Good Boy, Cody

Cody and I had a pretty good ride this afternoon, all things considered. Naturally I had to wade through the beginnings of the mud river to get to the horses. God forbid they walk through the mud to come to the gate. Anyway I had brought Cody's western saddle and bridle, now that the weather is getting warmer I imagine I'll want to ride down the road eventually. I decided that Cody and I were going to do some work in the arena tonight. I groomed him in the crossties, he stood fairly okay but got a little antsy. I'm not quite sure why they react so differently in the crossties than they do tied in the barn at Pinto Creek.

I decided to try Cody in the bit and bridle again since he was a little stubborn the last time we rode and there was another horse to look at. I just do not like the bit/bridle combo that I am using, it doesn't seem like it fits. I have to undo the curb strap to even get it on him and even then it doesn't seem right. We went around several times but he was just fighting it the whole way, mouth open and only concerned with the bit. Another boarder had come in and was getting ready to ride so I decided to take the bridle off and put his rope halter on instead. He wasn't going to listen to the bit since it was annoying him so much so I thought it'd be better to have his attention first and then deal with any other issues.

The other boarder and horse was a good lesson for Cody. He really wanted to run up and meet this paint mare but he was pretty decent at minding the fact that I didn't want him to do that. He had a few hissy fits but nothing major and even with just the rope halter I was able to keep him in control. We did some trotting and he's actually really responsive to the "easy" command. The longevity of the cues isn't there yet, he'll slow up when I ask or walk but only for a few steps if he's got his mind on other things. It was a big reminder that if I can get out there and ride him more often he will really shape up. As soon as we can get past some of the confidence issues and paying attention then we can start working on bending and moving a little better.

He seemed a little off which I think is a stiff shoulder, at least I hope it's not his feet again. The other boarder let her mare and Cody meet. Surprisingly there was a bit of squealing, she thought her mare started it and then Cody was annoyed that the pretty mare wasn't smitten with him. We were standing there talking and the mare would just barely put her ears back and Cody would slowly back up. I guess he's just a pushover when it comes to women.

When all was said and done Cody was a little sweaty, it was 40F and probably even warmer in the arena (really nice for me). But it was still sunny and warm out so I wasn't too concerned, he wasn't even steaming it was that warm out. I gave him a banana as a treat, he grabbed it at first and then most of it fell onto the ground. I think he was a little shocked. When I brought him to the pasture I tried to give Axel the banana as well, he tasted it but didn't seem too interested. Since Axel tasted it then Cody wanted more, then Axel wanted more. In the end Axel ate about half the banana and Danny ended up with a bite as well.