Horsin' Around @ The Barn

Just an ordinary summer evening at the barn. Hannah has recently been riding Star in the round pen with only the halter and no saddle (AKA Bareback for all you non-horse folks). She lets her "free walk" which is good on occasion. I think she likes to do this, because she can do it on her own. She doesn't have to ask for help with the bridle or bit, just puts the halter on alone. She can knot it up and make reins out of it (thanks to Caroline!) and uses a chair to get on her. Star "free walks" or trots anywhere she likes, as long as she stays at a walk or a trot, depending on what Hannah tells her to do...or some days...let's her do. One cool thing that Star does...we just discovered this a couple of weeks ago...if Hannah is riding bareback without a saddle, and she slides one leg up on her back like she's about to fall off...Star comes to a complete halt. It's like a built in safety measure...then somedays she tries really hard to throw her off it seems! Star really deserves a medal for all she puts up with from us. She is a great practice horse for Hannah, a guinea pig of sorts, I guess you could say...one day she'll make a great lawnmower...that will be her reward. Not all days are good, some days are just bad...sometimes several days in a row are bad; and this is when I have to keep reminding myself how far we have come with this pony, who wouldn't let you touch her face...who now lets you run a washcloth up her nose and down her ears...just takes time and patience and consistency. Tell that to my husband, who expects overnight changes....so how come after 16 years he still can't replace the empty toilet paper roll? Shouldn't I be able to modify such a simple behavior overnight perhaps...it's been 16 years! Am I venting? yes. Goodnight.