Weekend Ride with the Brother

Well sorry I have been so sparse on the posts lately! Not much has been going on, obviously, on the horse front.

But I did go riding last sunday. Although not on the two horses that this blog is about, lol.

My younger bro (by two years) and his wife, and my husband and I all went on a backpacking trip this weekend. When we got home we decided we wanted to take our dads boat out to the lake. Well then my brother gets this idea he also wants to ride Cisco! (my moms spotted saddle horse pally gelding from previous posts)

Anyway I was all for that! Lee and the sis in law much less so, lol. Sis in law is scared of horses and Cisco in particular (she rode him and once [I wasn't there] and said he 'freaked out' on her, which means he shook his head at a fly or tripped, lol, she has rode a horse all of 2 times in her life I think and Cisco doesn't help allay her fears by being 10 foot tall either)
And Lee well, he said to me afterward he wants a horse that will do exactly what he tells it and wants to walk quietly more then anything else, I laughed and said oh, so you want a push button 10k show horse huh?? ;)

So Lee and Chris went to the barn to saddle the hosses up while Jamie and I went into the house and used the bathroom. Oh how lovely bathrooms are after you are stuck with only trees for 2 days. *insert blissful sigh*

Then we took them out to the round pen to work the kinks out and for me to make sure Chris remembered how to ride a horse (hes been on one maybe a dozen times, so he isn't ignorant but its been awhile, and he isn't a horseback rider either, if you know what I mean) Well he was doing well and I tried to restrain myself from being the 'instructor' and know it all, lol. So I said a few things to him (like be VERY AWARE you have your hands connected to a metal bar on your horses nose, lol) and then we headed out. (although I told him three times not to bounce on the horses back when he gets on and he still did it *sigh*)

Heres a few pics of us in the round pen:

The brother looks a little unorthodox on a horse, but Cisco is a good size for him (the bro is a good 6 foot 5)

Dix is so perty :) Poor girl, everyone else thinks she is psycho, but I think I love her, shes just misunderstood, or else I'm the only one who wants to deal with her 'issues' which don't other me at all really

Pretty boy posing, he loves the camera I tell you!

Usins :)

Well things got a little dicey after we left the round pen. I guess Cisco started feeding of Dixie and became quite a handful. Chris did well with him for a beginner (hes a daredevil not much scares him) and we didn't get far, just around the gravel road before he was ready to head back. Cisco was being quite a PIA trying to go faster then a walk, not turning, head straight in the air etc. So we get back to where Lee and and the sis in law are standing and I told Chris to get off to see if I could get him to behave. I didn't want him to leave with a bad taste in his mouth, you know?

So I walk over to him and he starts to just walk off and I SNAPPED that bar down on his nose once and said WOAH and barked a few mean short sentences to him. He got this look on his face like OMYGAHH!! It was kinda funny, so I reached up and made him put his head down (I taught him that when he was really young and he is STILL excellent at responding to it, I just have to place a hand on his nose and top of his poll and bam his head is downnn)

Then I adjusted the stirrups and climbed aboard and he was like yes ma'am! (which getting on itself was no mean feat I tell you. I was on the downside of a slope and the stirrup was WAY UP there, like level with my chest almost! But if I can get my toe in, I can get on!) I walked him up the drive and around, checked out a scary picnic table, etc, and he had his head level and just plodded along, like he usually does. He is SUCH a smooth, fun ride. His stride is huge and you just gliddeee. And its beyond fun to be on such a tall horse with his big ole head just hanging and goin along. :)

So I got off after just a few mins and Chris got back on (well I also convinced him to get on Dixie at one point when I was fixing to get on Cisco but that didnt go well, he SLAMMED on her back and she did not like it at ALL. So I waited a few seconds to see if she would settle; she didn't. So I was like OKAY GET OFF, haha.) After he got on Cisco he did just as well as with me, but we didn't try going off again with the two of them. I dunno, maye he just does better by himself. My dad took him quite a ways one time alone down a trail etc, and he did great, and my dad is def not a rider either. *shrug*

Stills from the vid:

Perty Dixie again

Playboy ;)

Drive-by! (mouth open talkin to the sis in law) Thats the parents house, they were out of town in AZ this weekend. That bay window there used to be my room :)

Anyway I had a great time. I've got a video of him and I riding in the front drive but the internet her is going off and on so I can't ever get it finished. I'll try to get it up tomarrow.