Talk to me Eli

Interesting night at the barn tonight. Laura had an animal communicator come into the barn the Friday before, so we all got to hear what the horses had on their mind. Suffice it to say, everyone was suspicious of a "horse communicator" but after the sessions, Laura was pretty convinced. Eli, the horse I rode tonight, was the talkative one I guess. Which definitely came through in my riding. According to the horse communicator, Eli wanted to be an Astronomer and/or a chef. Apparently, Eli is the one horse in the barn that eats anything he's given, so this fits him well. Eli also told the communicator that "he didn't need a bit in his mouth to teach these novices how to ride". This is definitely the attitude that we've all come to know with Eli, but once again I really felt it in the ride. It was almost as though Eli was commenting on my riding as we went along. His head was all over the place and he seemed to especially have a lot to say when I gave an unclear signal with my aids. I definitely learned a lot from Eli about balance though. As a former polo pony, he's much more sensitive to balance shifts and signals. He also was much more responsive to signals, particularly transitions from post to canter, than Pet. I look forward to riding him again.