One sunny Saturday morning Santino and I set out to practice a simple obstacle course set up in the center of our boarding barn’s arena. We just had to walk over four ground poles, loop around, traverse the poles again, and walk off in the opposite direction. Simple. We had done it a million times before.

Sonny successfully picked his way over the first two poles, but before he could navigate the final pair, his ability to focus failed him and he tripped nearly to his knees.

It happens all the time. My barn mates sarcastically refer to Sonny’s condition as Equine ADHD—attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. I call it “premature pony syndrome.”

And he comes by it honestly