Izzy the Trusty

Last week while Roxy was camping on the trail with the Pony Farm campers, I got to ride another Touchstone Farm lesson horse, Izzy.

Curious Izzy in his shaggy
winter coat

Boo refers to Roxy, Annie, and the other longtime mainstays of the farm as “the old trusties.” Izzy joined the farm only this Spring, but he is well on his way to becoming a trusty. He works in both Horse Power and the Touchstone Farm riding lesson program. He's curious about his world, and inclined to give people and other horses the benefit of the doubt.

Izzy’s Thoroughbred heritage was immediately apparent as we prepared to ride. For starters, he is so tall that I couldn’t use the two-step mounting block in the indoor ring where we ride. We had to make a quick detour to the stairs outside the Tag ring so that I could climb aboard.

Though Roxy is my pony of choice, it’s really interesting, and illuminating, to test out my riding chops on a different horse. For the most part, my chops held up pretty well. I was particularly pleased to see how nimbly Izzy stepped to the right or the left when I gave him the cue for a leg yield. Getting Roxy to step sideways is a lot like nudging a Jersey barrier.

Roxy: "Whoa is overrated."

Izzy’s walk has a wonderful relaxed swing to it. With his long body and legs, he covers a lot of ground quickly. His expansive walk felt very different from Roxy’s straight-ahead, no frills gait.

Izzy is also very good at whoa, a cue Roxy sometimes thinks is optional. On the other hand, Roxy moves easily from walk to trot upon request, and I could not get Izzy into a trot. Just couldn’t do it. I think he and I need more practice with our upward transitions.

Despite the lack of trotting, Izzy was fun to ride. We rode until a group of campers and their horses came down to the indoor for their morning lesson. They were treated to the sight of me dismounting from tall Izzy. I did this with much grace – until I swung my right leg off and caught my half-chap on the extra-high cantle of his saddle. I could neither get back on nor swing my leg higher to clear the cantle. With as much control as I could muster, I slid/fell the long way down to the ground.

I wasn’t hurt, though I was fairly mortified. I suspect the campers enjoyed seeing a grown-up make such an embarrassing dismount.

Izzy’s reaction was the best, though. He stood still through the whole awkward dismount. He then turned his big head and looked down at me in quiet puzzlement. His question was so clear: “Why did you want to get off like THAT?”

A trusty for sure.

See you around the farm.

Kathy McDonald
Rider and Volunteer at Touchstone Farm