This featured photo is of my young horse, Ovation, taken by photographer Dana Rasmussen.

With Ovation, it is all about following the ball. I give it a kick and off he goes! I taught him to think of the ball as a resting place, so he hurries up and goes to the ball, he bumps it, it moves, he hurries up to get it again, and pretty soon he is off across the property. It is really very entertaining to see him trot and canter around the place just going where ever the ball goes. We have amused my lawn maintenance crews and neighbors many times!

With Ovation, getting him motivated to do anything was a big priority (see My Horses), so my thought for him and the ball was to find something that caused him to move, but in a way that he found fun (and was effortless for me!). What is really interesting in this photo is to see how he is using himself, and how wonderful his posture is... Hmm, Even without any rider up there 'helping him'. This is yet another reminder that even from a dressage point of view, there are many ways to cleverly cause our horses to exercise using good bio-mechanics. It is also a reminder of just how little our aids could be, how riding really is a little about letting the horse know what to do, and a lot about getting out of their way.

So when we are playing with the ball, part of me is just happy he is having fun, part of me is enjoying the entertainment, and part of me is grinning, watching my horse practice lightening his shoulders and using his body in a healthy 'dressagey' way ... with no half halts, no aids, no equipment. .. just by him having focus, self-motivation and freedom.

My other horse, Atomic, also loves playing with the ball, but with a very different style. You can see video of Atomic playing with the ball (see Photos/Videos).