Fleeceworks Thursday Morning Feed: Mini Outsmarts Jump

What happens when you mix a smart mini with a free jump chute?

It’s winter time, and there isn’t much to do when the ground is wet and it’s freezing rain outside. Thank goodness for indoor arenas, where all your ridiculous dreams can come true.

At West End Farm, we have a deceptively adorable mini named CJ. CJ is the king of the country here, and he is quick to let you know. Whether he’s whinnying his advances at a passing mare or bossing the school horses around, it’s pretty easy to tell who rules the roost.

On one particularly eventful day, we decided to build a small free jump chute in the indoor and send CJ down. Believe it or not, he actually took to it pretty quickly. He would send himself down the chute once he got to the far end of the arena. We started with a little cross-rail and moved it up until it was about 2’3. He did jump this once, but then he decided he would no longer let these humans tell him what to do:

Yeah, CJ. You win. Trust us to put just a large enough gap in between standards for you to pull that trick. Hats off to you, buddy.

But to be fair, he does have some of the cutest knees in the barn: