Trust

Today I went into the corral to finish mucking, and Nine was laying down. I walked directly up to him and he did not get up. Then I sat right next to him and rubbed him down. He was still fine (with two unfamiliar people and a guitar near him!) so I sat on his back. Still fine, so I straddled him. Still fine! I sat there for a while just rubbing him down and such, but when I tried to get him to lay the rest of the way down (completely flat) he stood up. Anyways, it was still a huge step, for me as well - I wasn't scared the whole time. I guess my knees aren't hurting anymore and my brain has finally forgotten the Nine + riding = PAIN misconception. YAY!

Then I was showing off to my friends and I stretched Nine's hind foot out, set it down, and squatted right behind Nine while rubbing his legs. He was so completely unconcerned that I felt like an idiot, hehe! But it got my heart thumping a bit and forced me to let go more of the lingering fear, so I really think I'll be ready next time I try to ride Nine. I'm learning not to be afraid, and how to manage the lingering fear.

Some things that have been helping are goofing off around the animals I am comfortable around; standing up on Hammer, crawling under, over, around Hammer, Ashley, and the donkeys... Today I "cowboy mounted" the donkey (I've heard it called that once before :P) - I ran strait at his hindquarters (thus the fear factor and trust building) and vaulted up onto his back from there. I used to do that all the time on my donkey Rocky but hadn't done it in forever until today. That also teaches me to just go for it - commit myself! I also stood up on Rocky several times today, and he even walked around while I was "surfing" on his back - Okay, so I wasn't totally standing up while he walked, but I was up on my knees! I was fairly impressed with myself, hehe!