Riding again

I guess I'm a real Riding Horse now because my mom and I have been doing a lot of riding and it's been pretty fun. I wasn't sure if it would be fun today though because Sparky's mom showed up without my mom and I thought it might be one of those dumb days when Sparky gets all the attention and I don't get anything. I don't really like those days.

It kind of started that way. Sparky's mom got him out and brushed him and put on his duds. I was being as cute as I could but she hardly even noticed me. That's how she is. My mom treats Sparky just like she treats me and do I mind? No. I patiently share her with him and I never get mad when she's fussing with him. Well, I don't get THAT mad. But Sparky's mom just comes along and fusses with Spark and neither one of them even look at me. It's like I don't even exist. I finally bashed my ball toy a few times and ended up with my head against it, feeling sad and left out. They left without even looking back.

Since they weren't there to look, I went out in the paddock and ate some of the bush. I also pooped on my outside ball toy. I don't know why. I didn't really mean to but when I heard the sound it made, I kind of liked it. I like things that make noise, after all.

Speaking of things that make noise, did I ever tell you that I have baby pigeons living in my stall? They live on top of my duds closet and their mom and dad take care of them there. There are two babies. They're really loud when they get hungry. They make these squawking noises and the mom and dad come and make cooing noises and then the babies shut up. My mom says the mom and dad are feeding them. Well, that's nice. My mom feeds me and it usually quiets me down.

I kind of like having them there. They're like friends. Sparky says I'm lucky. He likes birds. When he lived out in the pasture, birds sometimes landed on him and he liked that. I don't know if I would. It might be kind of strange to have a bird on my back. It's strange enough having my mom on my back sometimes.

I was thinking about all that stuff when Spark and his mom came back. Spark was kind of upset so I forgot all about being mad and was more concerned about him. He told me later that they went on a trail ride and it was awful because his saddle was kind of tight and he tried to tell his mom but she didn't understand and then his foot started hurting and then they stopped so his mom could check on his foot but the other horses were gone then so he got scared and it was just a Bad Day.

I felt sorry for him but I asked him, "Why didn't you just buck or back up a lot or lie down?" and he looked at me like I was crazy so I asked him if he wanted to look at my baby pigeons or my ball toy with the poop on it. He didn't though. He just wanted to take a nap.

That was a lot later though. When he first got back, his mom took his duds off and put him in his stall and pretty soon my mom got there. I was glad to see her because I figured she'd play with me and sure enough, she got my duds out and started getting me ready for a ride. That made me happy because we've been having good times riding. It's been so long! It's exciting and it seems so new. I don't really remember how to do a lot of things so when we ride, I'm all bouncy and not sure of what's going to happen. I like that.

My mom brought me right out to the Flat Arena and we began walking around. Sometimes walking is a little boring and I kind of have to stop and look around and figure out if there's anything more interesting going on. When I do that, my mom just keeps thunking my sides and saying, "Walk on, Belly" and by and by I do. I just forget to keep going sometimes.

We had a good warmup. Sparky's mom came out with us and sat at the end of the arena under the trees. It was nice. We stopped and talked to her now and then when we came close. Finally my mom decided we'd warmed up enough and she asked me to trot. I was ready to go by then and I broke into a nice canter and ran all the way to the other end of the arena! My mom let me too and she told me it was a very nice canter. Then she asked me to trot.

I did trot for a little bit but I sometimes get sort of tangled up in my legs or something and have to stop. Plus I get pretty excited and forget to trot and try to buck or run or bounce. I just can't help it. My mom just keeps pushing me along with her legs and then I get going again until I start going along sideways again and bouncing. Its so much fun! My mom doesn't get mad at me but she does keep telling me to do what she wants me to do. I do try but sometimes I get mad.

Today I started getting a little mad because she kept asking me to trot but she wouldn't let me run, or bounce, or buck or anything fun so I stopped and put my head down and kicked out with my Kicking Foot! I was mad! But she just told me again to go forward and trot. Oh, that made me mad! Even madder than I was before and I kicked out again but she made the Bad Girl noise and put her legs on me so I had to go forward.

Back when I was a baby, I probably would have reared then. That's what I used to do. I'd get mad and I'd rear and I'd back up and I'd just evade. That's what it's called, you know. But now that I'm six, I know that's not Manners so even when I'm mad, I just get over it and do what my mom tells me because that's what Riding Horses have to do. My mom says she's proud of me for not rearing anymore so that's good. I do want to be good.

We did a lot of trotting and a little cantering and some bouncing and then my mom got off me and told me I was a Good Girl. I figured I was all done and we'd go back to the barn but to my surprise we went over to the Mounting Block and Sparky's mom got on me! Well, that was strange. Sparky's mom almost never rides me! But we went out into the arena again and she asked me to walk around.

I wasn't very happy about it at first because I really did think I was done. But she was nice to me and asked me just like my mom does and so I did what she wanted. And you know, it actually wasn't bad at all. We didn't do much, just a little walking and turning and stuff but it was kind of fun. Sparky's mom is actually pretty nice. I complain about her but I don't really mean it. Not anymore anyway. We're kind of friends now.

I was ready to quit by the time we did though and it was nice to get my duds off and get back into my stall. My mom and Sparky's mom put our stuff away and then left and that's when me and Spark chatted and stuff. Later they came back and fed us and cleaned us. I got to help my mom clean my stall and that was lots of fun. Plus she sat in that Chair thing in front of my open door so I got to play with her hair and stuff.

it was a pretty good day all in all.