It's a pretty impressive statement abot Dot that he can ride her through pretty tough obstacles like that water.... seeing as how she is so young herself. I see he carries a crop, to let her know he means business even if he's small :~D
Not having kids, I never know how much to expect they can handle! I know that kids who are allowed big tasks, like handling a horse, can take on many things that more cautious people would cringe at.
I was pretty leary of letting him on trails on Dot at first. The funny thing about him and that crop is he rides along swinging around her head, wacking tall weeds. Dot tends to get real slow, just like her daddy. The crop helps speed her up.
Last year when they all went on vacation Jenny said Blake was hanging off the side of is saddle wacking weeds. She looked back at them, Dot had a mouthful of grass, and Blake said, "she's the mower, and I'm the weed wacker:)".
It's kind of funny to see the expression in her eyes, when he's doing that sort of thing.
Becky
Blake does real well on her, and I don't mean to take away from his abilities, but I wouldn't trust a kid his age on just any horse. We don't let him do playday events on her. She's too young and not solid enough on them. She could either get confused and then get stupid, or it could mess her up in the learning process. His other grandparents have an older horse that he does that sort of thing on. He's not a real aggressive rider like some kids are, but he does pretty good. I think if he took a bad fall at this point, it might set him back some. He's been riding now for about 2 years.
Becky