He's grown!

I measured Brig today and he is 16HH. (For any non-horsey people that read this that translates into 5'4" at the highest point of his back) That means that he's grown 2 inches in the past year since I bought him. I thought that he seemed taller. Nobody believes me that he's not even bigger than that. He really seems taller than he actually is for some reason.
Brig has been a bit of a brat lately. I don't know why I say lately because really he is usually a brat he just changes what he does sometimes. He had five days off recently so I was expecting him to be a little hyper on Thursday when I finally had time to ride. He was fine for almost the entire ride. Then when I asked for the last canter than I was planning to do before quitting he yanked his head down and tried to buck. You would think that he would be less hyper at the end of the ride and would have tried this at the beginning but he likes to keep me guessing. It worked. I didn't get after him right away because I was so surprised and didn't really know what he was doing or why. But after trying the canter 3 more times I finally realized that he was just being a brat and that I should get after him and make him stop. He then went into a perfectly normal canter without trying a thing.
Today after I brought him in I tried someone's brand new blanket on him to see if it was the size that would fit him as I need to go buy him one. It took him less than two seconds to turn his head around and grab one of the straps with his mouth. He continued trying to bite it until I took it off. Then I put his saddle on him. I turned my back for maybe 4 seconds and heard a strange noise. He had grabbed his saddle and pulled it off his back and dropped it on the ground in front of him. So now I know that I need to make sure that the saddle is securely on his back and done up before doing anything else. He was pretty hyper and antsy in his stall most of the time that I was getting him ready so I was expecting that he would be a bit crazy to ride today. I was right. He really is quite predictable that way. I was not able to let him have a loose rein much today as he felt like he would buck. When I asked for the first canter transition today he did one or two strides and then a huge buck. I got after him, then calmed him down and asked again. Perfect, beautiful canter. Then when I tried the other side he tried it again. He wasn't too bad but it took 3 tries to get a normal transition on that side. I actually kind of like it when he's goofy like that. It's fun. I think that it improves my riding too. I really have to think about what I'm doing and how I'm going to respond to what he does. I have to be alert at all times because he's just waiting for a chance to do something.
I have another lesson on Wednesday. I think that there have been some good improvements since my last lesson 3 weeks ago. I hope that Eleanor will see the changes and that what I think feels good actually is good. I know that she will have tonnes for us to work on though and to improve. It's never ending. But that's what makes it fun for me.