Bratsky

Because I spend most of my time after work doing outdoor spring-cleaning chores these days, most of my recent riding has involved quick rides down the street with a loop home through the woods. I often ride Red bareback since he's nice and round, and pony Saga. Riding bareback while ponying another horse probably fits under the category of things that aren't that smart to do, but I wear a helmet and often a body vest as well, and let's face it - Red's not all that far to the ground. :)

However, this week MC came over to ride Red, and I actually got to ride Saga on a real ride. We went down the street and took the loop almost home, ending in the field behind the house where we actually did some work. Saga wasn't having ANY of it. He was forward at the trot but was having fun throwing his head and then pulling me downward - BRAT. I was riding in his Happy Mouth bit which pretty much has no brakes anywhere, so that made it doubly fun. To the left we lacked steering and had a lovely time falling in on the turns, although he was OK to the right. At the canter he contemplated running me into a mesquite tree, which was just awesome. The only good bit was that he's really unfit, so he got tired pretty quickly and settled down to listen. Of course then he got sticky and sucked back at the trot and contemplated "hopping" into a canter, so we worked on going forward when asked (sounds easier than it is). We actually had some really great moments, especially considering that I haven't been riding with any sort of intent for a very long time.

Red was, of course, an absolute angel. MC even had two really nice canters (go MC!), but I think she got most of her entertainment listening to me yelling "NO! BAD PONY!" at Saga every two seconds.

Maybe I should ride more often or something. ;)