Friday, August 13, 2010

Go speed racer

With my partner out and about in the universe, I'm in charge of feeding the boy.

Since the hot weather hit the region, the grass, and his main caloric intake, has burned off. Enter in concentrates and some one on one time. He's been regularly on this diet now for about two weeks, and caught up with the weight.

The fun part about feeding time is I get to fuss over him and to try new things.

Among the list is getting him used to the idea of having a saddle pad on/flung him. I thought the first time was a fluke because he didn't react, the second and third time it was pretty dead on he didn't care. I upped the ante with a sursingle (didn't girth it just placed), I got more reaction out of the fly spray. We also got to lead in tandem through several gaits, the dressage arena and around various farm implements with him being on the right and his travel companion on the left.

For a yearling, this isn't too bad at all. The last set I handled were pills of the first order and would no sooner mow you down for a blade of grass than mind you.

Then I decided today was a great day to learn to pony.

I love ponying. I think it's a fantastic way to let young horses see the world while developing muscles and brains.

Except one problem, I don't have a pony that ponies.  Nor do I have the equipment to do it with (I like western saddles for this cause).

What I do have is a golf cart.

We lead without minor incidence (some stop and stare) but otherwise, he was happy to lead on his off side back to the paddock to see his buddies. Got lots of apple treats and scratches. He's come a long way.

1 comment:

Beth said...

Hey whatever works! Sounds like it was a good experience for all.