KIll All the Horses?

YES!!!!

The first day of spring isn't until next month but the horses are sure acting like it is here. Bre is supposed to be injured but she is snorting around like she is the three year old. Dickie is so smart that he has figured out how to do everything I am asking but still gawk around like a space case, buck, and rear. Even Josey has decided she wants to be a prancy fancy pants. She is being all pissified at Bre and takes off after her teeth bared or ass first when the mood strikes. 

Saturday we rode the horses after watching Romeo's Girl compete. I had the brilliant plan of walking Bre and Dickie together. I want to find a faster way to get horses to the main barn. Now I have three horses on the pasture who are full of energy and desperately need to be worked. Walking through the muddy gate of doom (I will devote a blog post to the gate soon) three times is too much for me. Bre and Dickie lead together great. Bre tells Dickie what is up and he walks like an old dog. Things were marvelous until we got over there and I separated them. I put Bre in a stall and she cried like I took her baby away. This is the mare who can be left alone when Romeo shows, will go in front or in back on a trail ride, and hasn't been herd bound a second in the 13 years I have known her. I had grand plans of riding Dickie but he was NOT focused on me at all. He is crazy smart so he can now lunge off voice command and still not focus on me. I don't want to lunge or round pen a baby to death so if I can't get him focused on me fast enough I have to pass on riding. We did end on a great note just not good enough to risk having a bad riding experience. 

Then it was Bre's turn. She was so full of snorts and spaz. She normally stands in the cross ties like a champ. You could forget about her. She was worried about what Dickie was up to and all over the place. She even decided it was appropriate to paw and she knows that makes me equicidal. The whole time we rode I could see Dickie (the arena has open walls) running like in the paddock. The horse next to him was full of crazy too and Dickie was happy to oblige by running with him. Bre was all prancy but she is too well trained to be crazy under saddle. Getting her untacked was exhausting though and by the time I got them both back to the barn I wanted to kill them. 

Monday was more of the same. I took them separately thinking that would help but they were each still full of prance. Luckily Dickie has learned some manners so my toes are safe and he listens when I tell him "AHHHH." I did get on and off of him yesterday (probably wasn't a wise choice but I am alive). I had hoped to walk around a little but his gaze was off in to the distance not at me. He even offered a little buck and I don't want to start picking fights with him under saddle just yet. I decided that rather than working on moving forward off my leg we would just work on mounting and dismounting. That went great. I also moved my legs against his side for the first time. I have been careful not to put any leg on him until now. I want to introduce one variable at a time and dealing with weight on his back seemed like enough. So even though it was a five min ride it wasn't a loss. I am so ready to get his focused mind back though. Were did you go? I think the clicker needs to be involved with riding. He can't resist paying attention to mom when she is a treat machine.

Bre made Dickie look like an angel when I led her over. She was snorting and bumping into me and stepping on my feet. Dealing with Bre when she is acting like a nut can be complicated. She was mistreated by a former trainer so I can't be too firm or she will be super crazy. The best way to deal with Bre when she is like that is just to get on and work her. I did just that and she gave me goose bumps. You wouldn't know she has been out of training for years. She was so good. I just put some leg on her and let her move. She put the hind end in gear and lifted her back up. I am so out of shape that I had a hard time keeping my position when she was in power pony mode. She was so happy and relaxed at the end. I hope she is as good under saddle for the high schooler tonight. And I hope maybe she isn't quite so annoying on the ground.