Still Riding

Napoleon and I are doing well at horse 4-H Camp. His schedule is cushy compared with mine though!! I am tired. Don't know where kids get all their energy. On Wednesday morning he got his first set of shoes. Had to have those because of how tender his feet are. It was amazing how good he was for the farrier. He did not move a muscle. (No, not one!) He didn't try to jerk his feet away during the nailing either. He was a dream. I was so proud of him and the farrier was amazed at his good manners.

After our shoeing session I loaded Napoleon in the 6 horse slant for the first time. He has been in the 2 horse stock trailer twice but not in the slant load. It was more difficult for him because it has a back tack and he had to negotiate the narrow entry into the trailer. It took a little coaxing but he loaded within 5 minutes and then unloaded and reloaded three times without trouble.

When we got to camp he had to stay on the trailer for part of the day. (Don't worry, it's not hot here. In fact I am wearing a fleece, vest and coat as I write.) I wanted to leave him on until I had time to settle him in and intro him to everyone. 4-H is all about safety and I didn't want someone introducing themselves too abruptly and causing an issue. It was cute because when I did take him out to ride everyone assumed he was a "reiner". (They think we are reiners even though I try to explain that reined cowhorses and reiners aren't the same :) He has such a cute, refined head and long, reiner mane. He is shiny and showy looking too. People were shocked when I say, "No, he's a mustang." Then I get to explain all about the Extreme Mustang Makeover and Mustang Heritage Foundation and encourage them to go to their websites. They probably didn't believe me when I said it is was his 18th ride Wednesday.

Napoleon saddled up and rode well. Even negotiated the novice horse and rider traffic without any trouble. We worked again on lots of loping and yesterday he did some perfect canter departures. Proud of him! He also settled in and ate and drank well in his new environment. I dressed him in a cute burgundy sheet and he looked stellar!

Today I worked him at in-hand trail and he did well. I am not a big in-hand person. I really like to do the riding portion of training more. So, although my horses lead well and have good ground manners, the whole in-hand routine is not my thing. But, I worked him through the trail course and he did well. Very proud of him. A little hesitation at the bridge, but it is was narrow. I did two short sessions today of riding. We are still building body condition and stamina for Napoleon so I find two shorter sessions are better than one long one. He is not protecting his feet and is moving out better at the canter. His right lead is improving daily and today we started working on straight run downs. His transitions are getting stronger and more spot on too. I had Zayle snap a few pictures so I will add them when we get home tomorrow night. I have to get up early to ride in the morning as I am tied up in classes all day and will be judging the show at the end, but if my stamina holds out ;) I'll ride here again before we leave tomorrow afternoon.