Miss Allison's Preparatory School For Lazy, Oversized Ponies

"Plz halp this laydee iz so mean to me!!1!1"

Now that it's FINALLY nice out (spring weather still seems like a dream, and it's practically May already!) my Pony Squad is back in business and even Sully is getting in on the action. His mom has a pretty crazy work schedule for the next week or so, and she tasked me with starting to get the big hippo into some semblance of fitness.

As you probably can imagine, Sully was not enthused by this prospect. While he was, in part, happy to get out of the paddock since they've all been confined to the dry lot while the pastures grow a bit more, Sully is never one to wholeheartedly embrace hard work. He's not done much since the fall, so I kept things light and easy for him.

This is their album cover.

Sully, as per usual, complained through most of the 25-minute flatwork ride. True to who he is, the trot work was passable if heavy on the forehand, with moments of good stretching over his back and pushing with his hind end, and the walk and canter left a lot to be desired. Application of my inside leg to ask him to step under more with the inside hind was met with small tantrums and head-tossing; how could I be so CRUEL as to ask Sully to use his poor, exhausted butt muscles in that way?!

Lots of transitions, circles, and changes of direction kept him from dragging me around too much, although the canter generally resembled a runaway freight train, especially on straight lines. But, by the end of our short ride, I managed to convince him that holding up his own head and neck in the canter wasn't impossible, and we quit there before Sully could file another complaint against me for horse abuse.

They are such annoying brothers to each other! 

I could just about hear the sigh of relief when I hopped off and turned Sully back out with Dino and Chance, and I'm sure he told them all about how MEAN I was and how I made him GO ON THE BIT and STRETCH and NOT DRAG HIS ENTIRE FOREHAND ACROSS THE GROUND! Little does he know that his mom intends for me to take him to some dressage shows this summer, and he's signed up for many more lessons at Miss Allison's Preparatory School For Lazy, Oversized Ponies!