Who Is Breeding These Dull Ponies??

This morning I rode Texas when I should have been cleaning stalls or going to work or something. Something always has to suffer if I opt to ride.

If you recall from earlier, I had been riding Texas in pokey warmblood spurs. He started sucking back when he felt them so now I ride him spurless (spur free?) again. I ride with a medium length crop so that I can use it either on his shoulder or his haunch, depending on what I am trying to correct. I am also now trying to prepare him for a little child so I am insisting on quicker upward transitions and that he maintain his pace without a lot of nagging, even if I am in two-point. He is really catching on to this at the walk and trot but cantering is still a little difficult. Today I opted not to canter at all so that I could really focus on his trot. He's pretty good to the left but to the right he tends to drop his inside shoulder through the corners and let his haunch fall to the inside down the long sides of the arena. (Incidentally, letting the haunch fall to the inside is something I have noticed in a lot of Western trained horses.) I also worked on teaching him not to anticipate turns. We did serpentines and every time he would anticipate a turn, I would turn the other way.

He gets tired toting me around for too long so I ended with some ground work -- teaching him to walk, trot, and halt with me without having to use aids. If he is a pony hunter he will need to jog in with his little rider and it's always obnoxious to have to nag them to jog. The horse or pony should stay at the handler's shoulder without any tugging or clucking or dragging. We ended with some side-passing over poles, which he found very baffling. I have to dig a thumb into his flank to get him to move his haunch over but we quit as soon as he had the idea of crossing his legs and keeping his body straight.

So, do you see the theme here? Whips, nagging, clucking... the pony is so dull! I know not everyone likes to ride a firebolt like Isabelle, but it just isn't pleasant to have to use such firm aids. The Welshes I have encountered until recently have all been so much more sensitive, but Cory and Texas sure are dull. I'm glad my mares are all much more willing because hopefully this means their foals with Cory will be a little more focused and forward than he is.

(Today's photo was taken a couple weeks ago after Texas had his mane and tail washed with Quik Silver. Something caught his attention and he showed off his new neck muscles for me.)