Of Poop and Multitasking
Dino, like myself, is not a multitasker.
Lately he's been taking this inability to do more than one thing at a time to new heights.
He has decided that it is impossible to move and poop simultaneously.
For about the first, oh, 15 minutes of our ride on Monday he did the "I have to poop" dance every time we went past one particular spot in the ring. He'd hem and haw and sort-of-kind-of stop, and lift his tail, and then... not poop.
This got really, really annoying.
I really wanted to get mad at him for not listening to me, but I knew it was because he had to poop, so I couldn't justify getting after him for his own bodily functions.
But COME ON, MAN. JUST POOP.
Eventually he finally pooped and we got on with our lives, and he was wonderful and fantastic. Dino's becoming SO much easier to get forward in the canter from the very first time I ask, which is super exciting! I was even able to jump before it got so dark that the fences started to look like the footing. I successfully managed any anxiety I had by focusing on getting a jump-able canter and counting out a rhythm, and telling myself that all I had to do was ride my pony to the base, and he would do the rest.
It worked.
We jumped everything in the ring at least once, including a 2'6 oxer! At times he was acting more like a heat-seeking missile than a pony, and we definitely put 4 strides in the line instead of 5, but other than that it was a great jump school. Dino was making a major back-cracking effort over everything, and I managed to stay feeling tight and secure despite his overachieving. Thank you TwoPointTober.
Today I hope he poops before we start riding. That would be helpful.
Lately he's been taking this inability to do more than one thing at a time to new heights.
He has decided that it is impossible to move and poop simultaneously.
For about the first, oh, 15 minutes of our ride on Monday he did the "I have to poop" dance every time we went past one particular spot in the ring. He'd hem and haw and sort-of-kind-of stop, and lift his tail, and then... not poop.
This got really, really annoying.
I really wanted to get mad at him for not listening to me, but I knew it was because he had to poop, so I couldn't justify getting after him for his own bodily functions.
But COME ON, MAN. JUST POOP.
Eventually he finally pooped and we got on with our lives, and he was wonderful and fantastic. Dino's becoming SO much easier to get forward in the canter from the very first time I ask, which is super exciting! I was even able to jump before it got so dark that the fences started to look like the footing. I successfully managed any anxiety I had by focusing on getting a jump-able canter and counting out a rhythm, and telling myself that all I had to do was ride my pony to the base, and he would do the rest.
It worked.
We jumped everything in the ring at least once, including a 2'6 oxer! At times he was acting more like a heat-seeking missile than a pony, and we definitely put 4 strides in the line instead of 5, but other than that it was a great jump school. Dino was making a major back-cracking effort over everything, and I managed to stay feeling tight and secure despite his overachieving. Thank you TwoPointTober.
Today I hope he poops before we start riding. That would be helpful.
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