Two new horses

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Two new horses have arrived at the yard and I went to see M ride her knew horse for the first time after it had just been backed. We called it out of the field and led it down to the yard to tack up, I try to estimate his height and reckon it to be about 16 hand 3, a nice size and I watch as he pawed the ground and fretted, looking for any weaknesses and thinking that he is just a little finer in the leg than my own, as the girls put on a saddle, side reins which he seemed happy with but resisted the bridle going over one ears but soon the tacking was on, the stirrups secured up high. Once in the field, M attached the lunge line with N's assistance and let it go. N and I sat on an old roller to watch outside the menage. He set of jumping try to canter but M brings him back to a trot and soon gets him to walk. I say to N, who is the expert here, "Wow, he is so free moving." "Yes," she agrees, "A lovely mover." He looks thin almost too thin but N assures me this is just lack of muscle and by the end of the summer he'll be very different. M continues to lunge him, he's still rebellious so it is a little tense when N advises her to just give him 5 more minutes lunging before mounting. I hold the horse as N gives her a leg up and the second she's up I let go, they're off and it already looks like a different horse. Trotting round and walking and no jumping about now. "He looks good, head down even, almost in an outline," I say, "He's a natural, isn't he." N replies. "He's better ridden than lunged." "Well, the lunging calmed him down." M's talking continually, to hide her anxiety, not that that's very different from normal with her. After, trotting for a while she announces she's going to canter and soon gives the signal. Far from the explosion I had expected the horse canters in a reasonable manner, unbalanced, head up, skittish and drops out occasionally but without looking like a wild horse as uneducated horses sometimes do when first they canter. The horse is sweating and M hoses it down, "Glad you came up, cause I want you to ride him when I'm not here," she says, "Cause you good with your hands." Desperately struggling to avoid the obvious double entendre reply, I mutter something non-committal, trying to hide the small knot of fear in my stomach and wonder if she's serious. I'm half eager and half dreading having a go. Well, I'll wait to see what he's like hacked out and in traffic. Did you ever ride an unschooled horse? all the best urban