I caught Harley, tacked him up. Boss was prancing the fenceline of his paddock, calling out. Harley and Mo paid him no mind. As we started our free longe in the arena, Boss became even more agitated. After about ten minutes, he realized what was going on, it was not in fact his turn to play, and Harley and I weren't leaving him behind. He stood at the paddock fence watching us, but quit fussing.
Harley free longed cute, with one crossfire canter right. He bucked himself out of it, and I laughed. "You're still a baby, aren't you?" I asked him. With a few more canter rights correct, and some really nice neck stretcher warmup longe work, I hopped aboard.
I don't know if he was showing off, or I've improved that much that quickly with Boss underneath me in two rides. But the ride on Harley was magical. His trot was floaty and forward, with nice bit connection and bend at the poll. I could feel his back lifting underneath me. The canter work? Fantastico! Correct leads, relaxed transitions both up and down. Most delightful, he was on light contact through the canter, and I was sitting. Not driving, not pushing, just sitting. A bit of inside leg to keep it together, but I was *sitting*. Through the transitions with a few strides sitting trot as well. Delightful! About 40 minutes of work, and under the warm sunny afternoon, he was huffin and puffin. Fuzzy coat, My dear... that must go here pretty dern soon.
Romeo was none impressed with my decision to ride him as well. He limped down the road a bit, avoiding the gravel at all expense, including running me into every tree limb he could find. Still unhappy with his new toes, I assume... so I kept it short, and put him away after about 15 minutes of walking. Next ride on Mo, I won't bother with the saddle, so I will waste less time if he's still foot sore.
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