Pony of a Different Color

The reason I moved the ponies to A's barn TCF this summer was to help her mom watch over the horses and help out with chores.  And to also ride A's horse Scottie. He's the type that doesn't do well with time off, but not in the normal sense. Scottie isn't one to get really hot, or excited, but he will throw on the breaks when asked to go back to work.  He believes that a couple days off in a row means he's retired forever.

Unfortunately Scottie was dealing with some soundness issues before and right after A left. He did get some time off before we finally decided to call the vet. Thankfully it seems to be something that can be managed with a shoeing change and joint injections. Scottie then got another few days off before finally going back to work.

Haven't seen the view between bay ears in a long time

I did the initial ride (and lunge, he might not normally be hot but I wasn't taking any chances!) and even knowing he gets surly after time off didn't prepare me.  Oh boy does that horse not want to go forward. The first few walk trot transitions are met with slamming on the breaks, trying to go sideways, pinned ears, humped back, and threats of rearing. Once he's trotting he's fine but good lord those transitions.  My trainer did the next few rides on him and I was able to watch and even got a mini lesson on him. She, of course, made it look easy.

Scottie is a very different ride from Peebs and it's been good for me to ride him. If I lean too far forward he slows down or stops, so he's keeping me honest about keeping my shoulders back. He requires a committed, definite ride and I have to 100% crisp and clear in my aids and what I'm asking of him. He's also super smooth and I've been getting in a lot of no stirrup work and sitting trot in on him. And once you figure him out and what it takes, he feels great and it's easy to keep him where you want him.