Finding Faith (2)

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Buck moves in a small, tight circle around me. He grinds his teeth together, and holds his head stiff and high. I'm trying to get him to relax, and pull his head down, but he's not having anything to do with that!

"Why are you acting like this?" I ask the shire, and shake my head. "I don't know why you're so nervous. Lunging is supposed to...relax you..." At that moment, Buck slides to a quick stop, and kicks his hind legs up into a buck several times. I let out a bit more line so that he can release his fireworks, and then I spur him on with the lunge whip. Buck transitions smoothly from a trot to a lope, and keeps one ear pointed firmly in my direction. "Shall we try the cart now?" I ask Buck, and whoa him to a stop.

Last night, after some research I figured out how to attach the cart to the horse. You have to first settle and strap the harness saddle just behind the withers on the horses back. Then, the breast collar goes around the horses necks. You then have to lay the ends if the traces over the horse's back so that they don't drag and get tangled up. The false martingale that hangs from the breast collar goes between the horses front legs. Then the girth goes through the loop on the martingale and is fastened, until it is tight and snug, however, not as tight as it is on a standard riding saddle.

After that, the crupper goes over the tail until the cup of the crupper rests closely beneath the tail and the breaching, hangs below the hips. To avoid irritation, the tail hairs must be smooth if they rest underneath the crupper. The blackstrap must be fastened to the fork of the saddle. Just barely tight, but snug enough so that the crupper is firmly in place, but not so tight that the circulation at the base of the tail gets cut off.

It's a lot to remember, but I'm sure, that with practice, I can get it. Buck walks in towards me, and I gather the extra line at my hip, so that I have nice control of the heavy shire. We exit the ring, and stroll towards the shed where I have stashed the gear. Buck eyes it carefully, and shies away from the small building.

"Calm down, Bud. It's just a shed." After a reassuring stroke on the neck, Buck follows me, but remains wary the whole time. He snorts loudly when I grab the tack and deposit it near his side. Pinning his ears back, Buck lowers his head and sniffs the tack deeply, then squeals and throws up his head. Having a shire spook around you can be a bit daunting, with their size and all, but I try to not let it make me nervous as I place the harness saddle on his black back. The girth then gets tightened and I slip the breast collar over Buck's neck. The gelding looks at me curiously, slowly starting to remember what I'm doing. "See? You recognize all this weird stuff now, huh?"

Humming as I work, I move onto the crupper, and have to stand on my tip toes to attach it. Soon, Buck is fully suited up in the tack. Now all that remains is the cart. I don't know if I'm rushing it by putting the cart up so soon, but I doubt it. Attaching the cart is simple, and soon, Buck is all done. I step back and smile, admiring my work. Sweat drips down my forehead. Sweat well earned. I never thought I'd be doing this! Buck shifts about a little nervously on the grassy ground beneath his hoofs, still becoming accustomed with the weight if the cart and harness.

"Well? Why don't we start?" The cart shifts haphazardly as I climb into it, and sit on the plush black leather covered seat. My fingers curl around the chestnut coloured reins, and I smile. I kinda like the feel of sitting far up here.

There's just one small problem...all of this is new and foreign, and I don't actually know how to drive the cart. Deciding to figure it out as I go along, I gather the reins, and bite my lip, stalling slightly. Racking my brain, I think of how in the movies, the people like, slap the horses with the reins...is that what you're supposed to do?