I'm so far behind on stuff...
On January 9, one of my friends came out to ride Riv. She's ridden him a few times and loves him. We put him in the indoor first so he could get the sillies out, and holy crap did he get some sillies out. Tacked up and rode and he was being kind of a jerk, but he settled down and got to work. My friend commented "I can feel him thinking", which is so true. He's got so much try in him, and he really works to figure out what you want.
On January 9, one of my friends came out to ride Riv. She's ridden him a few times and loves him. We put him in the indoor first so he could get the sillies out, and holy crap did he get some sillies out. Tacked up and rode and he was being kind of a jerk, but he settled down and got to work. My friend commented "I can feel him thinking", which is so true. He's got so much try in him, and he really works to figure out what you want.
She just did walk-trot, and he was going very nicely by the end.
Last Thursday, I turned him out in the indoor again and he again had fun being silly.
Friday, I decided to ride, so I tossed him in the indoor briefly, and he ran around a little bit... mostly when chasing the BO's puppy out.
Tacked up and got on... he was being a complete and total jerk. Spooking, flipping his head, at one point he did kind of a half rear and turn thing. Most of the naughtiness was at the far end of the ring. I tried putting in ear plugs, but they just annoyed him so I took them out. After a while, I got off and hand walked him around the ring, deep into the corners of the far end, and got back on. We walked all the way around the ring twice, I asked him to trot briefly, and I called it quits. I don't think he'd do anything too terrible, but I didn't want to risk it.. it won't do any of us favors if I push him past where I feel comfortable, he does something silly, I fall off, and end up too scared to fix it.
So I did what anyone would do. I posted on Facebook, jokingly asking if anyone wants to come ride my horse until he stops being a jerk. Another friend (the one who rode Riley--she's one of my favorite riders.. she's incredibly talented, sensitive, patient, and sticky) commented asking if I was talking about River, and said she'd like to try him. Within 10 minutes, we had a time set up for the next day.
Friday, I decided to ride, so I tossed him in the indoor briefly, and he ran around a little bit... mostly when chasing the BO's puppy out.
Tacked up and got on... he was being a complete and total jerk. Spooking, flipping his head, at one point he did kind of a half rear and turn thing. Most of the naughtiness was at the far end of the ring. I tried putting in ear plugs, but they just annoyed him so I took them out. After a while, I got off and hand walked him around the ring, deep into the corners of the far end, and got back on. We walked all the way around the ring twice, I asked him to trot briefly, and I called it quits. I don't think he'd do anything too terrible, but I didn't want to risk it.. it won't do any of us favors if I push him past where I feel comfortable, he does something silly, I fall off, and end up too scared to fix it.
So I did what anyone would do. I posted on Facebook, jokingly asking if anyone wants to come ride my horse until he stops being a jerk. Another friend (the one who rode Riley--she's one of my favorite riders.. she's incredibly talented, sensitive, patient, and sticky) commented asking if I was talking about River, and said she'd like to try him. Within 10 minutes, we had a time set up for the next day.
He wasn't being much of a jerk with her... I'm not sure if he just had no reason to be a jerk, or if her riding convinced him not to be a jerk. She did lots of walking and getting him off his shoulder. She's much better at feeling things than I am, so next time I ride I know what to concentrate on. She put in a great ride and he was a very good boy.
I have to ride him at some point, but now we're in the midst of another cold snap. Today is the 4th day horses have stayed in. I turned Riv out in the indoor yesterday.. Next time, I really need to bring my camera, because his antics are quite impressive.
I have a friend like that too, who can get on any horse it seems and make them look absolutely amazing! I can only dream!
ReplyDelete