Saddlebags for Linus!

Linus and I had an absolutely fantastic outing today!! We did our usual grooming start and cleaning out the hooves. All in his pasture. I said to my friend Fred the other day that I should tie him to do this stuff and his reply was along the lines of being lucky enough to do all this without having him tied. I guess as time flies you really take for granted the things you do with your own horse. I sure did. I brought my carrot stick over to show him and tried it on one of his quarter horses...she bolted. All I was doing was standing calmly beside her and started to flick the rope around her. She acted like she had been beaten by a stick or whip before. They have only had her for a month so it's possible. This has nothing to do with our fun day today though.

A friend of mine wanted some dried corn cobs to hang out for her birds but didn't know where to get any. I told her not to worry about it there was plenty around us. Especially up the trail I take Linus down. So, I decided to combine the corn picking with an outing for Linus since it has been longer than usual for us. Why carry the corn back when I have a horse?!?! I put the saddle on Linus and tightened the girth while he stood there like this was an every day event. I couldn't believe that part of it since it has been about 4 or 5 months since it has been on him. I stuffed a couple of feed bags in, rolled up a lunge line and tied it to the saddle and walked him off up the driveway. He was a very good boy. He has come so far with his manners while being led. He walks with his head at or below my shoulder most of the time now. As we turned up the trail though he got more and more excited because he just loves the two big open fields that are at the other end. I swapped the lead for the lunge line and away we went into the fields. He did some bucking and kicking and eventually we got to the second field. I didn't try to stop his play because that was half the reason for getting him out! I was a bit nervous about letting go of the line while I crossed a ditch to get the corn cobs. He ran to play a bit more and I sprinted back to make sure he didn't take off. But he just circled and came back close to where I was. So I hurried back over, got the corn and went back in the field where Linus was enjoying the grass. It was excellent for him since we haven't had the weather for a third cut to be taken off. He thoroughly enjoyed it!! I divided the corn up between 2 feed bags, knotted them and brought them over to show Linus. He was not too sure about them. I set them on the saddle and I'm not sure which part spooked them but off he went bucking and kicking. The corn bags fell off and Linus had a good gallop to the other end of the field. I moved the corn bags close to where we would exit the field and went off to bring Linus back. His head was buried in a big clover patch. I remembered a story I had been told about the importance of being able to run up to your horse without spooking it. I have done it a couple of times, but always in his pasture. I also practice jumping up and down all around him so that doesn't spook him. So I started to jog and kept jogging until I reached him. He didn't care. What a boy!

I picked up his line and we started back to the corn bags. I picked them up and he gave them a good sniff and sighed. I slung the bags over my shoulder and off we went. He kept trying to investigate them while I carried them. He was sniffing and nipping at them. But considering what they had previously contained, they probably smelled wonderful to him!! Finally, he grabbed my sleeve and stopped me. It was hilarious!! It was like he was saying "I'm the man, I'll do the carrying". So, I slowly put the bags on his saddle again and he didn't even blink at them. I swapped back to his lead rope and we headed back up the trail and home. It was the first time he had carried any weight on the saddle. It wasn't much weight, about a dozen or so cobs of corn. I was still nonetheless very impressed with my brave, young boy. He learned a lot and accepted a lot today but it didn't at all feel like a training session. I promised him we would return this weekend on the lunge line to enjoy the trail and fields some more. He loves it so much down there. I told him that one day we'd be riding down there and he could carry me!!

Saddlebags for Linus!

A very blurry picture but it was taken with me jogging towards him.