Bareback Riding and "Neeeeeighhhh!"

So we finally broke Red out of his temporary "retirement" the other day and we had a blast riding!!! He did SOOOOO good for not being rode in over a month! We tied him in the round pen so we could tack him up and he stood like a gentleman, let us brush him, check his hooves, and even take out some thistles that he had somehow found and gotten into!!! We tacked him up, well, my mom tacked him up while I had to push Hercules, a paint at the barn, away because he kept trying to untie the lead rope. :/ :/ :/

Anyways, I was the first to ride (me and mom took turns) and I walked him around the round pen and worked on my reining, since I'm terrible at that. :)) After a few minutes mom got mounted and started making him trot to get some of his energy out. He refused to trot for me. I think he senses that I'm a beginner and that he can get away with it with me. That horse has the roughest trot ever. It looks fine, but you literally bounce five feet off of the saddle. Phew!

I got back on, trotted for awhile, then we continued taking turns until Red was positively exhausted.

See his sleepy, droopy eyes? Adorable.

We brushed him out again because he was sweaty and dirty, then made sure we got all of the thistles out. (we made sure he had none around the saddle or anywhere that they would hurt him while we rode beforehand, but we wanted to double check around his mane, neck and face.) Then I decided that I wanted to ride a little bareback, which would be my first time trying it. :) Mom helped me mount and after a couple tried I was on! I flailed a little the first couple times, then the last time I slammed my elbow into his withers (It didn't hurt him, he never flinched) but my elbow was so sore the next day. :/ Anyways, I rode around for a few minutes and was beyond happy.

Ignore the scar looking thing on his back. It's a hoof mark, but it's all healed, we're just waiting for some hair to grow, I don't think it'll scar. :)

That's my mom riding Red. Isn't he purdy???

Once we were done we let him have some relaxation time and cuddled and spoiled him for a little while. :) :) He's such a good boy.

 I love this picture. Not only do I love his eyes, but I love that you can see his bridle.

He's so spoiled!