I want a second opinion

The horse that is still nameless is settling in fine. He and Wally are becoming inseparable which is bad when you want to work one horse. We take my horse into the paddock and leave Wally in the yard and all my horse wants to do is get back to Wally... Wally meanwhile goes galloping around like "I'm having so much fun here and you're missing out" just to make things worse!

You may have noticed the reference to MY horse. That's what we've been calling him till he gets a name. Its 'Your horse needs x' or 'My horse did that'. Wayne's concerned that he wont have a name till he's 29.

But I'm having so much trouble finding the right name. And my horse wont help me! I walked with him today and asked him who he was and he didn't say. I've been suggesting names and Wayne scoffs at half of them, makes wisecracks about the other half, then makes faces at the other half. Yeah. I know that doesn't add up, but its true.

William - scoff
Jack - his grandson is named Jack
Milo - scoff
Biscuit - face

He suggested:
Egon - as in 'e's gone!
Ribbit - as in frog speak

There were others. I'm trying to block them out. I said "I'll call him something to annoy you!" to which he replied, "That won't work. You can't go out and call 'Come here SomethingToAnnoyYou, good boy!'"

Then he started getting serious. He suggested:

Boon
Trapper
Indi

Not bad. I like Boon. It means something to be thankful for, a favour sought. If I call him Boon I can call him Boo which I love. One of my choices was Boo Radley from To Kill a Mockingbird. I like Trapper. I like names which end in 'er'... or anything other than 'ie' 'y' or 'i'... Indi sounds like a girls name.

If I called him Biscuit I could call him Bikkie. heheheh And I love bikkies.

Since we got him, we've been working with him slowly, getting him used to being here and being with us. Yesterday Wayne put a saddle and bridle on him. Today I saddled and bridled him (more or less successfully) and we (by that I mean Wayne) worked him on a lunge for a while.

The problem is Wayne's saddle is a western... and that means it weighs almost as much as I do. And I'm a weakling. It took me three tries to swing that sucker onto my horse's back! Wayne says I cant ride till I can saddle my own horse.

I may never ride...

I'm planning a weight lifting regime just so I lift it. I figure go out and swing that saddle up as high as I can 5vreps a day for starters, working up to 10 reps to build up the requisite muscles. The stock saddle will be arriving soon and that one is apparently lighter by a few grams. Good. That'll make all the difference. I'll be able to lift that one at least another 5mm higher.

After our little workout session this afternoon I asked Wayne what he thought and he said I was hopeless. I meant what did he think of the horse! Hey, its been a long time since I lunged a horse!

I'm very happy in general though. My boy is sweet and loving. When I lead him he nibbles on my sleeve gently. He loves being cuddled and brushed. He moves beautifully. I feel confident with him and not at all nervous about riding him. And I just love the smell of horse and leather! Mm-mm-mm

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