Hop, Skip and a Jump (well, not really)

Yesterday Mae and I were having a really good ride (outdoors -- finally!) and I decided to go ahead and try something new. I put a pole on the ground and we walked and trotted over that a few times. She didn't seem phased. So next I turned it into a "jump" that couldn't have been more than 12" high. I mounted again and turned and looked at what suddenly appeared to be a monster jump, lol. I know you jumpers out there are probably laughing, but I was nervous because I know absolutely nothing about Mae's jumping history. Plus, she's not my horse and the thought of her getting injured while I tried to yahoo over a jump made me cringe. Plus, I was alone out there. Suddenly this little experiment didn't sound like such a great idea.

I compromised by walking her over it a few times. It sounds silly now, but I really was afraid to point her at it at a trot. And maybe that was smart, because she wasn't entirely happy about walking over it. She tried to refuse a few times but I urged her on. Maybe it was too high to comfortably walk over (I have no idea...whenever I'm going over jumps that are 1-2' I'm always trotting or cantering like a normal person) or maybe her owner lied and Mae doesn't really know how to jump. I'd bet money her owner never jumped her, but when I asked if Mae jumped, she just said, "Oh, sure!" And then she gave me permission to jump. Ummm. The owner has never even seen me jump. I'm just saying. It's not something I'd allow if I were leasing out a horse.

So anyway, after about our fourth awkward walk over the teeny tiny "jump," it started to rain and my ride was over. At that point I wished I had just stuck with ground work since the ride was cut short. Ah, well. At least I learned my first instinct was right and that I probably shouldn't mess with jumping Mae. I'm not experienced enough at jumping to haul her around untested. Mostly, I worry about injuring her. Eating dirt? That I can handle. Maybe. But I couldn't bear to have a hand in her getting injured.