I rode Magic this morning. We rode around the Oak pasture and up on Shirey Mountain. Magic was at his best. Plenty of energy. I have not ridden him in several days and he was fresh. Excellent weather. Often I had to slow him down from a trot. If I have to choose between too much energy and not enough, I’ll take too much every time. He has always been\u00a0manageable to keep at a walk on a loose rein even when headed back to the barn so I do not anticipate a problem. We had a very nice ride.<\/p>\n
Last night I was reading posts from last spring when I was gathering shoeing dates and results for the chart I made. Magic had a hard time when he first got here. He got quicked, had an abscess, stone bruises, lost shoes and on and on. In one post I said I thought he was “depressed”. \u00a0At one time I might have considered that statement anthropomorphic. Now I consider it true. He was not enjoying his life and did not enjoy being ridden. Things are different now and I think he is enjoying himself. In my experience, developing a horse takes time. I read success stories where it happens quick. That leads me to unreasonable expectations like “If I had that big chestnut at New Vocations, l could do everything!” I have gotten better results from patience than I have from changing horses. Magic just went on his first group trail ride on the Buffalo. I think he enjoyed it and it lifted his spirits. I hope we can keep this viewpoint. Time will tell if we are too\u00a0optimistic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I rode Magic this morning. We rode around the Oak pasture and up on Shirey Mountain. Magic was at his best. Plenty of energy. I have not ridden him in several days and he was fresh. Excellent weather. Often I had to slow him down from a trot. If I have to choose between too … <\/p>\n