An Introduction of Sorts

At some point, everyone has been a first-time horse owner.
For me, this is that time.
I know what I am doing in the sense that I've been riding since I was 5 years old and have worked at barns off and on for years and all that jazz, but I have no clue what I am doing in the sense that I've never taken a trail horse and repurposed it for eventing.  And Leo is proving every day that this is going to be A Challenge.

Look at that face.  He looks the part, right? But here's the thing.  Leo is very, VERY opinionated about life.  He hasn't had to do a ton of things for much of his last 8 years.  Now he is being worked 4-5 days a week, being asked to jump things, being ridden in an arena, and he's in a new location.  At first, this was all taken in stride, but in the last week things have gone a little...sour.  

Let's just say that when (if) we ever start working on dressage, he has the sidepass thing down. Sideways is his favorite, and spinning and backing up come close behind.  He has a lot of feelings in his little saddlebred brain.

I am so lucky that my trainer is a former arab/saddleseat person and that our barn has probably the highest population of jumping saddlebreds anywhere ever.  And I have this adorable little horse that sometimes has moments of brilliance when his talent shines through.  And then I have days where we forget how to trot on a lunge line and days where riding in a circle seems like a terrible idea and all four feet no longer touch the floor.  

So that's a tiny bit about where we are right now in life.  Lunging and learning how to walk in a straight line and lots of talking about our feelings and trying to figure out what bit to use because this horse has the most sensitive mouth/face that I have ever encountered firsthand. 

It's a good time really.