Jasper and I had an interesting ride today in the outdoor arena here in Boise. Snow was everywhere, but the sand beneath provided for some pretty good footing.
Our ride was interesting because I had mounted and we'd started with our usual trotting in circles, and he felt absolutely explosive beneath me. He was behaving himself, but I could tell he was just ITCHING to run (I swear I can read this horse's mind). I figured it was a solid day of getting good food and doing nothing other than standing around eating that had him full o' beans, and so I hopped off, unhooked the reins, and slapped him on the butt. He wheeled around (impressive rollback!) and took off at a full gallop around and around the arena. His antics absolutely convinced me his other half is Thoroughbred, and he looked breathtakingly beautiful galloping through the snow with his rump rug flapping in the wind. He even threw in a couple of nice bucks for good measure. He carried on for a full 10 minutes going back and forth and around, and during one pass-by I asked him if he'd had enough and he replied, "Yes, thank you!" And he trotted happily into the middle of the arena and stood there breathing hard, his eyes full of the excitement of running. I hooked his reins back to his halter and we walked the perimeter of the arena while he caught his breath, I reattached his reins to his bridle and mounted and off we went. He was an angel for the rest of our ride. Afterwards, I worried he'd overexerted himself as he stood half-cocked and snoozing while I brushed him out, but he was only taking a short break because when I opened the gate back into the pasture, he took off again and ran to the other two horses.
I really, really wish I had remembered my camera.
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