Hampton is doing extraordinary. Today I ponied him off of one of the older school horses (I have done this a few times already), and then with the help of a friend I climbed aboard! I have sat on his back once before, but didn't go anywhere. Today we walked around just a bit. He was a bit unsure if he should walk - I'm sure it was part that he felt unbalanced, and part that he wasn't sure it that was OK. But he was not nervous at all. Not one bit of tension. My helper was even able to step away for a few minutes to snap some photos! :-) I don't intend to do anything but work on walking, stopping and steering with him until next year when we can start actually "riding." But I wanted to make sure he was ok with the whole "Yes, you let me ride you" thing before he got too enormously big.
I'm so impressed with his calm nature. All of this first ride stuff was going on at the same time that a loud dump truck was driving around the farm making loud noises. Never bothered Hampton.
What a good boy!
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ReplyDeleteThat's so fantastic that you can pony him! It's one of those things that the polo and racing worlds do so right- other disciplines have not caught on as quickly.
ReplyDeleteI think it will build all sorts of good behaviors in the future, especially being in contact with another horse while working. It is SO frustrating to ride a horse who is squirrelly around other horses.
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