching kids?

'We' rode for over two hours. Badger ever patient, ever calm, ever quiet, and ever wonderful. How many ways can I say I absolutely love this mule?
Grand kids, mules, my dog...it sure makes my heart SING.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Please include at least your first name if you are commenting Anonymously. Thank you.