So Not Important

The same day I abused my sick mother, though she let me, I got on Roscoe again. This time we took him outside the barn, which brought a new batch of distractions. Dogs running through bushes, cats creeping around cars and a touch of wind. Plus he figured it was time to eat since there is more grass by the barn than in his field.
With all the distractions he still let me do my sack of potatoes impression on both sides. Then I just leaned over and swung my leg over to sit on him. Roscoe was like "yeah, yeah your on me big deal. What is that cat doing?"
The biggest issue I had was that since I was not important he was not keeping me in mind when he turned, causing me to slip on his slick fur. It has been years since I have sat on such a narrow horse, probably Comrade as a 3yr old was the last. I tried so hard not to grab at him with my legs. Not that he really cared one way or the other. At one point I sat there wiggling my seat, swinging my legs and flapping the reins we put on his halter. He just stood there trying to get cookies from mom.
We walked around a few steps. No problem. Then I did some lateral bending using the reins. This is something we have done on the ground, so it is a familiar exercise. Ask for a bend to the left, when he relaxed I released. Then repeat to the right. For the most part he only bent his neck, but a few times his body followed. Such a smart pony.
Overall it was about 10 min of time on his back. It was really nice to see that I was not one of his distractions and that even with the others he listened when we asked. I am really starting to see the benefits of having a horse from day 1 of their life. No baggage or past bad training/experience to rework, only a pony with a sponge for a mind ready to grow. Oh the fun we will have :)

My view from above, wild mane and all