Wednesday with Tex: Riding

Sunday morning I rode Tex.

I've only ridden him a handful of times since he transitioned from being Brett's horse to being mine, a couple years ago.  Mostly, we've been laying groundwork and building trust.

Talk about paying off.  Tex was the most relaxed he's been under saddle.  He was pretty chill.  And, instead of worrying, he tried really hard to figure out what I wanted.  I'm sure my aids are much different than the cowboys he is used to.

We worked in the arena first, making sure he was relaxed and that I had brakes.  Of course, I had brakes.  And he tried hard to understand.  He didn't freak out or worry.  If he wasn't sure, he slowly and carefully backed up.  It must be his "go-to" skill.  I've been on horses who rush backwards when worried; this wasn't like that at all.  So I laughed, and said "whoa" and we tried again.

Brett was riding Flash at the same time and after awhile we left the arena and wandered under the oaks.  Tex was happy.  He put his head down and carefully looked at the dry stream bed before calmly walking across.  He did jump forward when Flash jumped the same stream bed, behind us.  We marched over the bridge, around the house, down to the front gate, over some downed logs, and then back around the barn before calling it good.

Afterward, I sat on a flat rock next to the pasture.  Passage weaved back and forth behind me, rubbing against my back the way cats do.  Kersey was sprawled at my feet, all four feet in the air, hoping for a belly rug.  Tex came over and hung is head way over the fence.  We sat there like that for quite awhile.

My definition of perfect happiness.