Beetroot, buckshot and balance

There was a country game fair going on in the neighbourhood today, which meant lots of people having a go at clay pigeon shooting, and lots of announcements on the tannoy, both of which carried on the wind to our yard.

Having decided to try another hackette like the one last Sunday, with the Ent on foot, I weighed up whether to ride Max in his Pee Wee bit again, or try it on his Dually. I opted for his Dually. Silly me!

OK, it wasn't totally silly, because out of every "challenge" comes an opportunity. I wasn't totally reckless either; Ent had a lead rope that he could attach to Max if things turned chaotic.

We started off with Max on the lead rope as well as the reins, and as much as I felt like a child being led on a pony, it was a good start to measure how Max felt about the noisy commotion about him. He was totally relaxed, so the lead was removed and we flew solo.

All was fine until we turned off the lanes in into the stubble fields. We were fairly controlled trotting away from the Ent, but turning back towards him, Max lost his cool and went a bit loopy. We were on uneven ground, I had no steering and not much in the way for brakes, either. I was disappointed to find myself almost unseated by Max's antics, with my legs way too far back, and gripping, which certainly didn't help to keep Max calm, focused, or tell him that I wanted him to stop, not go, go, go!

We collected him up eventually, but before the Ent could clip the lead rope back in place, Max had a little leap of excitement which practically bowled the Ent over!

The rest of the way home was on the lead. I still had some "control" with the reins, but the rope was there to keep us safe and together. We went into the "sheep field" and let Max investigate a sleeping dragon (silage under green plastic tarpaulin held in place by many old tyres). He was very brave for that, considering the guns were getting louder, and two hooligans were out on dirt bikes, paying no attention to the country code, and driving through ploughed fields with no regard for what was around them. Eejits.

I didn't feel Max lose the tension in his body until we were almost home, but I used the last bit of smooth road to ride no hands, no stirrups and work on balance and lengthening down through my thigh muscles. I experimented and watched Max's ears rotate back towards me as he "listened" to my movements.

Finally home, and Max had his prize. Yesterday my neighbour brought me a motherlode of beetroot from her garden, and there was a HUGE one with Max's name on it. I had to cut it up into manageable slices, and the boy ate with gusto!

I have always wanted Max to go bitless, and now I'm not sure if it's going to be possible. Bits aren't inherently bad things, and some horses will do better with them than without. Max may be one of those horses. It could be, though, that with a bitless bridle with a little more finesse, rather than a training halter, we may get better results. It could also be that I just need to get more skilled with my seat so that Max is listening to that rather than just my hands, therefore his bit or lack thereof, shouldn't really come into it much.

A Sunday ponder...