Before any of us attempted to ride him, we thought it would be a good idea to take Rosco out onto the trails by leading him, and at the same time get him introduced to more horses. Scandal was being lead right behind him. I was on Navigator, Angela on West, Peter decided to bring out Conradine, and Caroline and Derik brought out Spaztic and Annie to join us. Rosco seemed very curious about his new friends, and hit it off with them very well. He became very excited at seeing all of the other horses out in the pastures when we rode by those, and he almost got loose in his enthusiasm. Thankfully, I kept a good grip on his lead and got him to calm down.
He did great on the trails. He carried himself very well over difficult terrain, and I could tell he'd be a smooth ride. We'd brought along the feed sack, and put that on his back about halfway through our ride, and he barely seemed to notice.
We then attempted something rather risky. Stopping to let him graze, I waited for him to get into his eating, and then dropped his lead. He merely flicked an ear, not even paying attention to the fact that it was perfectly in his power to bolt for freedom right now. I moved off a little ways, and then called his name. He instantly looked up at me and cantered over, ears perked forward like he was awaiting a command. The horse seemed to completely forget that he'd ever been wild, and was now a loyal mount.
With this knowledge, I moved over to his side, and ever so slowly reached out for the saddle horn. He briefly looked back at me, eyes bright with curiosity. He didn't seem upset or anything, so I took this as an okay to move forward. I grasped the horn, and then put my foot in the stirrup. Still no protest. I used the stirrup to push myself up into the saddle, and then seated myself comfortably. Rosco seemed excited to be pulling his weight like all of the other horses now. I got him to walk forward, and then gradually moved him to a faster gait, until I had him cantering in circles around the clearing we were in. Perfect! He could be ridden! We'd done it!
He did great on the trails. He carried himself very well over difficult terrain, and I could tell he'd be a smooth ride. We'd brought along the feed sack, and put that on his back about halfway through our ride, and he barely seemed to notice.
We then attempted something rather risky. Stopping to let him graze, I waited for him to get into his eating, and then dropped his lead. He merely flicked an ear, not even paying attention to the fact that it was perfectly in his power to bolt for freedom right now. I moved off a little ways, and then called his name. He instantly looked up at me and cantered over, ears perked forward like he was awaiting a command. The horse seemed to completely forget that he'd ever been wild, and was now a loyal mount.
With this knowledge, I moved over to his side, and ever so slowly reached out for the saddle horn. He briefly looked back at me, eyes bright with curiosity. He didn't seem upset or anything, so I took this as an okay to move forward. I grasped the horn, and then put my foot in the stirrup. Still no protest. I used the stirrup to push myself up into the saddle, and then seated myself comfortably. Rosco seemed excited to be pulling his weight like all of the other horses now. I got him to walk forward, and then gradually moved him to a faster gait, until I had him cantering in circles around the clearing we were in. Perfect! He could be ridden! We'd done it!
