along comes our Second chance ..in the form of a new neighbor , Kaaren

November 2012, I am talking to a new friend I met on FB, who lives near me . Her name is Kaaren and she's a blessing.. Helping me fit Coby to his new easy boots and even adjusted his back for him when he started showing some pain in his back from my old western saddle that is getting a little worn out.

She offers to come ride Coby while I ride Kizz out on trail! Can I do it? Get past my biggest fear - huge open fields , I picture him bolting off with his break neck Arabian speed, with me dragged along  :D

We plan for an evening and that's that! an hour before she comes.. I get so nervous. I know I have to get over this. Kizz is a wonderful sweet horse and I am truly holding him back.

I secretly mix myself a very very stiff rye and gingerale drink, I down it and then down another. I go out to wait for Kaaren and grooming Kizz.

Kaaren arrives and graciously offers me one of her Bob Marshall endurance saddles to try. (She brought one to use on Coby as well, Coby loved it!)  We saddle up and head down the driveway. I'm nervous as can be, I hadn't even lunged kizz in a while!  We get out on the road, (another fear of mine is him leaping into a car because he's looking at something in the opposite direction!) I squish in between Coby and the ditch feeling much more secure that Cobys big white body is blocking the way to in front of a car. I feel pretty brave (liquid brave lol) and up the access road to the fields we go.

We are walking up the access road and Kaaren starts to tell me all about endurance riding and some of her many adventures! It's very interesting and exciting! Could KIZZ and I someday do an endurance ride!?!

We get to the end of the access road and to the open pastures.. I wait patiently for a pause in her stories to tell her that I've gone far enough and am ready to turn... before I know it we are walking along the edge of the pasture and well onto our way along the field.. it's too late!! I try to just hold a tight rein (on Kizz's excited fast paced walk and high head looking all around excitedly!  I am so used to low headed dead quiet Coby this is so nerve wracking to me! ) and pay attention to her stories and loose my nervousness in them!

As we go along the field we get to the end  I tell Kaaren I'm very happy with how we've done and I'm ready to turn.. ( I now think how she must have been laughing in her head, we'd rode maybe 20 minutes, and she normally rides hours! )

Kaaren suggests we cut THROUGH the field over to a little building my husbands grandfather has for hunting. I'm very nervous but too embarassed to tell her I'm scared to go out in the open field!  We go to the building, Kizz snorts at it and looks at it funny but we survive! no bolting ! I even felt brave enough to get a picture!

I'm still shaking when we get home, but I'm so dang proud of both Kizz and I!!