Relaxed and Ready for Winter!

Bucky has made quite a bit of progress recently. I am really happy with how far he has come the last few weeks. We are conquering the dreaded fly spray, which was a huge obstacle in the beginning. He will now stand to be sprayed with only a small amount of head flinging in the beginning. (He used to panic and run away...) He also seems far less tense and rigid. He might even be relaxing a bit! 

I've started riding him finally. I hesitated to ride him when I first got him because he was so tense. I felt like there was no hope of him actually enjoying it. But after he's had time to settle in, I think he's ready to start the riding portion of his retraining. He is very headstrong when ridden. He likes to go slow and has a hard time just walking. Part of me thinks this is due to his previous training as a barrel racer, and I also wonder if he had a past life as a cart racing pony. He is a hackney after all... It is probably also in part to his naturally high-strung personality. But I'm hoping with time and patience we can work through it!

In other news, both my have new blankets in preparation for the cold weather! Scotty's fits pretty well, which I am pleased with. It is not easy finding a blanket that fits a miniature horse of his size! Bucky, on the other hand, his blanket is a little large on him... I'm not really sure what the issue is however! I measured him and it should be the correct size. I think he  might just be an oddly shaped horse... Anyway, enjoy the cute pictures!