New Saddle, Horse Riding.

Last week we had one of M's old work buddies drop in with his kids. We hadn't seen them much for about three years, but his daughter is as horse crazy at 9 as she was when she was 6. She stayed on Junior's back being ponied for as long as she could convince the adults to keep leading her around. She informed me of her plan to visit and have me teach her how to ride. This was after she told me that maybe she could get a horse and keep it here where we could take care of it for her. Ah, the dreams of someone with absolutely no understanding of the realities of horse care.

That girl's enthusiasm, among other things, motivated us to buy a light weight kid's saddle (a Wintec western) - which we found the best price for on Amazon of all places. On Sunday and Monday both S and C used the saddle to ride Junior. Unlike H, neither of them are comfortable bareback (S tells me it's because Junior doesn't have enough mane to hold on to on the part of the neck she can reach), and the saddle was just what they needed to give riding another chance. On the second day, C had me lead him around for over twenty minutes, including about ten minutes after dark. He, H, and I talked while I led him around, and several times C got so comfortable he said he almost forgot he was on a horse.

S.
C.