Saber Training with Duke

I finally got a chance to work with Duke today. I was planning to ride him in muster the past few weeks but was foiled for many different reasons. I've had others ride him to keep him fit and to progress his training but have not put much time on him myself except to use him to ride the fence line once in a while. Today I decided to blow off all my other responsibilities and just went out and rode. I started out in the dressage area and was pleasantly surprised by his performance. For one thing, he has a lot more energy than he did a month ago. My biggest challenge was keeping his speed down as he really wanted to step out. He transitioned well and picked up the corners surprisingly quickly. I ran him through the routine a couple of times and thought it went better than expected. However, it is difficult, if not impossible, to post on him with his weird four-beat trot. He wasn't pacing much but his gait is odd at a trot and even at a canter. After that, I went over to the pole-bending area to work on neck reining and to get him used to the saber. Again, I was surprised at how nimble he was on the poles. Once he picked up the pattern, it took very little effort to maneuver him through the s-turns. I even pulled the saber and feinted at the poles while neck reining him through without a problem. Now, his reaction to the saber rattle was a different matter. The instant the blade slid out of the sheath, Duke started dancing and moving backwards or sideways. I sat on him and slid the saber up and down in the sheath for five minutes or so figuring he'd get used to it after a while. He never did. Oddly enough, waiving the saber around next to his head did not bother him. It is only when I drew it or slid it back into the sheath that he reacted. At one point, I dismounted and again slid the blade up and down in the sheath. Duke did not react to the sound when I was standing next to him. He also did not mind the saber rattling sound when he was standing next to another horse. It only bothered him when I was alone with him and mounted. Very strange. To help him burn off some energy, I took him to the jogging track and let him do his weird fox-trotting thing until he tired of that and went into a gallop. I can't believe how much stronger he is now. He is eager to run now. He is starting to feel like a cavalry horse.