Slightly Off Topic...

...but not totally, since it is about Storm's buddy and future endurance partner. Today we'll feature a "guest horse". My friend Terri bought Firestorm's old buddy from Canada..."Boots" and he came down in December and is destined to be Terri's second endurance mount, so poor Oliver can get a rest now and then :) He is a 10 yo KMSH and he and Storm ran together as studs for some time, until Storm was sold to Oregon. Boots is now a gelding and is totally unbroke. I have been messing with him a little since he got here, but mostly he has been just allowed to integrate into our herd and is learning to trust us (he acts much like a mustang..wary of being caught, fast movements, etc...esp anything around the flanks/rear bugs him as he had to be the "protector" in Canada for many years). Terri and I went on a 4-day endurance ride in the Mojave desert, so Boots had no handling at all while we were gone. Yesterday I tossed a saddle on him for the first time, and today I got on him for the first time. He really proves to me yet again, why I am falling in love with this breed. He took everything in stride, and though more cautious of the "weird" things I was doing, than my hand raised babies that are dead broke to everything by the time I ever get on them at 4, he was very willing to let the new experiences happen to him. Of course, being a total foodie, all the "bribes" of yummy peppermint horse treats, didn't hurt one bit :) Here are pics and video of the day....











Checking out the saddle and pad...since I went through all that yesterday, with a big western saddle (today I used an old Barefoot treeless saddle Terri has), he was pretty blase about it...












Tossing the saddle pad all over and from both sides...a bit twitchy around the hind end, otherwise he was fine with that as well, as it was also a repeat of yesterday....













Next, the saddle... Checking it out, then I flung it all around him and made it big and scary looking/moving (much easier with a light, treeless saddle this time, than with the big saddle from yesterday)...he was pretty ok with that too...













And on goes the saddle... big deal, he seems to say....good pony :)













Tightening the girth..surprisingly, this never bothered him. I figured as squirrelly as he could be, he'd object to girth pressure...but nope, not a problem at all....













ho hum....no biggie...walking along fine...this is as far as I got yesterday...today we went for more




Sending him out to see what he'd do at a trot and canter....no big deal of course :)




First part of getting on him...seeing how he'd feel with a little weight and movement over his back and on his sides....lots of treat bribery, but whatever works, I say :)




And finally, last preparations before getting on, then the first time mounted...he was pretty danged good I 'd say :) After I was up and sitting for a bit, I hopped on and off a few times, then let Terri lead us around for 5 minutes or so. Once he settled and was happy (he scooted forward a few times, but not big spooks, no bolts, no buck, etc...GOOD BOY!), we called it quits for the day and ended on a good note :)