Katie

Diary of a Horseback Camp
2010-07-19 23:25:46 (UTC)

July 19 2010

Dear Diary,
So sorry I haven't been writing! It's been weeks since
my
last entry. Funny, I only remembered you were floating
around the internet when I STARTED CAMP AGAIN :D
Yes, after the first week ended, I was begging for more
time. There were several shed tears for the farewell to
Hollywood, but Keedle promised me that if I wanted to pop
in at any time and ride him around a little, I could. That
reassured me.
Back to the camp...well, new friends!
You see, Caitlin, Eliza, and Shiann are no longer my
fellow campers. They've been replaced by Emmy, Calina, and
Halley. Emmy and Colina are both six or seven, and very
eager to ride. Emmy is a more expierienced rider, quiet
and intelligent, but still a kid. Calina--her name I only
remember because she kept correcting me when I called her
Paulina (it's CALINA! With a C!!)--is kind of bratty and
always begs for attention, whether it's screaming random
comments to make the counsellors stare, or saying "Scare
me, scare me, scare me NOW!" in the middle of lunch.
Halley is a bit older than me but shorter, and seems more
like a counsellor than a camper--she's obviously friends
with them and not bothering to be friends with us.
Although this time around, I must admit, I am more
friendly and less awkward with the counsellors.
Speaking of counsellors, our new group is largely
unknown to me. I know one, sporty and tan, is Jessica,
another is Sarah, dark and short, and that's it. Oh, and
halfway through the day Megan, a leftover from my last
week, popped in and helped.
Second of all...I have a new allegiance.
Emmy had camp last week too, and had apparently been
riding Hollywood. So, even though it pains me, it made
sense that she would ride him instead of me, the one who
had ridden him three weeks ago and had probably been
forgotten. Also, Hollywood has moved stalls--now a new bay
named Oaf has taken her stall, while she moves to the
bigger barn with the non-school horses. So Emmy rides
Hollywood. I am saddened.
BUT I get a new horse, much faster and less
stubborn...also not half blind...*drumroll*
Bo!
Yes, Bo, show name Bodacious, is mine for the week.
Remember him? Shiann's black and white-marked (strikingly
marked I might add) horse? Well yeah. He's mine now, my Bo
Boy. And new horse means new riding.
Relatedly, Emmy has Hollywood (who's being damagingly
stubborn), Bratt--I mean Colina has Centaur (the
Diminuitive), and Hayley has Maestro the Mischevious.
Third...the Daily Chronicle!
I got there right at 8:45 today, arguably early. I was
first, other than Hayley, who I thought was a counsellor
at this point. She had professional riding leggings,
leggings with leather on the inside kness. Aaaaanyway then
Emmy found me and we walked and talked. When I asked if
she knew where Hollywood was, she said matter-of-
factly, "Oh, yeah, I'll be riding him." I hoped against
hope she was wrong--Holly was all I knew :(
But then Colina came and Keedle told me about Bo. I
accepted graciously, without the fuss I wanted to make.
Before we rode, we fed the horses. Keedle has a large
cart kept in a shed, used for feed, aptly named the feed
shed. It's black plastic, divided into one half and two
quarters, with a small tray. A few squat buckets were
resting in one part, the lip of the buckets resting on the
edge of the section. In the top bucket were two handled
scoops. In another quarter sized one was a kind of horse
feed--grainy-looking--with black orbs Keedle told me were
nutrient bits. The longest partition was filled with feed,
which looks like grain.
On the tags, small blackboards tacked on the doors of
the stalls, are the horses name, their owner, and a space
for extra details. Keedle has written how many scoops of
feed goes for that horse. On the few that are seniors, or
need some kind of medicine, she's written Snr. or Meds.
Hollywood and Blackie, the THIRTY-SEVEN YEAR OLD black
with a billion maladies, are two seniors. Some of the
horses, like massive Valentino or stubborn Peaches, need
medicine.
Bo needs two scoops every morning. Keedle scooped it
into an orange bucket and told me to feed him. I carefully
watched her feed Birdie--Bo's neighbor--by pushing the
bucket tightly through an open space in the bars of the
stall. Apparently the food trough--whether it be corner-
shaped or a metal trough shaped to a horses' nose or just
a hanging bucket--was positioned right under the opening.
I pushed the bucket through and dumped it in. I think
that's when Bo started to like me.
While some of the horses need medicine or special food,
Birdie needs soup. Because she has digestive problems,
Keedle has to mix water with all of Birdie's food. It
makes the outside wall of her stall below the opening
really disgusting. Blech.
We had to wait about 20 minutes while the horses ate
and digested--we could hurt them if we put the girth on
too soon. So while we waited, Calina, Emmy and I climbed
on the hay bales.
In the back corner of the arena, there's a stack of hay
bales. I think the highest point is 7 bales high and three
bales wide, with 6 bales high 1 wide, then 4 bales high 1
wide after that, then a jumble that ultimately creates a
ramp up to the 4 h by 1 w stack. At the base of the 7 by
three, there's a stack of two, then a stack of one, like
stairs. We climbed around for awhile, then sulked until
the horses were ready.
Anyway, at the first ride, I realized what a boon Bo
was.
Bo is so...EAGER! He walks with a single click of the
tongue, trots with a squeeze and a light kick, revels in
jumps, enjoys the trotting poles...he's amazing. Where
Hollywood was slow, reluctant, and stubborn, Bo is quick,
responsive, and ready to run. Keedle tells me he's a great
cantering horse, which is good, because guess what? Today
I cantered for the first time.
Hayley knew how to canter, so she was cantering Maestro
for short straightaways. Megan asked me if I knew how to
canter, and I said know--she said I was learning now. She
told me to go around to a corner at a trot, then when me
and Bo were straight, to rise into jumping position--butt
rises, hands in the mane over the withers--and that Bo was
trained to recognize that as the cue to canter. I was
nervous, but already confident in Bo, so I followed her
instructions.
Cantering is what you think of when you think of a horse
running, a da-dum, da-dum gait. And OHHHmigod, it is so
much fun. Bo's an expert. He made it very smooth where it
could have been rough, pleasant when it could have been an
ordeal.
Either way, I only cantered two straightaways today, but
Sarah promised I could canter a couple laps at least
tommorrow. That made my day.
After the ride...well, I'm writing this the day after,
and I honestly can't remember anything between the two
rides. I know we decorated a horse shoe each, still shiny
and hot, and that we ate lunch somewhere in there, flies a-
buzzing, but not much else. Sigh.
The second ride was much like the first, and we put the
horses away. I gave Bo some hay--there's always a pile by
the trash can in the schoolhorse barn. Dad came, and like
that. NOW I have to go write my entry for today...see you
very, very soon.




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