That'd be pretty awesome, if I could get his canter smoother, ha the first time he did it my foot slipped from the stirrup and I had to stop him immediately, I felt bad because he looked at me with the saddest look like "Ma, I was doing it for the first time!" lol It was too cute.
The one thing I love about him is he neck reigns like a freaking champ, and he is so good with vocal cues. I don't even have to nudge him to get him to move, unless we've been riding for awhile, or we're going through water (he's not too keen on it and looks for the shallow way out).
Haha I was getting confused with the video lol because when you were explaining it, that's exactly what I had been told, is have them move in a circle around you. He responds to the sounds we have for walking and trotting, but he's not one to canter. He does this weird little power kick before going and it's so weird lol, uncomfortable too when you're riding and he does it.
I might start doing that. I used to do it at Cici's because she had a round pen, but I don't have one... How long of a lead should I use? I've got quite a long one, cause I mean, he usually trails behind me a bit when we walk (that's the only thing he's learned from me so far is walking behind and to the side of me), so I like my lead rope longer..
Well he used to be easier to handle, but that was when I went to visit him, I spent two months with him before I bought him haha, it took awhile for the guys to get the fence up out front, but at that time I was able to ride him every day and we were bonding really well.. Right now, as I said, I have no riding buddies around here, and so he and I don't get to go out much. He's such a chicken when it's just me and him lol.
The Belgian we're looking at right now was used to train children and novice riders, but his owners have a sick family member and can't get out to him anymore so they're giving him up for adoption, but I just want to get him a friend, ya know? Like you said, dogs aren't the greatest haha, and plus, I'd prefer to be able to go out riding with someone next to me.
We might actually be getting a donkey, if Cici buys some babies, haha cause my mom is in LOVE with Cici's and wants one so bad now lol.
That's what Hershey, his old friend, used to do when we'd take him out and one of the other horse's on cici's property; she'd just yell at us for a little while and then go about bugging the other horse in there.
Right now it's just him and we have a dog, but they don't get along too well. BJ's kicked our dog about three times (not his fault, she doesn't have the brains to know that she can't nip at his feet) but we're working on getting a second horse. The only problem is, the ones we're looking at for my husband are all Beligan's and none of them are smaller than 16.5 hands and so we've got to put hot wire up before we buy another one.
I want to get a trainer so bad, but I don't have a horse trailer, or the money to have one come out here (we live pretty much in the woods) but I do try to work with my friend when she's around; I feel more confident with someone else there, without someone, I feel nervous because I just don't know for sure if I'm doing it right.
Have any of your ponies every freaked out because of another horse? Like, today, Cici (my friend) brought over her two horses, and they used to be BJ's pasture buddies, and when they left, he freaked out. I mean, I was mucking the pen, and I had to stand underneath the shelter we have for him because he ran circles around it, bucking hard core. I had to get my husband to run out and get him his feed into his bucket to distract him long enough for me to get out without him freaking out again.
You sound like you know a lot about horses... If I have any questions, would you be able to help me out a bit? Lol I'm pretty much new to everything except for riding a horse on a trail, and even then sometimes when he acts up, his previous owner (a riding friend of mine) has to tell me what to do.
I was thinking of doing something other than trails with him, but he's really lazy and set in his ways, and he only likes to ride in a group (which is a bummer because I don't have many riding buddies), but he is an AWESOME trail horse.
=] Hehe thanks for the comment on my photo! He's a Paint horse. =] He's got a cute little white spot on one side of his neck and a bigger one on the other side and he looks like he's wearing socks xD