You can never have too many bits

I might have a rather significant collection of bits, but I don't use them all. In fact, some of them I've never used. Bits, for me, are a lot like shoes for other women. I just like them and I like to have plenty of options available, just in case.

Since I've had Gabe I've had a variety of bits in his mouth trying to find something he likes. From a big fat loose ring snaffle, to a loose-ringer Myler snaffle, to a double-jointed Myler D-ring, to a regular racing dee, a single-jointed eggbutt, a rubber mouth D-ring, a full-cheek and finally, a Baucher.

Each and every bit elicted a different, not entirely accepting, response from the big, picky guy. He absolutely hated the full-cheek snaffle and has been mildly accepting of the Baucher. He mouths and mouths and plays and gets above it and below it, twists his head and sometimes puts his tongue over it, no matter how little or how much contact I take up. His teeth aren't the issue, they've been checked.

He has a very narrow jaw and a low palate (like many Thoroughbreds) and I got to thinking...are these single jointed bits nut-crackering and irritating his palate and smushing his jaw? Even the double-jointed Myler had a mild port on it, so it would poke his palate.

I've been searching for a very specific bit for quite some time and for some reason, it's not carried by many tack shops. I don't like to buy my bits online, I like to hold them, feel their weight in my hands, examine the action over my arm and run my fingers over the metal to check for any scratches or burrs that might irritate. I also can't STAND a squeaky bit, so the joints must be fully tested, too.

A quick stop in my local tack shop finally struck gold. Of all the bits on the wall, there was only one of the type I was seeking: A double jointed eggbutt snaffle with a copper half-moon, in the right size. JACKPOT!

Even though there was no one else in the shop, I snagged that bugger as quickly as I could just in case it decided to poof into non-existence.  I hefted it, folded it over my arm, caressed the stainless steel, tested the joints and listened very carefully for any tell-tale signs of squeakiness. Nothing. It was perfect and beautiful.

I couldn't wait to get home to give it the Gabe test.

Guess what? He likes it! He likes it! So much excitement! After a few moments of mouthing it and sucking it up into his mouth to test it, something amazing happened - his mouth went still and I swear his eyes went soft and accepting. His mouth was completely quiet, his teeth stayed still and his tongue remained under the bit. That has NEVER happened with any of the other bits I've tried. His mouth stayed quiet and still the entire ride and he actually began reaching actively into it, white foam lipsticking his lips beautifully.

Our ride was fantastic. It felt good, he felt good, there was no head twisting or lip flapping or teeth grinding. I rode with very, very light contact and he kept reaching, reaching, reaching for the contact and every few strides rounded actively up into it with his ears pricked forward. Joyfulness!

Happiness is FINALLY finding a bit your horse loves. Especially when it's a nice, gentle, mild bit.

Oh, it hurts!

Last night we did something I've not yet felt comfortable enough with Gabe to do. Those who have been following our progress know that while, for the most part, Gabe is usually on an even keel, sometimes he has fairly explosive reactions to spooky things and can, for no discernible reason whatsoever, just be way too playful under saddle.

But, with him being such a star lately, I decided it was time to ride him bareback. Well, I didn't ride bareback, bareback, but rather threw my Baretek on him and went for a ride. For the record, I love my Baretek, all the benefits of bareback riding without the drawbacks (sweaty, hairy butt and legs, slippery back, etc.).

At first he didn't know what to think. He turned and looked at me when I first climbed aboard as if pondering what the heck I was doing. I know the feeling is different and he didn't know how to respond. I nudged him for a walk and got no reaction. Nudge again, still nothing. Kick and the lightbulb went off in his little TB head.

Did I mention I haven't ridden bareback or with the Baretek for YEARS? Holy mackerel. Apparently, I need to do it more often because within the first 10-15 minutes and a posting trot down the long side my inner thighs and hip flexors were SCREAMING in agony. My saddle, a multi-purpose eventing saddle that has a fairly forward seat, does not push my thighs back into a dressage position like the Baretek does. Yikes. Ouch! It is nice to know that I still have good balance though, even without stirrups. I dropped the reins a few times at the trot and held my arms out to the sides or above my head just to be sure I was riding with my seat, not balancing on his face. Most of the ride was done on a loose rein simply because I wanted to be sure I was using my body to balance and not his face.

Once we did as much posting and sitting trot as I could physically tolerate, we worked on tuning his sensitivity to my legs and seat (something nice and easy we could do at a walk and still accomplish a lot of what I've been wanting to work on with him.) He has always been sticky and very slow to respond to requests for lateral movement away from the pressure of my legs. By the end of the ride I think he finally GOT it. Yay! He does, however, respond beautifully to my seat for half-halts, halts and slowing/shortening his stride without any need for the reins. At least I got that part right in the training!

So, my goal now is to ride bareback at least once a week and really work on building my leg/ab strength, something that seems to have significantly diminished in riding exclusively in my saddle. It's good for me, and good for him, and now that I trust him so much more not to be a random nitwit, I feel comfortable doing it, too.

Happy trails!

A bit of this and that

We had another fabulous, long ride off the property again and Gabe was 50 percent better this time than he was last week. Our only issues: The cows (surprise, surprise) and a dog that appeared out of nowhere barking and lunging at us like a rabid lunatic.

Other than those two things, he was fabulous. And those two things were minor as he responded more like I expect him to respond in uncertain, scary situations. Instead of stopping and absolutely refusing to move forward AT ALL, he kept moving forward but also moved sideways while keeping a watchful eye on the advancing herd of deadly cattle and Cujo. Good boy!

Oh, and he did react to a HUGE tractor that rumbled by us hauling a disker and two anhydrous ammonia tanks. He's seen tractors many, many times, just not one as huge and noisy as this one, so his reaction was not unexpected.

Kayleigh rode Chief and my friend Jaquie rode Calypso and all were very good (Calypso was a wee bit on the up side, but settled down after 20 minutes into the ride). We rode about six miles, and after the first mile, Gabe was chugging along at a good walk...ON THE BUCKLE and very relaxed. So pleasant.

Worked Gabe in the arena Monday afternoon and he was very good. My stupid dog kept dashing out of the brush lining the arena right under his nose and disrupting his attention. If the dog runs behind him, he doesn't seem to mind too much, but when she's under his nose, he hates it. But, he needs to get used to it if he's going to be a good field hunter. Can't have him reacting adversely to every canine that appears out of nowhere, especially out on a hunt. So, although it's a pain in the butt, it's something he needs to get used to.

We worked on bending, turns on the haunches and canter departs. Turns on the haunches are coming along nicely, bending is improving bit by bit, but canter departs, oh, are they ever ugly. You know what I mean...trot faster faster faster faster THEN pick up the canter...inevitably on the wrong lead. So, we spent a whole lot of time re-gathering ourselves into a nice trot and trying again and again. We got a couple of decent departs, but nothing to get terribly excited about. It's just one of those things and we'll get it together eventually. Despite the terrible departs, his canter is so, so nice. It's one of those delightful canters you could ride all day long, so smooth, so "up", so powerful. It always makes me grin, and maybe giggle a little bit because it's just so FUN!

Also practiced loading on the trailer a bit and he's definitely getting better. I'm not pushing him to the point that he gets all worked up, but I do expect him to make an effort. Kayleigh doesn't understand why I just don't force him to get on and make him stay there. I could, but I want the whole trailer experience to be pleasant so when he sees it he WANTS to get on, not the opposite. I never, ever want there to be a question about whether he'll get back on the trailer if we go somewhere else! Imagine, stuck out in the middle of nowhere, hours from home with night approaching, and the horse refuses to get back on the trailer. No thanks! For me, that knowledge that he will happily load, no matter where we are, is well worth the time and the patience I have to have with this.

Happy trails!

Days of No Go

When most people hear Thoroughbred off-the-track they typically think "Oh, crazy and fast!"

Which can be true, in part. I like to think of them more as "sensitive and responsive," and LIKE my personal riding horses that way.

But, Gabe, oh, he is a conundrum. He is neither crazy, nor is he fast. Which you would think automatically leads to "lazy and dull." Which is he is not. Usually.

There is a reason he is no longer on the track running his big Thoroughbred heart out. And it's because he was an absolute failure. He won his first two races then decided, "eh, this isn't for me, I don't wanna." So he didn't. Once he decides he's really not interested in doing something he just doesn't. Pretty simple.

There are rides when he's on it. Moving forward, responding wonderfully and quickly and just there, almost anticipating my requests.

Other times he's like riding a plow horse with freight train controls. There is no go, there is no turn and stop or lollygag about are about the only gaits he excels at. Think Eeyore general attitude on these days. It can be SOOOO frustrating to be up there, giving the cue, giving the cue, giving the cue and your horse just ignores you. You KNOW he knows what you want but decides that compliance isn't at the top of his list today.

I've tried the whisper, tell, yell method and given him three chances to give me the right answer and usually fail. So, to the 'net I go, looking for suggestions, knowing the answers I will most likely find.

“The biggest thing causing a non-responsive horse, is the rider giving too many aids,” states dressage rider and coach Gary Vander Ploeg emphatically. “We are taught as green riders to give lots of aids, that is, look busy on the horse, and we are not taught how to be passive. The worst thing we can do is to ‘drive stronger’ and ‘grip with your legs’ with these horses, because we are actually training them to be dull.” From a Horse-Canada.com article.

Yup. Exactly what I knew I'd find. It's never the horse, it's always the rider. So, how do I fix this problem?

Again, I knew the answer but it always helps me to see it and read it before I put it into practice.

Gabe no longer gets three chances. He gets ONE. Because he knows what the answer is, he just doesn't feel like answering at that moment.

I will no longer be that nagging rider, begging my horse to comply with my request, being along for the ride. I will be the leader in this relationship and he doesn't get to decide he doesn't feel like responding.

One light cue and when I get no response, he gets a whack with the stick. I don't think it will take him long to figure out it's just easier to "follow the leader." He's a smart horse. Smart enough that he's managed to get me exactly where he wants me...complying with HIS decisions on the days he really just doesn't wanna.

An eye-opener

You can learn a lot about the personality of your horse just by sitting back and watching him or her be a horse.

I learned a thing or two about Gabe this weekend that may help me deal with the way he reacts to things that worry/scare him, such at the umbrella, the cows, etc. etc.

For some reason Sunday he decided there was something REALLY SCARY in his run-in shed. He would not go near it, even though he knew his feed tub was full of warm, yummy breakfast. By the way, there was nothing in his shed. I checked and double checked. Not a thing. Sometimes I think he sees things.

Anyway. He refused to go in there long enough to finish his breakfast and eventually, once I opened all the gates, Chief and Calypso finished it for him. Obviously, if they were willing to go stand in Gabe's run-in and gobble up his breakfast, there was nothing in there to worry about.

Evening rolled around, Gabe had avoided and given his run-in the stink eye all day. So, I put everyone in their appropriate paddocks, fed, and sat on the deck to just watch Gabe. I knew he was still being crazy about the run-in but I wanted to watch him deal with it on his own.

He knew dinner awaited him. All he had to do was overcome his fear of going in to his shed.

He started out in the farthest corner from his shed, standing there just watching the shed, ears pricked at it, body a big hard ball of tension and muscle ready to flee.

After a few minutes of him just staring at it, he dropped his head and walked forward with purpose about 20 good strides. Then stopped and stared at it again, decided it was still too terrifying, whirled and cantered back to the corner where he started the whole process again.

Each time he did that he stopped closer to the shed and ran less further away from it.

Classic approach and retreat method done all on his own.

He was confronting his worry and his uncertainty in baby steps, but he was definitely trying to defeat his fear on his own terms. Two steps forward, one step back, until he finally got to the entrance, stepped inside, took a bite, then whirled and ran back out again to stand about 15 feet from the entrance. He did this for a good 20 minutes before he finally decided it was safe enough to go in and enjoy dinner.

Now that I know, for certain, how he approaches worry and uncertainty and fear on his own, I can work that into how I approach it with him in the saddle. I realized as I watched him that he does the exact same thing under saddle, but WATCHING him do it, instead of having to ride that, was extremely eye-opening. It's a whole different ball game when you can watch them behave in a certain way and know why they are behaving that way than try to deal with it when you are atop them, especially the whirl and run away part!

If the approach, retreat method, done slowly and on his terms, is what helps him deal with it, then that's what we'll do and hopefully that will end the long, drawn-out battles we get in to over passing something that's a little too scary for him. Eventually though, I hope we won't have to go through that, that he will learn to trust my judgment enough that he will just march forward without the retreat!

We'll see how it goes, but it was definitely interesting to see him deal with something like that on his own.

Horse Fair: I love you, I hate you

I have a love/hate relationship with equine fairs, symposiums, gatherings, etc. etc.

I love to go and learn new stuff, see examples of breeds I rarely come in contact with, meet new people and of course, shop!

We spent the entire day and evening Saturday at the Illinois Horse Fair. As usual, it was freaking cold and windy, but a great way to spend the day.

I always leave feeling not only energized and ready to get on with the training thing and eager to try new things, but also very disappointed in where my training has gone so far.

Shouldn't I be able to get my horses to bow, sit, lay down, stand on a "table" and respond to me by doing really cool stuff at liberty by now? Shouldn't I be able to drag a tarp behind my beasts, jump them through flames and walk them into a loud, bright coliseum/arena fully confident they won't bat an eyelash at all the noise and activity?

But I can't. Heck, I can't even get Gabe to walk past an umbrella without him coming unglued. Most of the time he's in my space on the ground and refuses to stay put when I try to "park" him somewhere and walk away from him. He follows me instead of standing still. Very frustrating and I know I should have him at the point where he'll stay where I put him and back away from me on the ground without me having to touch him. He should be at the point where he walks past anything I ask him to, no questions asked, confident that I won't lead him into a dangerous situation. But we're not there yet and some days, I really don't think we ever will be.

The good thing is that I know I am capable of training him to do all the cool "tricks" you always see at those horse fairs. I also know I am fully capable of training him to be the quiet, confident, eager, brave mount I know he can be. My biggest issue is time, especially during the dark months when I have no outdoor lighting and especially right now when my weeks are full with working and going to school every evening. I know the school thing won't last forever (I'll be done this summer, yay!) but I still get frustrated and find myself thinking: Why do I even bother? I should just sell the farm, rent a cheapo apartment and board the horses somewhere with an indoor arena and lighting so I can ride at 11:30 p.m. when class is done during the week, where I can ride and work my horses in all kinds of weather conditions

But I know I wouldn't be happy. Not one bit. You take the ups with the downs when you keep your horses at home. Sure, the winter and fall have really become no-ride seasons for me, but I think that's the way it is for quite a few horse owners who have their horses at home.

I wouldn't trade the convenience of a boarding barn for the pleasure of waking up in the morning and looking out the window to see my horses waiting patiently (or, not so patiently if I'm running late!) at the gate for their breakfast, or the sublime thrill of being able to watch them run like demons around the pasture, bucking and rearing, galloping and playing with each other. That's a thrill like no other and one of my greatest pleasures.

Despite the love/hate relationship I have with horse fairs, the Illinois Horse Fair this past weekend did reap one great big benefit for us. We met a woman who is the director of a riding club INCREDIBLY CLOSE TO US!!!! Membership is comprised of kids and adults and the group puts on "fun shows" twice a month starting in May. They do group events and trail rides and have a lighted arena that's open 24/7 for members to use. They are in the process of adding all-weather footing to the arena, so, even if it isn't an indoor arena, it's still usable all year long. Yay! That alone is worth the $20 annual family membership fee. The woman was fabulous and we just happened to strike up a conversation while eating lunch at the fair and talking about the super cheesy nachos. Very excited about this group, and Kayleigh is too.

The Mist

My only conclusion is: Aliens stole his ever-lovin' mind and replaced it with mashed potatoes.

Seriously.

Gabe absolutely, completely and entirely lost it Sunday afternoon. Sure, it was quite foggy out, sure it was quiet and still and wet, maybe my dumb dog did decide that running mad circles around us and under us was a good idea and perhaps Chief was being a little stupid too, but that was no excuse for Gabe to behave the way he did.

This was his worst behavior ever and honestly, it scared me. Not because he threatened to throw me and run away, but because he was spinning in tight little circles, cantering sideways (I think we may have even cantered backwards a couple of times), blowing hard, tucking his chin to his chest and hopping, tossing his head and trying to rear and spin at every. little. sound. We didn't even make it halfway down the driveway when Chief (whom Kayleigh was riding bareback) spooked sideways, snorted and startled the crap out of Gabe, immediately putting him on an even higher level of stupid. I was more worried that we would slip and fall in the mud and occasional patch of ice or go sideways down a ravine than I was worried he'd run off with me. Running off I can handle, horse falling on me, I cannot. I got off, put him on the line and worked with him for a bit trying to get him to switch from reactive to thinking side of brain.

Failure. Massive. He was good and long gone, deep into his reactive, flighty brain and there was just not a whole lot I could do to get him back without risking a slip and fall. That's how awful he was. Because it wasn't just mud, it was a layer of mud over permafrost. Super super slick. Even the grass was slick. Ugh.

But I couldn't untack him and put him away after this awful, horrible, no good, extremely dangerous kind of behavior. So, into the arena we went with the idea to just work and work and work at the walk until I got his brain back. I wanted to avoid the arena in the first place (which is why we were heading down the driveway) because it was wet and I didn't want to destroy it. Fail.

The fog was heavy and dripping from the trees. It was misty, my face, helmet, saddle and horse soaked from it. The whiteness oozing around the trees and deep into the wood was heavily, eerily quiet. A still, deep kind of quiet that Stephen King writes about. I understand why he lost it, but that is no excuse, it's not even a good reason, period.

So we walked (kind of), flexed left and right (he got my toe popped in his nose a few times for biting), circled, halted, backed, more flexing, lots of stop and go. I flopped and flapped around on his back, I yelled into the woods so it would echo eerily back, I made him walk into the woods where he DIDN'T want to go ("Heart attacks are free. Give your horse one every day." - Clinton Anderson) and did everything he didn't want to do (at a walk-jig-wiggle) until he decided to just WALK. Whew. Who knew walking quietly was so damned HARD!?

Once I got the walk and he could stay at the walk without jigging, jogging, shimmying or scurrying, we trotted. And trotted. And trotted. I circled and circled and circled on a loose rein, keeping him moving forward until he sighed, dropped his head and licked his lips and I felt him really give in and relax. There is a big, muddy, icky circle in my arena now. Nice.

It only took 45 minutes to go from OH MY GOD I'M DYING!!! YOU'RE DYING! WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!! over-reactive to relaxed and licking his lips quiet. Yeah. Only 45 minutes. Ha! I don't know what got into him, but it was completely unexpected and entirely out-of-character for both him and Chief. I do expect the occasional silly stupids from Gabe, I can handle the silly stupids and usually do so with a smile and a correction, but this was dangerous and scary, and I don't typically get scared easily in the saddle. If he behaved regularly like he behaved Sunday, I'd be worried about getting on him and he'd most likely find himself in a new home pretty quick.

Whew. Dumb horses.

NO! Not the toes!

We have had an absolutely amazing last few weeks. Because winter around here has been decidedly NOT very winter-like, and I am so grateful! Not only will my electric/propane bill be extremely low, but I've been able to ride much more than what is usual for me this time of year.

Oh, sure, we did several weeks of the regular "mud battle," but that's expected. Not enjoyed, not by any stretch of the imagination, but certainly expected and we're getting better at dealing with it. Is there almost nothing more frustrating than spending 45 minutes to an hour of good, hard grooming to knock all the caked on mud off your horse only to turn him loose in the paddock and watch as he finds the muddiest, stickiest, grossest spot to roll in and make mincemeat of your elbow grease? And Gabe, he's not really gray any more, he's got this glorious pee-yellow tinge to his entire body. Thanks, mud! Love ya!

The ground work is going exceedingly well. We've had a few minor "blow ups" by the big man, but he settles back into the work quickly. It's almost like his little Thoroughbred brain misfires momentarily then resets as fast as it got off track. We spend our on the ground sessions sensitizing the heck out of him to respond to my every move/command, then the last five or so minutes desensitizing the heck out of him with the rope and whip. After each session, he gets to stand for a significant amount of time at the patience pole, something he has never been a big fan of doing. We're up to over an hour now, something I would have never thought possible just a few months ago. He stands so quietly, the wiggling is over, and he's figured out that relaxing, dropping his neck and cocking a back leg is a far more productive way to spend his time than fretting and worrying the entire time.

So, one quirk that has cropped up has come to light with the lateral flexion in the saddle. He does it beautifully on the ground, gives into the pressure and touches his nose to his belly and I release. But, when I ask for the same thing in the saddle, he gives to the pressure, swings his neck around, relaxes and BITES MY FREAKING FOOT! Last night he stole my crop, just reached a little further back and snatched it quick as can be from where I'd tucked it behind my boot! I don't want to punish him for flexing because he's doing what I've asked and doing it well, he's just added his own twist to it. If I toe him in the nose, I'm punishing him for flexing...so I'm at a loss.

All of the ground work is making our in saddle time so much more productive and so very enjoyable for both of us. Well, except for this past Saturday.

Saturday, the man threw an enormous fit. Kayleigh and I were out riding the fields and I asked him to trot. He trotted up nicely for about five steps then dropped that neck between his front legs and proceeded to buck and spin like a freaking rodeo bronc. Not kidding when I say that big guy is ATHLETIC! I stuck it, but it sure wasn't pretty nor graceful.

Oh, hell no. We are not going to play the bucking game. No way. I don't care how good he feels, bucking is not okay. So, I took advantage of those huge unplanted fields and worked his butt off, circles, serpentines, loops, leg yields, all at a good, strong working trot. And every time he gave even the slightest GLIMMER that he was going to act like a stupid teenager on crack, I asked him for even more and worked him a little harder. As soon as he relaxed into the work and gave me back his neck and face, I let him walk on a loose rein and get a breather. By the time we got back home he was once again a big lazy puppy dog.

He is definitely keeping me on my toes and keeping me honest, that's for sure! Gotta love the big guy.

Learning respect

I have managed to put a fairly sizable dent in the big man's belief that he's the boss of me.

There is definitely something to be said about good, solid groundwork that keeps a horse moving and thinking and constantly responding that gets their little equine minds working good and hard. Not only did I require him to use his brain quickly and frequently, the poor guy worked up a sweat and I wasn't asking him to do anything terribly strenuous!

We did lots of yielding the haunches, changing direction, backing away from me, halting as soon as I asking and popping over 12" crossrails with quick changes of direction after each little jump. Lots and lots and lots of lip-licking as well as him having "two eyes" on me the entire time. It took a bit of work to get him responding correctly, but once he figured it out, he was asking how far? How fast? Which way? each and every time I asked him to move his feet somewhere else. And most of the time, I never touched him...just pointed to where I wanted him to go, moved his haunches with my eyes and body posture and moved him backwards by lifting my hands and "marching" my arms. I asked him things in rapid succession to keep his brain working, then gave him a chance to stand and just think about it afterwards.

Success!

After 20 minutes of groundwork I got on and worked exclusively on him yielding his neck without moving his feet. "Control the body and you control the feet." He's never really understood just giving me his head/neck without moving his feet, a la' Clinton Anderson. This weekend, he finally got it. Sure, we did lots and lots and lots of little circles with me only releasing his face the instant his feet stopped moving. He threw a few fits because he didn't understand at first, but once he got it, he GOT IT and relaxed while he yielded his head and neck. Yay! More success! So, he's begun to really understand the lateral suppleness, relaxation and yielding...we'll work on that a bit longer before I start introducing longitudinal suppleness, relaxation and yielding. Bit by bit, body part by body part, we're putting it all back together and fixing some of the holes that I've found.

I wish I could work with him every day, but this danged fall/winter lack of sunlight and abundance of mud makes that a big of a challenge. Not to mention working and going to school at night. Ugh. Big outdoor lights, even a floodlight or two, would make my riding/training life so much simpler.

Mr. Pushy Bites-A-Lot

After spending most of Saturday clearing the woods for a new fence (and a new pasture!), we didn't have a whole lot of daylight left to get to the groundwork I wanted to do. But, in spite of the quickly darkening day, my daughter and I pulled out our horses and managed to get about 20 minutes of work in.

Kayleigh (my 10-year-old daughter) has never done any kind of ground work with the horses before. She used Calypso for this new adventure and was quite thrilled with how responsive Calypso was to her. She had her backing up with the twitch of her lead rope, moving her haunches and shoulders easily just by motioning towards her and stopping on a dime. That mare was following her at a respectful distance and had her ears and eyes stuck to her the entire time, watching her every move and waiting for the next task.

The need to explain to Kayleigh WHY we were doing the things we were doing with the horses on the ground really helped cement my need to really work with Gabe on those basic fundamentals.

Calypso, while a very bossy lead mare in the pasture, really likes to have a strong leader in her person and responds very quickly and very well to even a tiny kid like Kayleigh. Kayleigh was thrilled to death and was having a lot of fun working with the mare. She said she can't wait to do it again!

Gabe, on the other hand, is easily bossed and moved around the pasture by Chief and Calypso but pushes me and other people around more than he should. I notice it with other people and get on his case about it, but as with most things, I was the last to notice he was doing it to me, too.

I never really realized how pushy he had become with me until I got him on the ground and started trying to move him around. Backing up was pretty much nonexistent when I asked him for it. Funny, considering backing up while in the saddle is our biggest safety issue - he does it when he decides he doesn't want to do something I've asked and he's dangerous about it. Instead of backing when I asked, he came towards me and nipped me more than a few times. He got smacked and backed hard and fast for biting. He kept moving into my space and trying to push me around. I can only surmise that the biting and the moving into my space was his way of telling me HE was the boss, not ME.

Which is a great big fat no go.

He refused to move his haunches or his shoulders over when I asked. That big fart stood there with his feet planted and completely ignored me. Ugh. I had to go to the stick to get him to move even a tiny bit. Hugely frustrating.

This is a different horse than he was when I first worked with him on the ground when I brought him home as a three year old. At three he was much more willing to let me be the leader and moved where I wanted him to. Which is why I never imagined I'd have these issues now.

Now, he's not so willing to let me be the leader. Somewhere along the line I've failed him, in his eyes, as a proper leader and he's felt the need to take over the role. Probably because I've let him get away with coming into my space and being pushy for the past year.

Re-establishing my leadership in this relationship is now a top priority. I'm just so frustrated with myself for letting it get this out of control and not even REALIZING it had gone as far as it's gone. UGH.

And the conclusion is...

I like to believe I'm a "thinking rider." I do a lot of thinking about the ride, the horse, the training, the problems, both in and out of the saddle. Sometimes, I believe I do think too hard about it and make some things more difficult than they need to be.

I've been rolling last weekend's fit-throwing by Gabe over and over in my head: Did I handle it right? How could I have handled it better? What was going through his head? Why? How can I get him over this with the least amount of battling with him? Would he have pulled this crap if he trusted me more? How can I build his trust? Am I a strong enough leader or do I need to work on being stronger so he has more confidence in me as a leader?

See how that works? I'm driving myself crazy!

But, I have come to a conclusion. When I start adding up all the little things he does from time to time I've determined there is a lack of respect and trust in my leadership by him of me. That's something I will have to remedy.

And that means I'll be going back to groundwork with him for a while. I haven't done any kind of groundwork or ground driving with him for about a year and it's been about six months since he started noticeably trusting my judgement less and less. So, it's time to brush back up, get his butt OUT of my space and get him moving his body and feet in the direction I want them to move when I want them to move, not when and where he thinks they should move.

The timing is actually just about perfect. We are entering that time of year when my ground becomes more bog than dirt and makes riding rather sloppy. But it's fine for ground work for the most part.

No, I'm not going to stop riding to concentrate on groundwork, but I am going to fit groundwork in for every single session. He still needs as many wet and icky saddle pads as I can possibly muster up!

I think it will make a difference. I HOPE it will make a difference.

We have issues

Trail riding is definitely a training tattle-tale.

Just because your horse is as good as gold in the controlled environment of an arena does not necessarily mean your training is sticking and making the impression it should be.

Yes, Gabe has been absolutely wonderful in the arena, a nice, mostly-controlled environment where I can keep his attention mostly on me most of the time.

But take him out into a completely uncontrolled environment where anything can happen at any time and his attention often wanders from me and some pretty big training issues are revealed rather obviously.

A friend came over to go riding with me Sunday so all three horses got to go out. We were out for a couple of hours, the wind was HIGH, the air chilly, leaves flying all over the place and all the horses on high alert.

Gabe, for the most part, was pretty good. Aside from the cantering sideways issue (yeah, I don't know, it was weird) and absolutely refusing to respond to my lateral aids, he was fairly good. On high-alert and snorting at unknowns was the least of my worries with him. I can ride his silliness through without much problem and usually, I laugh at him just because he's being such a goof.

But two huge training issues revealed themselves and made me realize that perhaps, just maybe, I'm not expecting nor requiring enough of him. I admit, I let him get away with more than I probably should. ie, not making him give me the right response right away every time. I tend to make excuses for him and I need to quit that, right now.

The things I've let slide aren't obvious in the arena, but become glaring problems on the trail.

One big one is turning. Yes, a basic one, but a big one I didn't realize was quite the issue it is. Let's just say this horse is GREAT at yielding his neck, not so great at following through with the rest of his body when he doesn't really feel like it or isn't quite sure he wants to go where I want him to go. If he has decided he doesn't really want to go where I'm trying to get him to go, he'll turn his neck all day long in the direction I'm asking him to go but the body stays put. Ugh. Big time training issue that I'm going to have to really get fixed yesterday. No more excuses that he maybe doesn't quite understand what I'm asking, because he does, I know he does, he just decides he doesn't want to and that's NOT AN OPTION. Not on the trail. Not when going where I tell him to go RIGHT NOW is absolutely imperative in some situations.

Secondly is his forward. We have stop and back up perfected, actually, way more perfected than it needs to be because he's using both of them as ways to avoid doing what I've asked. Forward has become a huge issue. I fought with that horse for nearly 45 minutes to get him to even get close to a cow pasture filled with curious dairy cattle. Yes, the dairy cattle again. I'm tempted to borrow a small herd of dairy cattle and make him live in the same paddock as them for a few months. Passing those cows was an absolute disaster. I think at first the cows were the issue, so I let him stand and watch them for a few minutes and he seemed to be fine with them. The other horses didn't give a crap about the cows but Gabe didn't take their lead at all. It then became less about the cows and more about him deciding he was NOT going forward, period, end of story. It was backwards backwards backwards sideways sideways backwards circles backwards spinning more backwards, more sideways more stupid crap but NO FORWARD. UGH!!! I couldn't get him to take one little step forward for anything, and of course, I'd declined to bring the crop on this ride since I hadn't needed it in the arena for quite a while.

When I first brought him home forward was an issue then, too, but instead of going backwards, he went UP when he decided he didn't want to go forward. I fixed the up, he doesn't do that at all any more, but now when he has determined he doesn't want to do something, no matter what it is, he goes backwards, very quickly. It's hard to steer a horse going backwards, especially when that horse has decided he is NOT going forwards. And it's dangerous, very dangerous. I finally had to get off and force him forward and past the cows. He flipped his lid and I think I saw his brain slide right out of his head and smash on the ground. Even with me leading him and the other two horses marching along and sighing with boredom and I'm sure a bit of annoyance at him, he didn't want to go forward, so backwards and sideways he went, into a ditch and he lost his footing and fell. I'm glad I wasn't on him when he pulled that crap but I think it scared him straight. He got back up, the whites of his eyes showing and he marched forward when I led him on. No problem. We walked right past those cows without another problem. I wanted to take him back and forth by them a few more times, but my riding companions had already been plenty patient enough with us up to that point and I wasn't going to ask them to wait for our silly asses any longer.

I don't even want to talk about the absolute lack of his response to the lateral aids. I think I was just about ready to cry by the end of the ride because a simple trail ride had exposed all the basic training crap I need to put my nose to the grindstone on and quit accepting half-assed responses from him.

So, I'll be working on his forward response and expect an immediate and energetic forward response each and every time I ask as soon as I ask, no matter what. Until we get this down he no longer has the option of declining my request. Although it goes against everything I believe in training philosophy, I'm going to have to take away his voice until we get these very basic issues fixed. No more giving him second and third chances. The same thing for turning and lateral aids. No more second and third chances. He knows what I'm asking, it's time I start expecting and requiring him to respond when I ask, not when he feels like it.

Really?! REALLY?!

Gabe is a dork. Sometimes he just gets things into his head and no matter how much convincing, enticing, cajoling or begging I do, he just doesn't want to do it.

He has decided the trailer is a Very Scary Place and one that he should avoid at all costs. Which involved trying to run me over in the process of getting away from the Very Scary Place.

Ugh. This is the third time he's been a moron about loading. This has never been an issue before, and I KNOW the goof knows how to get on and off a trailer. But he's decided he doesn't really want to.

Over the weekend we worked for about 45 mins. on just getting on nicely and standing there quietly. It took me a good half hour on the front end of the training just to get him to get CLOSE to the trailer without losing his ever-lovin' mind and flying backwards across the yard.

Lots and lots and lots of strongly encouraged forward circles when he decided to fly backwards. It took a bit, but he finally figured out that going forward is MUCH more comfortable than going backwards, and getting on the trailer is MUCH MUCH more comfortable than endless go-forward circles in the yard.

Then he'd get on and decide it was still a Very Bad Place to be and go flying off the trailer backwards, the whites of his eyes showing panic.

*sigh* and *double sigh*

Oh, this horse. He's one of the special ones. Window-licking, helmet-wearing kind of special.

He finally figured it out and I was able to get him on and off five times, all nice and quiet and no panicking involved. He stood on the trailer, even cocked a leg at one point and relaxed, licked his lips, half-lidded his eyes then backed off very slowly and very quietly when asked, but not before.

Went for a ride, had an EXCELLENT ride, then loaded him up one more time after the ride just to make sure his little Thoroughbred brain hadn't lost the lesson in the half an hour we were riding.

He didn't. The trailer didn't even get an Oh-my-God! ear flick...up he walked, quietly he stood, peppermints he gobbled and quietly he backed off again.

Success. It comes in little doses, but each little step forward is a HUGE accomplishment for ole Gabe. The goof.

Next step: Closing the rear gate.

Going somewhere? Not any time soon, apparently

Oh, we have a problem. It's one of those fun problems all horse owners LOVE to deal with and figure out how to solve.

Gabe has decided he doesn't like to get on the horse trailer. Period. He has always jumped right up and I know he had plenty of trailering experience while he raced, so this decision of his boggles me.

Saturday one of my riding buddies came over to pick us up so we could haul to a park to ride. Gabe has not had an issue with her trailer in the past and really seems to like her mare.

But this time, he took one look at that trailer and one look at the cute palomino mare waiting for him inside and pretty much said "Nope. Not today. I've better things to do."

Gah. I don't have a whole lot of patience for horses I KNOW know how to load and then simply decide they don't want to today. He and I apparently can both be pretty stubborn in out decisions. I don't believe in beating them until they decide to get on, but I can get exasperated and all him ugly names and tell him how dumb he is.

It took 15 minutes to convince him to get on the trailer to haul out and all it took was me slowing down and giving him some time to think it over instead of continuously walking him back up to the trailer and trying to convince him to put his feet on it over and over and over again.

All he wanted to do was stand there and think about it for awhile. Bribery didn't hurt.

He got on, we went on a wonderful, beautiful, fall colors gorgeous trail ride in which he behaved brilliantly.

Until it was time to get BACK on the trailer.

Yeah. Nope.

It took us even longer this time. He'd get three feet on and stand there all stretched out reaching for the grain I had in my hand. And just stand there. And stand. Then take a calm step backward when he changed his mind about it. Grrrr....patience was wearing thin but I wasn't going to beat him onto the trailer. That solves nothing and make the next time even worse.

So we waiting. And we waited. And I cajoled and bribed and called him horrible names and threatened to leave him in the woods all alone without dinner or peppermints.

Eventually, he sighed, and stepped all the way on the trailer. I guess he'd had enough.

So, guess what I'll be working on as much as possible?

Yeah. That trailer loading thing. Seems someone needs a reminder seminar.

Dairy cattle eat horses with a butter knife

I took Calypso "around the block" last night. Around the block in my neighborhood is just about a four mile trip. We walked, mostly. We did some standing and staring a bit too. By the time we returned home she was huffing and sweating.

Poor, fat, out-of-shape mare. Need to work on that.

She's always been pretty good going out by herself, a little squirrely sometimes but for the most part, very good. When she does get silly or spooky she doesn't worry me as much as Gabe does simply because she is spooky in a different way. While Gabe spins and tries to run away very fast from the scary thing, Calypso stands, stares, her eyes bug out of her head and she absolutely refuses to move forward. Which is much easier to deal with than a spinning, freaking out 16+ hh Thoroughbred!

Sometimes it's a hidden propane tank that gets her bugged-eyed. Other times it's just a piece of trash blowing in the wind.

Last night it was cows. And a Gator. At the same time. Oh, my!

To get where we were going we needed to walk between a pasture full of very curious dairy cattle and a Gator sitting on the road, idling. On the other side of the road near the Gator is a Big Scary Hole that has water falling into it. Calypso was pretty sure there were giant, slimy serpents in it waiting for her to become a tasty meal. Scary stuff on it's own, but add in the fact that the cattle had JUST been milked and were feeling their oats and being particularly curious about us and it's a horsey nightmare.

Visualize, if you will, a herd of black-and-white, full-grown cattle, running full bore straight towards you. Some of them were bucking, which I find hilarious. Dairy cattle are not athletic enough to perform a good PBR buck.

Calypso didn't find it nearly as hilarious as I did. So she stood, bugged eyed and trying to move as stealthily sideways as possible while avoiding the Gator and the Big Scary Hole With Slimy Serpents. As if moving slowly would take the attention off her and she could sneak away from the whole dang mess.

With some time, patience and much reassurance from me she finally decided it was safe enough to brave the cattle and the Gator and the Big Scary Hole With Slimy Serpents all at the same time and she was marvelous. The rest of the ride was pretty Speedy Gonzales-like as she was rushy-rushy being by herself, but I let her take the pace she felt like taking as long as she didn't break into a trot or suddenly refuse to go forward. It's been quite a while since she's been out on a long ride by herself and I decided just letting her figure out she wouldn't die while alone was good enough for this ride. About 3/4 of a mile of our ride is along a two-lane 55 mph road. Usually there isn't much traffic along that road and last night was no different. The trucks that did blow by us were pretty loud and she didn't flinch a single muscle or even twitch an ear, just kept Speedy Gonzales-ing it right along.

Such a good mare, but I definitely need to get her out on her own more often. She's quiet, but she needs to be dead quiet and damn near bomb-proof. And I need to get her more fit. Poor, fat mare. Bad owner to let her get fat!

The boys are nuts

I'm loving this cooler weather. LOVE IT! A whole lot unusual for early August 'round these parts, but I will NOT complain! When I wake up in the morning there's a slight chill to the air and I've had the AC off since early this week (my electric bill will thank me, I'm sure).

The horses seem to be perking back up with the chillier evenings and cool mornings. They were drag-ass exhausted and just absolutely beat during that month of 100+ temps. I've never seen three horses drag their hooves as much as my three did when the temps soared. Poor beasts.

I jumped on Calypso for a little "work the fat off your butt" exercise and she was spunkier than she has been all summer. We started out with her pulling on the bridle and READY TO GO! But she settled quickly into the work and even let me know a few times she wasn't terribly enthusiastic about an actual nose-to-the-grindstone workout. Trot? No thanks. I don't think I want to trot. I'll just walk a little faster. I didn't work her too hard, 15 total minutes of trotting and circles to work on her neck reining sensitivity and reaction time, then 20 minutes of walking the arena, halting, backing, lateral work and a cool-off walk down the driveway and along the corn field at dusk.

I forgot to shut the gate to the pasture to lock the boys in the paddock when I took her down the driveway and of course, as they usually do when I fail to contain them properly, the boys came rip-roaring screaming into the pasture after her, raising a ruckus, hauling ass around the pasture and acting like their tails were on fire. You'd think I was taking away their girlfriend or something. Oh. Wait. I was! HA!

Goof balls.

I was a bit worried that they'd get her all worked up and I'd have more than just a nice cool-down walk on my hands. But no, the mare was perfect. Head down, loose rein, walking nicely forward without even flicking her ears at the nincompoops in the pasture next to her. So pleased with her! Such a good girl.

Her feet were ouchy and gimpy on the driveway, but fine on the grass. That mare has the thinnest soles on the planet...damned QH inbreeding issues. Guess I need to pick up some Durasole and really work on toughening her soles up before winter rolls around again. I don't like to keep shoes on unless I absolutely have to, and as long as she's not on gravel/rock, she's fine. But the frozen ground hurts her feet too, and it's a double-edged sword. If I put shoes on her to protect her soles from the frozen ground she ends up spending the winter skating around her frozen paddock (there's usually a nice layer of ice over everything) on a pair of steel skates. So, Durasole it is. What a pain.

Spins...sans saddle

I'm a wee bit sore today.

Okay, maybe more than a wee bit. My inner thighs and my (ahem) girly bits are killin' me! I'll bet you're just dying to know why!

I rode Calypso bareback. Yes, yes I did. She was great, but she's bouncy and round like a barrel and damn, that spine, I swear it's constructed from a sheet of corrugated steel. OW! And to imagine I used to ride bareback all the time. Saddles were for wusses, bareback was where it was at. It was actually quite fun to be aboard bareback again, and apparently, judging from the soreness in my inner thighs, I need to do it more often.

Anyway, the mare was fabulous. Aside from the head-in-the-air thing that I'm slowly working on correcting, she was good. When she relaxes, slows the trot and rocks back just a tad onto her hindquarters, the head naturally comes down and the ride gets smoother. Little bit by little bit she's understanding that it IS more comfortable for her (and me!) to stretch that neck long and low and let her back relax so it's sproingy and rounded rather than horribly rigid and hollow. We'll get there, I'm in no hurry and forcing her into it isn't going to fix the overall "bad" way she carries herself at the trot.

She is so, so sensitive that sometimes she over-reacts when I ask for something from her. I was polishing up her neck reining response since I've been riding her with a direct (English) rein for several years.

Seems she didn't need much of a tune-up at all in that respect. I pressed the rein to her neck, nudged her with the outside leg and she sat back and practically did a 180. I'm pretty sure mane flew she turned so fast. Of course, being bareback and entirely unprepared for such a quick response I very nearly ended up on the ground, as it was, I ended up clinging to her side and grabbing mane! How very humiliating. I'm glad no one was watching.

Lesson learned...light touches with the rein for gentle, easy turns and NO leg, just a little seat. Of course, once I figured out how responsive she was feeling I played with it a little bit. But that's just me. Half-halt, outside leg nudge...SPINN!!!! WHEE! Half-halt, outside leg nudge...SPIIINNN!!!! WOOO HOOO!!! She's fun. And I didn't go sliding off the side when I was prepared for it. Hehehe! We spin in slo-mo at the moment as she isn't muscled and fit enough to do anything really fast, but we'll get there. Her lateral movement is right on, her halts are beautiful. She responds very, very well to voice commands, which is always a bonus. The louder you say "whoa!" the faster she stops.

I like to play when the horses have fun "buttons" on 'em. Chief's fun "button" is an almost piaffe. He's not perfect at it, but he can do it if asked nicely, and he can canter so, so slow there is very little forward movement. It's a ton of fun to ride.

Gabe doesn't have a fun "button" quite yet, but I'll figure one out. Maybe the Spanish Walk, just for the heck of it? I dunno yet. He already lifts those front legs pretty well if I tap the top fronts of them and he seems to have fun with it. It's a game to him. We'll start with it in hand, then, if he seems to enjoy it, maybe we'll try it in the saddle...later. We have the basics to perfect first.

1...2...3...4...5.......good boy!

I'm always looking for new or different ways to train that are a little different than the methods I currently employ. I do a lot of reading and talking to trainers and friends about many, many different issues and I'm always willing to give a new way a try if I think it has merit.

The thing is, there is more than one way to train a horse, more than one method to get from point A to point B. Sometimes you have to go around the block a few times before you find the path that works best for your particular situation.

Not all horses learn the same way and a good trainer adjusts her methods to achieve the same outcome.

I've been having one heck of a time getting Gabe to understand lateral movement. He kinda gets it, but not really. Sometimes it clicks and he makes a wee effort to move sideways. Sort of. It's more like a snake trying to tie itself in a knot than actual correct lateral movement. Other times I just get his ears flicking back at me like he's asking "what the hell? Quit wiggling around up there," while he continues to march forward in a workmanlike effort.

Last night I tried something new with him and I admit I was not very convinced it would be successful.

Imagine my surprise, an utter delight, when it didn't take long at all for him to have his light bulb "AH HA! I GET IT!" moment.

I didn't change the way I ask. I didn't change what I expected from him.

I merely counted to ten.

Yup. I counted. That's it.

I'd ask for the movement, he'd give an effort in the correct direction and I'd halt him and count to ten, praise, walk on.

It only took four times in each direction of asking, counting, praising and walking on before he was practically flinging his body sideways CORRECTLY when I asked, every time.

Some horses just need that moment of reflection to connect the dots in their brains. Gabe appears to be one of those who needs some time for quiet reflection before they make the connection between what I'm asking and how to respond. And I'm perfectly okay with that. If he needs time to think about it, I'll give him the time he needs. The less confusion on his part, the happier he'll be and the more willingly he will give an honest effort to try new things.

We worked on the lateral movement for probably 20 minutes then I called it done and we moved on to canter departs on the correct lead. I'm pleased to say he was absolutely wonderful. We had a few silly moments of his typical head-tossing, squealing and trying to play, but other than that, I couldn't have planned a better ride.

We did a short trail ride to cool down, the wind was blowing through the knee-high corn, rattling it, and he didn't even flick an ear towards it. Last year, he blew up at the rattling corn and gave it the evil eye like he was waiting for it to devour him whole. Last night a small covey of quail flew up under his nose from the tall grass and they startled him but didn't cause a frenzied reaction like they would have last year. I think they startled me more than they bothered him.

My big baby is growing up. I'm so proud!

Got guns?

I rode Gabe last night and he was his wonderful self: No soreness and wonderfully forward, obedient and eager to please. What a pleasant, pleasant ride. We worked on spiraling in and spiraling out on a circle and he finally GETS IT! YAY! Of course, he goes stiffer tracking to the right than the left, but I expected that and worked him on it.

The people who own the land next door to mine were out doing some target shooting and making all kinds of noise walking through the woods, talking and shooting.

And it didn't phase him one bit. He was unusually focused on me for this ride which was a good thing.

The shooting doesn't phase any of the horses a bit. The shotgun or rifle can be fired near their pastures and none of them flinch. They just don't care.

Some of you may remember back in early spring when I was hem-hawing about whether to sell Calypso and my daughter said she wanted to ride her so I decided to keep the mare and give the kid the chance to ride her.

Well, she hasn't been riding much at all. The weather hasn't exactly been fabulous and I haven't been riding a whole lot either for the same reason. However, the times I have had the chance to ride and asked her to come along, she's declined about half the time.

So, Calypso needs a new job. She's young, she's dead quiet, she's level-headed, willing, obedient, brave and easily trainable. I've determined she'll just never make a very good English horse. She can jump, but not well, her gaits aren't the prettiest to watch, but she gets the job done. She has cutting QH breeding and you can really see that aspect of her athleticism come out when she's out in the pasture just playing around. That little mare can MOVE and when she's moves, she moves fast, low and powerfully with everything she has loaded into that back end and that front end free to do some serious maneuvering.

I really don't want to sell her. She's a nice, nice mare. No, not show quality, but a really level-headed horse that I can put anyone on and trust her.

When I started riding as a young'un I rode my pony Western. Well, I started riding her bareback because we didn't have a saddle right away. Then my first saddle was a western one and we did speed events, trail classes, pleasure classes and some showmanship. The speed events were a BLAST!

I've been tossing around in my head what I could do with this mare that would be fun, maybe a little different from what I usually do and right up her alley. I've been to a couple of Cowboy Mounted Shooting events in St. Louis and every time I've gone I've thought "WOW! That would be an absolute BLAST! Too bad I don't have a horse quiet and sane enough to do it." One of the bailiffs I used to work with at the courthouse did the competitions and he absolutely loved it, we talked about mounted shooting and horses and training them for mounted shooting every time we got the chance.

Okay, so maybe that's a lot more than a "little different" from what I usually do, but dangit, I want to try it and I will. If I hate it, I hate it, but at least I can say I tried.

I think Calypso would be a darn fine mounted shooting horse. Don't worry, I'm not going to run out and start shooting off her tomorrow or next week...I'm going to step back her training and take all the English aspects out of what I do with her. Tune up and fine tune her neck reining, work on that too fast trot and start some slow speed work around poles and barrels with her (slow speed work...that's an oxymoron!) to work on her handiness and responsiveness and build the necessary muscles. I guess I need to start visiting some tack auctions and find a decent western saddle. I'm going to take the bit out of her face and try her in a hackamore...she has always seemed happiest when I just ride her with a halter and rope anyway, she might do fabulous in a hackamore...we'll see. At this point, I'm game for just about anything with her, and as long as she's having fun, that's all that matters.

When I'm ready to start the mounted shooting part I'll find someone locally who does it (or tap the knowledge of my bailiff friend) to glean some advice/tips and help.

A little more about Cowboy Mounted Shooting. How fun does that look/sound? Tell me you're not intrigued!

Stand there and take it, you big chicken

After last week's peacock incident with the Big Man I decided a bit of peacock de-sensitizing was in order.

Gabe was none to pleased with me at first. He was pretty darn sure I was the one who had lost my ever-loving mind when I forced him to stand nicely while Mr. 1,000 Eyes Horse-Eater was in full strut and screaming for his girlfriends less than 20 feet away.

At first I was horrible and terrible and wicked mean for making him stand and just watch that peacock get closer and closer. I was even more horrible when I encouraged him to take a few steps towards the peacock as Mr. Peacock has his back towards us and was strutting away. He jumped sideways, blew hard at him, showed him the whites of his eyes the tried to climb into my pocket.

I told him what a nut he is for being terrified of a stinkin' BIRD. A BIRD! He didn't believe me and tried to push me to the front so I'd be the first one devoured and he'd have time to haul ass away.

So we stood and watched the peacock strut around and scream and I fed Gabe treats every time he'd stand nicely without wiggle-worming around trying to make the mind-blowing experience as pleasant as possible. Of course, I talked to him and called him many names: Moron, Goof-ball, Chickenshit, Pansy, Nutcase, Half-Wit, Goober and Peabrain...all in my sweetest most comforting voice possible.

Half an hour or so later the peacock was No Big Thing any more. Gabe gave him a bit of an OH MY GOD! glance when the bird lowered his massive plumage and jumped up onto the fence fairly close to him, but he didn't move, just looked.

Progress! Yay!

I groomed him, tacked him and took him out for a ride. And the poor guy is SORE. Not dead limping lame, but sore enough that I just walked him around for about 15 mins., worked on leg yielding a bit and called it done. The only thing I can imagine that would have made him sore was his ill-conceived leap sideways over the fence. He may have pulled or twisted something just enough to be ouchie. I could find no heat, no swelling, I palpated and got no OUCH! reactions, so, who knows.

Two bute and call me in the morning. I'll give him a couple of days to rest up and see if he's still sore. If he is, guess there will be a vet bill in my future.

The personality differences and braveness levels in my horses constantly amuse me.

Calypso, that fiesty little mare, has no fear of the peacock. Actually, I think she's pretty fed up with that bird roosting on HER run-in and violating her sensitive ears with his high-pitched screams.

So, what's a good lead mare do?

Attack the peacock of course and run him off. She has gone after my chickens from time to time when she decides she's had enough of their food-stealing ways. She's kicked a couple of them. Last night she went after that peacock, neck snaked, ears flat, teeth bared and tried to stomp him. She chased him through two paddocks and wasn't happy until he was well out of her paddock and on his merry way. I'm not quite sure what she would have done if the peacock had turned around and popped that plumage on her. Run the other way most likely!