Sonny Days

Yes, Sonny days. LOL I should devote a whole day - no, month - no, YEAR - to Sonny boy. That horse is amazing. I know in the past I've said that he is a retard QH with no brain who stinks, but right now, he's my ride and since there's no other horse actually available for me to ride at Victory, I'll stick with Sonny.

I can get him to do anything I want to. I say jump, he jumps. Literally. Today, Erica and I got all excited about jumping April and Son, and we even set up some really, really, really pretty jumps. Like, jumps with cones under them, double jumps, a nice line... very pretty. =) Thanks to the rain and storming today, though, when we actually attempted to jump after warming up...

Fail. The ground was just way too slippery. Sonny jumped the tiny jump just perfectly, but jacked up his canter when we turned a sharp corner and I forgot to sit up straight and support with my legs. We went for the larger jump (we had just enough time to straighten up and get comfortable again), but he dodged and literally jumped through the one-foot opening between the electric fence and the jump standard. I heard the zzzzt of the electric fence grazing him, but he didn't react, just got through and kept on going. I stopped him, pulled him into a back, and made him canter past it over and over and over. Eventually, he just kept licking and lowering his head (gooood boy), and I was pretty satisfied.

Erica had to teach a lesson then, so I took Sonny inside to work a bit. After letting him walk a bit, I urged him into a trot and really got him to bend and stretch like I wanted him to. We got a flying lead change once, and we accomplished a side pass and a very, very small piaffe as well. I love that horse!

We worked on shortening and lengthening strides, and especially in the canter. Sonny has a tendency to really speed up when I ask for a stride lengthening in the canter, but by the end of the ride, that problem was solved and gone. =) I love, love, love doing a side pass on Sonny. He is so smooth (to me), and such a good boy. I love how he's so responsive, and how almost anyone can ride him. If he's ever for sale, I'd snatch him up in a heartbeat. <3

Someday, I want a horse like Sonny. A QH with a past in jumping, contesting, pleasure, eventing,... everything. Gotta love horses that you can do anything on!

Go hug the Sonny in your life! <3