Start All Over Again

Okay, for people out there training a young horse, who have kids and limited time - don't cut corners! My 5 yr old TB was doing so well - lazy, in fact, that I just stuck a bareback pad on him after a few days of really no riding, or light riding, and then I went up the road to the trail. He decided it would be fun to buck like crazy, to stretch his legs and leap around which at 5, he needed to do, just not with me on his back. So off I went onto the cement road on my butt, and I'm barely sitting down now, 2 weeks later. So 2 weeks of me thinking I better get rid of him is turning into me thinking, I better make sure and exercise him. And if I don't have time to do it right, to keep me safe, I have to not ride. So I'm looking into getting a boring, short fat horse for free that I can stick kids on and have company on the trail. That's my goal for the next few months. So I'm not alone, and then Dewey can take the 3 years he needs to take to become the best trail horse around, to grow and mature without the pressure of being the family horse now. And I'll keep giving him time to kick up his heels, and also watch him as I ride and be prepared. Sal at the feed store said, "Did he give you a sign he was going to buck?" And yes of course, he did. He put his head down and was playfully kicking his feet out like a colt in the field. But I thought nothing of it. But now I know I have to be the leader. (and give him plenty of turnout time) Honestly, being the leader is tiring. But he is such a decent, loving horse. We've come a long way. The good part about falling is that now I've fallen, on the worst surface, I lived through it, I'm okay - now I can fall off. Even as an old lady. I can decide what I can handle and what I can't, and I can try and be as prepared and safe as possible. Seems like I'm getting all my riding skills NOW, where as a kid I just hopped on and didn't have to MANAGE everything. But I also wasn't riding a young TB then, either.