The only Junior I ever knew, I HATED. He was a leopard appy, probably a large pony. My trainer, Janet owned him as a school horse. I could NOT make Junior go. Not with my leg, and not with a crop. I bought my very first pair of teeny spurs, and they helped a little bit, but not enough to be able to actually keep him at a canter. I did NOT like him. He ran me over in the pasture. So, needless to say, my first horse could NOT be named Junior. I came up with the "show" name of "Ricochet" since he's OTTB, cute, small, and boingy. "Ricki" was always my 'barn' name for "Ricochet", but the barn where I teach already had a Ricki. I came up with "Tiki", because it's cute, spiky, and makes me think of the beach. So, Ricochet, aka "Tiki" was born!
The first time I put Tiki in crossties, he was totally fine. The horse had never been crosstied before in his life, and he just stood there like a champ while I spent an hour grooming the poor beast. He has NO fat on his body, so certain areas are VERY sensitive. I was conscious of that, and tried to be easy on him. Once he was sparkling clean, I took him for a hand walk in the nearby park. Tiki was a cool customer, and actually put his head down and grazed on the longer grass. I was so proud, because I wasn't sure he actually knew how to graze! We walked for about an hour, over logs, over bridges, and by the road. No problems what so ever, and when he was relaxed, blew out the cutest little 'whuffle'. I was feeling damn good about my decision to go get this horse!!!
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