Well, it’s official: our sweet, handsome little Artie is a riding horse, and we couldn’t be more proud of him.
Lexee N has been working with Artie for the last few months, and has been a huge part of this guy’s transformation. She calls him “Artie the wonder pony!” and says his tagline could be something like: “Coming to life under saddle in all the right ways!”
Emphasis on ‘life.’ His first rides would have never indicated that his first saddling went the way it did, with him doing everything in his power to get the saddle off from the moment it was cinched up around him. The preparation leading up to the moment Joel swung his leg over was immense, and it was this same preparation that made that first ride so, dare I say, easy.
Artie does not have much get up and go, however, so getting him to move out was a difficult endeavor. That will definitely be a spot to work on with him going forward (no pun intended) to ensure he stays responsive moving up through the gaits. Having a second person in the arena with a flag to help move a horse like Artie out helps the rider to not have to do as much, and teaches the horse how to come up off the feel of the rider’s seat vs. their legs. After only a few sessions using this method, it was clear that Artie was understanding a bit better, and ‘feeling’ of his rider more. As Lexee put it, “He’s a character that tends to work smarter not harder which can be difficult to convince him the balanced way is the right way. However, that said, his tool box is slowly becoming a tool bench and he knows what to reach for now.”
Artie’s tool bench, as Lexee puts it, will only continue to grow as the pair continue their groundwork together, and those same tools will come in handy for his riders as well. We are so delighted that this amazing guy “made it” under saddle, and can’t wait to see what the future holds for him as his training continues.
