had a ball

This is the season we ideally would be heading out on the trail, but it's best we stay out of the woods for a couple weeks to let Nemo's allergy situation simmer. Instead, we enjoyed a second arena weekend ride. We were flying solo (or duo in our case) at Iron Horse, it was a good day to bring our equine ball to fun it up. Our boys haven't seen it since they were introduced to it as two year olds at our place.

We put the ball in the middle of the arena, rode around and worked our way over to it. There was just enough of a breeze the ball didn't stay put very long. After riding past it, close and closer, it was time to play. Brad & Nemo tried first. Nemo wasn't a fan of the ball when he was younger, and still isn't. He acknowledges it, but that's about it. Koda on the other hand took one cue from me, and the ball was off and rolling. Some things never change.

Koda & I playing ball.

Funny how little the ball looks in the picture, it's not. Trainer Patty came home and watched us play for a while. She laughed at how Koda lit up, as we trotted after the ball. We would just get going and run it into poles or whatever, ball handling proved to be challenging. 

The real game stopper was when the ball would roll into the corner. First time I dismounted to get it, and the playing continued. Second time I was bound and determined to get the ball out of the corner while mounted. Probably not the brightest idea, since I was wrangling tree branches at the same time. I saw the pokey end of a cable, and thought "what if it pops and spooks Koda"? After all that work we were doing trying to position ourselves to get the ball out of the corner, I convinced myself the ball would roll the other way. It didn't. WHY don't I listen to myself?? 

The ball didn't pop, it just deflated - that was a brief sad moment for my playful boy. I made sure Koda knew he didn't do anything wrong, in fact he did everything I asked. I am going to try to fix the ball, but I'm pretty sure it's time to buy a new one - with a protective cover. It was a fun ride regardless, that ended with something Koda loves more then playing ball...

Cooling off with a snack

I see evidence of spots :)

...I love the last part of our rides too, so relaxing and enjoyable!