Good boy Rusty, gooood boy!

I haven't done much of anything exciting over the past few days. Well - that's not entirely true - I did spend all day Sunday volunteering at a local horse show. It was fun - a couple of acquaintances were there, so I spent a bit of time gabbing with other horse people. I'm not a hugely social person in my day-to-day life - I tend to like to spend time alone, but every know and again I get the need for some human contact. Horse shows seem to be a good place for that as most people are friendly.

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I've been riding Rusty a fair bit. We are staying in the ring for now, just so I can continue to get used to him. He is a pretty steady guy - even after not being ridden for a few days, he is exactly the same as the last time you had him out. I like that consistency right now - I need to rebuild my confidence and get my position and seat nice and solid. I'm sure in a few years I'll be ready for something with a bit more spunk, but right now I'm happy with my old man! :-)

I even put 2 total beginners on him recently and he didn't bat an eyelash - he did try and cut corners a bit, but that is to be expected. He does try and get away with little things, but he is very passive about it.

My hubby Richard got on first. He rode a little bit as a kid, so was more comfortable.

After a couple of laps around the arena, he was asking "how do I make this thing go faster?" lol. I told him he wasn't ready for speed yet, because his hands weren't quite right. Patience grasshopper.

My step-son got on next - he was a little apprehensive, but I convinced him to just sit on Rusty and see what it was like.

Oh great, another beginner to bounce around on my back. There'd better be carrots.So, rider #2 was up. I tried to explain how to shorten and lengthen the reins, but it fell on deaf teenage ears, methinks.

Am I done yet? This is getting old fast.

Max was tied to a fence because he rolled in something nasty. Good thing there was a hose and horse shampoo nearby.

Rider #2 decided to try walking around on his own. Same question as his father: "Can this thing go any faster?" Luckily Rusty is lazy, so he just walked. Neither rider was ready for any speed. If they are still interested, we can try speed on the longe line someday. Interestingly enough, both riders disappeared when it was time to untack and clean up! Bums. :-)
That's about it for me - time to hit the hay. 0600 rolls around pretty early in these parts and the tack and grain don't buy themselves, so it's off to work!