Forgot how good bareback riding is ...

Things are very s...l...o...w... around my barn these days.  It would seem that with EHV-1 on the loose, no one feels like grooming, doing turn out, or even hand walking their horses.  Good for me, I suppose.  I've had the barn completely to myself the last two weeks.

Cha Ching's mom, sweetest person around, asked me on Thursday how Speedy was doing after he yanked that shoe off nearly two weeks ago.  If you'll remember, I mentioned that it HURT, and that he was pretty sore.  I've been doing regular turn out and some light lunging over the two weeks, but no under saddle work.  Each day that I leave the barn I record on my calendar what I did that day: t/o, arena ride, etc.  I also note any funkiness that might have occurred: scratched face, whacked knee, etc.  This last week or so my calendar has looked like this: Saturday - lame, Sunday - lame (?), Tuesday - better, Thursday - 95% sound (?), Saturday - 98% sound (?), Sunday - 98.5%, Tuesday - sound 99% (?), Thursday - sound 100% (?).

The problem with a lazy horse, and Cha Ching's mom has had to listen to this already ... side note: she really is a good friend. I have talked about this lazy horse issue with her at least 38 times and she still nods her head in sympathy ...  is that they always look lame.  

Let me explain ... I've had a HOT horse (more than one, actually).  Montoya was hell on wheels and NEVER looked lame. That was no doubt because she was always higher than a kite and R...E...A...D...Y... to rock and roll no matter what might hurt.  That mare sucked it up.  She NEVER lacked impulsion.  If I asked for a trot-out, she stepped out and meant it.  It was actually quite difficult to pinpoint any soreness because she was so forward.  Hot horses just never look lame.  They pick up their feet, they don't drag their toes, and they step well under themselves which gives them good, forward movement.

And then we come to Speedy G ... who is not very speedy, and who pokes along even if the barn is on fire or dinner is being served.  When asked to trot-out, he literally drags all four feet through the dirt.  It frequently looks as though he is going in reverse, or at the very least as though he might actually fall down.

Really ... after watching that, doesn't he look lame?  

And that is the problem with lazy ponies.  

So even though I wanted to give him a few more days of rest, in case he is still sore from that pulled shoe and not just being lazy, I decided to do some bareback work anyway.  Speedy WILL NOT trot with me on his bare back, so I don't really worry about him getting a wild hair and bolting after several weeks of rest.  

I had brought my step-stool and helmet to the arena and had used my riding halter to bring him out, so I was able to hop on without a lot of fuss.  Truthfully, I had a great time.  I focused on riding with my seat while consciously bending my elbows and holding my hands in a firm position.  We worked on softening, flexing, and moving off my leg.  It's hard to deceive yourself when your butt is right on their back.  You can feel it immediately when you're off balance.

Is he lame?  I doubt it.  He's just lazy.  The upside, of course, is that I have a pony that I can hop on bareback after two weeks of no work and KNOW that I am going to be toted around safely.  Not a bad trade-off!