Nine again

Wow! Long time, no post! Haven't really had anything to post, I suppose.

Well, I do now. My mom and I tried to work with Nine yesterday, but he was being very flighty. I rode him in the round pen a bit, but he was very tense so I didn't want to ride him in the open, which was our goal for the day. So, instead, I rode Ashley and, ponying Nine, we trotted a loop around Saddle Crater (about 7 miles). We trotted about half that distance, walked the rest. When we got back Nine was dragging at the lead rope and he had an even sheen of sweat, so it seems we definitely took the edge off his energy!

Today we trailered Nine and Ash a few miles out to a spot I know where there is a stretch of sand clear of brush. It's about 1/2 mile from the road to the sand, so you can imagine I was disappointed when Nine dropped me at the trailer. He was fine when I mounted, and when I asked him to flex his head each way, but then he tried to walk off so I pulled his head back around and told him to "whoa", but he just started spinning! Wow, can he spin! My mom said I made it about three spins, and I was off. After about 10 minutes of hiking around before I caught him, I lead him all the way to the sand so if he tried that again, I would have a softer landing and he would have to work harder to get me off.

Well, it worked, mostly. He kept scooting away when I tried to get on, trying to take off, but after he realized all that earned him was a jerk to the mouth from the bit, he stopped and let me get on. He was a perfect angel until we started trotting. He did about four or five strides just fine, but then decided he was done, so he turned 100 degrees and started bucking. I stuck it though, barely. After he stopped, I rearranged his mess of a mane (which is ridiculously long and thick now) and we went back to my mom. Then he was fine again. We trotted again and he was a dream. He was perfect back to the trailer, but again didn't want to stand still. And when I insisted, off he went, crow-hopping, then he bolted. But he turned when I asked, about ran into a dead tree, bucked again, then planted his rear into a tree, haha! When I asked, he got out of the tree, returned to the trailer and stood while I started to get off. He had one moment of sideways as I dismounted, but he stopped as soon as he felt that rein tighten. He loaded like an angel and the ride home went smooth, other than the fact that we had to unload the horses to get the truck and trailer up a steep bit of hill, then reload them! :P

Yay! I rode him out in the open!