It's hard for me to choose Scout, and I think I finally realized why. Or maybe I always knew why and I just remembered again. Anyway, it's because he's dull and lazy. I'm used to riding Tonka, who is so incredibly responsive and very, very willing. I barely have to ask and he's trying to do the right thing. Whereas Scout is not near as reactive (which is very nice, don't get me wrong) but just not a very responsive ride. He does what you ask, and he is a good boy, but he's just not Tonka. He's great for travelling down the trail, but he doesn't want to be an arena horse. He will, but it's not his dream job.
Speaking of Scout not being reactive... Yesterday while I was riding him Blue ran through some electric tape fence that was laying on the ground (I'd laid it down so we could ride through to the adjacent field). Of course it caught on Blue's legs and moved with him. Scout kind of spooked, but I spooked much more. If I'd been on Tonka I would have been on the ground, most likely. Scout is a good boy.
Anyway, I keep agonizing over which horse to ride - Bella or Scout - but I really do know that the answer is Scout. I need to get him dependable for John. Bella is already 7 years old, she can wait a bit longer I guess. Which is why I rode Scout again today. I took him to my sister's and we played around. I'd forgotten she's been setting up a kind of obstacle course at her house. It was fun to play with. Initially Scout was worried about the big tractor tires but he got over that. The big green Parelli ball didn't bother him a bit, even when I dribbled it against his side and set it in his saddle. She has a great big tire filled with gravel and Scout couldn't wait to get up on it. I think Keith did a lot of that sort of thing with him and he remembers it. This big tire requires kind of a heave to get up there, and he did great the first time but kind of rushed over. He did it again and was clumsier on his second try. That's okay though. As you can see in the previous picture I posted of him, he doesn't have much core strength at the moment.
My sister wanted to ride him and she trotted him around quite a bit. He decided he might try bucking but he didn't put much into it and she let him know that's not okay. Eventually he relaxed and quit being resentful of the work. It really was a lot for him to do today.
I wish I had pictures, but I didn't have a camera or even my cell phone. Weird traveling without a phone. What if I needed help? Of course I didn't, we got home fine. Weird how much I depend on my phone, especially considering I really don't use it much. I just like to know I have it. And the camera on it is handy. :)
I did ride Bella yesterday, just briefly. I got on bareback with the mounting block (I love how short she is) and we played around in the round pen. I'm not really a very good bareback rider on a maneuverable horse. I think I'm too tense. I did fine on old Soxy but she didn't squiggle around much and I trusted her more. So we just had a short ride and called it good. She did trot a little and I think she's going to be one of those horses who is really comfy to ride bareback at the trot.
Here's my little herd, just the three mustangs now, grazing while a storm blew in:
So... I hope I'll have more horse stuff to write about soon. And hopefully more pictures, especially now that the horses are in their pretty summer coats. Fat, though...
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