I wasn't expecting Ron to initiate riding this evening. The weather was finally decent enough for him to take a short ride before bed time. Moused was already tacked up when I went out to the barn, so Makayla and I dusted off our saddles, tacked up our horses and I changed into something to ride in. As we headed out onto the street, Mouse wasn't used to riding on pavement so he had to test his footing. He seemed fine as long as we stayed on the grassy areas a long side the road. He was quiet, and patient of his passenger. Not knowing what his back ground during a outing, I was pleasantly surprised he walked on out like a seasoned trail horse.
The only thing he needs is a better handled on him. He direct reins fine, but doesn't respond to legs aids much. Never the less, he was nice and level headed, even when it came to the usual land sharks. Nothing seemed to bother him. Dogs were investigating our party. Cars driving by, neighbors waving, and Mouse took the whole adventure in stride. We headed towards the 30 acre basin just 2 blocks from our house. The entrance was always boogery for a lot of the horses that pass through the concrete barricades. Mouse never balked or got fishy.
Riding across the pasture, the other two horses were acting pissy. Stradegy feed, mounting up with no longing and almost a month off don't mix well. ha ha ha! Jerzey really did what Jerzey usually does. Her attention wasn't on what was going on the saddle. So, I loped her in large circles for a time. She finally calmed down to a crawl. There's nothing like an old fat woman, and a fat horse loping circles, to alter the of thinking of a pissy mare. At 17 years old, Handsome was as full of the piss and vinegar as Jerzey was. Makayla didn't do much to change his way of going.
Having made the round over the 30 acres, and on our way back, a couple riders crashed on the scene from a distance. Handsome was jigging about, snorting and lunging forward, when all the sudden he flew into the air. He started bucking and jumping forward. I immediately hollared at Makayla to pull him into a circle so he couldn't run off with her. He bucked about 5 or 6 strides and calmed back down to a fast walk. Makayla was shell shocked for a few minutes. She stayed with him every step of the way! I was proud of the way she handled the situation.
Having made the ride back, all of us still mounted and in one piece, I decided to ride Mouse. It's time now, that he is schooled on a daily basis. He's been here long enough to settle in. I circled him in the excersise pen for 30 minutes. Slow and easy for a few days, not asking to much of him. He needs to leg up before I get to industrious of his training. He rides great. But, he doesn't know nothing! lol
