Trailer Simulations

I've been busy all day, so I just now got out to play with Pistol, even though he has been hanging around waiting all day.  He has a little routine, and he doesnt like it when I mess it up.  I go out and feed him, then he moseys out into his pasture to eat for awhile, and then he comes back in and wants to play.  Now I used to be able to play with him in the morning and at night, but then I got busy with work, and have only been able to play with him once a day.  So today I got out there, and he was happy to see me, especially when I started scratching him.  He even turned around and started scratching me.  Once he was in the mood, I put his halter on, and practiced driving from zone 3/4 on the right side.  That is the harder side for both of us, and I realize I need to work on it more than I have been to get it better.  So we did some driving out to the front lawn, and then I played around with the rock slide pattern with him.  He got it perfectly the second time at a walk, so I left it alone and moved on to circles again.  After just a couple laps he relaxed and gave me a really beautiful rounded trot with the rope dragging on the ground all the way around the circle, so I brought him in and scratched him, and then sent him out to the right.  This time he got a bit cheeky with me, deciding to run and buck.  So I let him for a little bit, and then added my 4 ounces to it, and pretty soon he said "can I please walk?"  Then I asked him for a trot again, and this time he did a beautiful circle to the right with a rounded body and the rope on the ground, so I started traveling.  He did great with that too, until we reached a scary spot.  So we had to do some approach and retreat with the whole area, because there were several scary trees and plants and a porch that might eat him.  Then we headed for the back yard, and my grandpa started to mow the lawn.  Not a big deal, I thought, Pistol can deal with it.  And sure enough, he dealt with it just fine.  There is a big bush in the back yard that I had Pistol back up to as practice for when the trailer doors close behind him.  It took a bit, because he would get so far, and then scootch his butt so it went away from the bush.  After the first time, I knew where his threshold was, and didnt ask him to go further.  I brought him back, yo-yo-ed him again, and he took a step closer.  A little more of that, and he had his tail in the bush.  I waited, and pretty soon he started licking and chewing.  Woo-hoo!!  Just then, my grandpa drove by on the mower, and Pistol had to go investigate it.  So I did some more zone 3 driving back to the pen, shut the gate, and had Pistol back up to that.  He got it much quicker that time, and I rewarded him with lots of scratches, and removed his halter.  I think tomorrow if all goes well, I will see if I can ride him.  I did all his preflight checks again today, and he passed them all.  He was so soft, I really wanted to get on him today, but I knew I wasn't ready for it.  Tomorrow I'm going to get a pair of boots, which is a long story, but when the store finally sent them to me, they sent the wrong size, so I have to go back tomorrow and get the right size, and I will feel better about riding in boots.  Silly, I know, but still.  One can't be a cowboy in tennis shoes. :D