Being extra

Riding horses makes them tired, right?  I'm not making a fundamental mistake with this assumption?  Because my pony appears to be very confused.  He did get two days off while I was off making money to support his habits (new PSoS outfit arrives tomorrow!), but since then it's been at least one ride a day and sometimes two.  Despite that, he was being quite extra yesterday.  In a ring full of nervous adult ammies.

This is why we don't get invited places, Theo.

Post workout selfie practice

On Sunday he decided that the arena drag being parked in a different corner than usual was unacceptable and after passing it a dozen times, he pulled a spin-scoot on me.  I'd say out of nowhere but he had a hump in his back big enough to require me to have his girth a hole looser than usual.  I suppose it's progress that the land porpoise dance stopped after one jump and we went right back to work, but still.  Really?  REALLY?!

So I did what any self respecting owner of a yak/land porpoise cross would do:  I put him in the biggest trot I could get while doing serpentines and connected circles all around the ring.  If you've got that much energy, you can totally use your back and get your hooves completely clear of the footing.  I like trot for explosive ponies.  Canter makes it too easy to buck, walk just bottles them up.  Trot is where it's at.

He's so freaking studly looking when he does this.  I wish I dared to stop and set up my phone for video.  Or ask any of the slightly horrified riders to take video.  He's like sitting on a ticking bomb, but it's such a pretty bomb.  He gave me one more porpoise jump but that one I had coming.  I got in his face a bit when he tried to go out the shoulder in the canter and he informed me that feeling trapped was not good for his self control.  Right, right, get out of the pony's face before he decides I'm no longer a nice partner that he wants to take along for the ride.

He wasn't nasty or even that naughty, just fresh and full of energy.  Which is nuts because not one but two riders told me he was dead when they rode him last week.  Huh?  Three rides in a row with him right up on the bit for me and yesterday was the hottest one of the bunch.  I don't even know how I'm going to manage him tonight.  Trainer A said he was fresh and sassy with her, too, but dead with anyone else.

Hm.

I genuinely love the fact that he's still a dead head with the beginners.  They don't love it so much, but it's great to see that he can still be safe with them in the winter while we make him very reactive to the aids for the advanced riders.  He has apparently figured out how to do both jobs.  Conserve energy with the riders that don't push him and then let it all out when someone with a hot seat gets in the saddle.

We'll see tonight if he's still dancing the dance of his people or if he's decided that six days in a row with me and Trainer A is enough to take the edge off.