Odd tastes

After Miss Thang, you'd think I'd be eager to hop back on the big fancy girl.  Today, I was back on Big Papa.  I was going to be spending a lot of time on the lunge line while learning how to actually sit down, so he was a better choice.  He'll trot around in a circle and basically ignore me while I execute odd gyrations in my attempts to actually put my butt in the saddle.

The nice part about lunge lessons is that I can be up there fiddling around and paying no attention to things like steering.  I'm grabbing onto the cantle, lifting my legs off the saddle, and overall looking like a total doofus and he just keeps trotting around.  I can appreciate that while I'm feeling like a bowl of jello with my legs flopping around.  We made some progress with getting my butt under me and my shoulders back behind said butt.  My legs are also getting longer which is a weird sensation.  I start out feeling my stirrups are a little long, then they start to feel short.  Maybe, finally, I can learn to sit a trot.  I've only been riding 30 years, it's about time I learn how to actually sit in a saddle!

While I was going around and around, we got some time to gossip about horse shopping.  I'm glad I'm not the only person in the world that thinks horse shopping is horrible.  The trainer has been out looking at horses for her program and man oh man, do I feel her pain.  Half broke horses with blown out tendons being sold as w/t/c mounts for kids?  Ugh.  I think I'll stick to lesson horses for right now, thanks.

Though I did see a listing for a really pretty gray TB gelding that was being sold as a dressage prospect, already restarted, already going to shows, must be awfully sweet with a name like Buddha . . .

Right, back on topic.

I like Big Papa.  Our personalities suit.  He doesn't mind when I try to micro manage him and I don't really care when he starts to get looky with random things.  I'm a bit of an electric seat so we don't have a lot of issues with him going forward now that we're getting to know each other.  There's a visiting dressage trainer coming to the barn soon and I think I'll do the clinic with Big Papa.   The pony has potential, he just needs to learn to carry his own big ol' butt around the ring.

I've also started riding Rhodie, the 17 year old coming back into work.  He's a smaller guy, can't be much over 15 hands, and has a very sweet eye.  He's not too happy to be giving up his life of leisure and is probably feeling achy.  He likes to show his displeasure with a buck, so that's a bit of a problem right now.  Not very beginner friendly like that.  He'll be getting some supplements to help ease him back into work and see if he'll be good as a walk/trot pony for camp life.  He seems agreeable enough, he has a very soft eye, just not sure he wants to give up the retired life.  We're mostly doing walking right now and it's good for him to get out and move whether or not he has the makings of a lesson pony.  I think he'll loosen up once his body gets used to it and the joints start moving around again.

He's a bit of a pocket pony in the sense that he knows I have cookies in my pocket and he wants them.  His delicate little nose just slips right into my pockets without any trouble.

I'm also noticing that I need to do something about my nail polish in that last picture.  How embarrasing.

I've got my first jumping lesson on Friday with the other instructor at the barn, the eventer.  We'll see what Big Papa thinks of getting all four feet off of the ground.