Red Pony Ride: Condition The Old Man & Reflections

So after riding Sam I was sort of on the fence about Wheeler. I'd ridden him before and his owner is always trying  to get me to ride him because she loves having her horses in work. Wheels is my lesson horse loaned to me by his owner in exchange for my riding the Blue Pony, Sam. I teach one of my professor's daughters on him and he's a very good boy with her, but a typical old codger-y lesson horse.

My lesson girl is getting ready to canter. We won't be doing much of it till next year because we have only two lessons before I go home for the holidays, but I want to get her on him cantering a couple times before then. She's going to be coming out riding and working at the barn while I'm gone with the owner and her mother there to supervise. I figure she should have a couple canter rides just in case something happens she doesn't get too surprised or shaken.

So I tacked up the old pony man and went for a ride in the riding ring. Old man huffed and puffed along, rather stiff and out of shape. After all he's been mostly doing walk trot lessons. But this fellow has done quite a bit in his past. When I asked for some shoulder-in for flexibility and straightening he did it, though a bit stiff. There was no hesitation in his response whatsoever.

But after riding, I was thinking about how much riding of these guys and the new mare (a little paint they recently got) and working with my lesson student I would be missing going back home. It made me think how this was really one of the first major decisions where I was putting career first, horses second. The first was of course my change in majors.

I know I'll enjoy spending time at home and with horses there, but when school starts I get so caught up in classes I rarely make it out to the barn more than my weekend lesson.