Little Un really really shouldn't be playing second fiddle to Jim because he's a little star in his own right. He's so good he makes me feel guilty!
For those who don't know he's a 4yo Sec D that I've owned for just over 2 years, he was bought in a rush as a companion for Jim & so far has hardly put a foot wrong as well as turning into a nice looking lad.
About 6 weeks ago I decided I really should back him & it went with no fuss whatsoever. He's been ridden 12-15 times (not counting but definately no more than that) & will halt, walk & trot when asked in the school & round the village, turn, ride a 20m circle (not a brilliant one but give him time) & goes round the fairly busy village with a friend on foot but not leading him or giving him a lead. He's not batted an eyelid at buses, lawnmowers, building works, cars, primary school playtimes or hedgetrimmers. He doesn't like drains though & side steps round them
.
Jim has been unsound & off work for nearly 3 weeks now. While this should have been the ideal chance to crack on with LU the sad reality is that I found if I couldn't ride Jim I had no inclination to ride anything else - worse I really didn't want to. So LU has had a holiday & just been handled on a daily basis. Today I gave myself a big kick up the backside & arranged for a friend to walk out with us, it's not fair to leave LU like this & he'll end up having to go back to square one instead of doing the short hack he enjoys.
Bless him I tacked him up, walked him round the yard & got straight on & he didn't bat an eyelid (Jim's back would have gone straight up after this long off). He then marched off down the lane, didn't complain when one of the dogs came running down to join us, didn't hesitate when another dog ran up to the hedge & barked, went past a playground full of children on their lunchbreak who ran up to the fence to see the pony, ignored the traffic, went past some guys doing building work using noisy tools & didn't even flinch when a big quad bike towing a trailer came up behind him. I'd say that was pretty good for a green 4yo that's had so much time off in relation to his time in work!
Why don't I feel the same way about him as I do my difficult, high maintenance carthorse? This one is the sort that sane people dream of!
For those who don't know he's a 4yo Sec D that I've owned for just over 2 years, he was bought in a rush as a companion for Jim & so far has hardly put a foot wrong as well as turning into a nice looking lad.
About 6 weeks ago I decided I really should back him & it went with no fuss whatsoever. He's been ridden 12-15 times (not counting but definately no more than that) & will halt, walk & trot when asked in the school & round the village, turn, ride a 20m circle (not a brilliant one but give him time) & goes round the fairly busy village with a friend on foot but not leading him or giving him a lead. He's not batted an eyelid at buses, lawnmowers, building works, cars, primary school playtimes or hedgetrimmers. He doesn't like drains though & side steps round them
.Jim has been unsound & off work for nearly 3 weeks now. While this should have been the ideal chance to crack on with LU the sad reality is that I found if I couldn't ride Jim I had no inclination to ride anything else - worse I really didn't want to
. So LU has had a holiday & just been handled on a daily basis. Today I gave myself a big kick up the backside & arranged for a friend to walk out with us, it's not fair to leave LU like this & he'll end up having to go back to square one instead of doing the short hack he enjoys. Bless him I tacked him up, walked him round the yard & got straight on & he didn't bat an eyelid (Jim's back would have gone straight up after this long off). He then marched off down the lane, didn't complain when one of the dogs came running down to join us, didn't hesitate when another dog ran up to the hedge & barked, went past a playground full of children on their lunchbreak who ran up to the fence to see the pony, ignored the traffic, went past some guys doing building work using noisy tools & didn't even flinch when a big quad bike towing a trailer came up behind him. I'd say that was pretty good for a green 4yo that's had so much time off in relation to his time in work!
Why don't I feel the same way about him as I do my difficult, high maintenance carthorse? This one is the sort that sane people dream of!
