Happy New Year! (Is This January, Really?)

What a fun and awesome start to 2012! Warm (as in I got sweaty!) weather riding in the outdoor arena on January 2! I've never done that before, that's for sure! But I love it and so do the horses, so let it stay.

Flyboy finally got to ride with other horses at the arena! That is a first for us in a couple of months. Tammy was down there with her two year olds. One is a mustang, the other is a quarter horse; they are just getting going under saddle. I trailered Keno down with Fly, but since Keno is still off on that right hind, I didn't turn him loose to run. I did a little ground work with Fly and then saddled him up.

What a good boy! I am happy with his progress. He struggled to stay focused at times, but never got silly or upset. It took some reminding for me to keep him soft, but he was trying. He was a little distracted by the other horses and not always paying attention, but after a good warm up he was pretty tuned in and did a good job at the walk, trot, and canter. There were also a few ropers down in the other arena that got his attention occasionally, but he was good to come back to me and continue working. He is getting softer, and progress is coming right along. I will have a lesson with Marleen again on Wednesday. Overall, I was just really happy with Flyboy and am excited to see what 2012 brings us!

Keno, on the other hand was a basket case at the trailer because his horse was near some other horses! Oh, no! Don't let them near my Flyboy! Keno gets really jealous and concerned and dances around doing airs above the ground when he has to share his herd-mates. He's very polite about it, though, and doesn't paw or scratch up the trailer, thank goodness. You would think at the mature age of 16 he would get over that behavior. It was tons worse when his roomy was a mare!

I believe Flyboy has been practicing his tire tricks on his own. I found the tire like this when doing chores this morning. Silly boy! I have put a few obstacles around to give him something to do when he is bored. It must be working!