So yesterday I get a call from Jamie at work during lunch - I panic. Jamie tells me somewhat timidly that Diego has suddenly taken to acting like a "stallion' around the herd mare and he has had to separate them for the time being. At this point I stop panicking and just roll my eyes. Not again... Then Jamie says something about Dream (the mare) returning to normal soon, I go "Is she in heat?" "I think so." Um duh, there's your problem right there, if she's in heat and egging him on, of course he's going to get all testoteroney and comply. Still though, I'm glad he separated them, Dream is much too small to be mounted by D and could be seriously injured. =( Poor girl.
Anyways Jamie continued to go on about how D 'wasn't the same horse, nothing phases him." etc. Yeah... another sigh. People don't believe me when I try to tell them D is not always as quiet and compliant as when he's content. They don't tend to believe me. He tunes out EVERYTHING around him and focuses entirely on one thing: what he wants. At times it's gotten very dangerous. =/ But I've made big strides in interpreting his body language and anticipating those outbursts and then try to redirect his attention before it gets bad...
Needless to say I was a bit nervous about heading to the barn after work, not sure what state I'd find him in. Jamie was afraid he was going to push the fence down. >_< I can't say I'm surprised but I am alittle because this is what, the 4th or 5th day he's been out with a "herd" in TEN years??? Sheesh. He sure does bond fast.
I got there and it was too hot for them to care: everyone was huddled by the pear trees in the shade. D did perk up when I came to the gate though and came to me of his own accord. (I was so thrilled) ^_^ As soon as I led him out of the pasture though the screaming for the mare started, so I worked hard to keep my tension down and calmly ask him to do small steps on the way to the barn: turn on forehand, back, lateral steps, anything to bring his attention back to me. Aside from alittle antsy-prance the walk was uneventful...just...loud.
Once he was tied in the barn though that was another story: screaming, pawing, head tossing, swinging his hind end from side to side wildly to try and "see" the mare. He nearly hopped up on his front end once. Luckily the Mustangs owner was there and we chatted for a few minutes out of kicking range and watched him. I remember Carolyn Resnick talks about ignoring alot of their acting out. In the old days I would have untied him, or gone over and put myself at risk by trying to calm him down. Instead I just kept an eye out for any critical issues and talked normally. It took about 10 minutes total of all that fussing but something finally clicked and he became more interested in what I was doing (rummaging through the tack locker 15 ft away) than the mare. So he settled down to stand quietly and watch me to see what I was going to pull out of the locker. It was cute. =p
I took him out to the ring and let him loose. He didn't have much of a desire to run or buck & get energy out like I was hoping, but he did trot around for a minute or two, back and forth past me as I ambled along in the sand. He even trotted up to me one time, upon holding my arms out slightly he stopped and didn't invade my space until I reached a hand out and he reached out with his nose before stepping forward. I was happy... considering personal space is one thing I'm REALLY trying to work on. In past years he'd have barrelled into my space and has just about run us over and crushed me against walls before. I used the lungeline a bit and we did some walk-trot transitions. He seems alittle stiff at the trot, most likely because of all his manic running earlier. His ligaments aren't even used to those massive hills yet... he's only been here 3 weeks. His transitions were great though, he responds really great to my energetic stepping: if I start running in place he starts trotting. =) YaY! So much better than having to use a whip. After that relaxing work we were both pretty happy. I had a small amount of grain in my pocket and he knew it, so when I let him loose again he followed me all over. I worked on the 'head/neck up" pose for a minute. He did a good one twice and was very pleased with himself, I think once he gets the hang of it that'll be something that suits his personality that he does alot. ;) We did some lateral work and him yielding the shoulder - it's still hard but it's amazing how quickly he decided: Oh? Food involved? SURE! *backs and goes sideways super quickly* Unfortunately we are having a problem with rudeness in taking the treats and I'm not sure hot to deal with that. He still invites himself into me just about in my FACE and I have trouble getting the grain out of my pocket and keeping him at distance at the same time. He tried to nip my fingers one time when I was getting the grain out and hand my other hand out 'blocking" his head. Despite the nips he did everything happily.
He'd calmed down so much I figured a short ride might be ok. Plus it's been atleast a week. I put the bareback pad on and climbed on. He was forward & happily swinging as we walked. I really wanted a chance to work on my seat and see if I can't unlock this stiffness I think I've created in myself. =/
The highlight of the whole ride was us jogging... I had to hold the pad in front to keep from jarring, but with my deeper breathing & softer seat he actually kept a moderately slow pace around the ring with no contact while I worked out my position (unheard of for mr Former Speed Demon). I think he liked my lighter seat.
The rest of the evening was pretty uneventful. We did have some problems once I got him to the pasture. He seems to lose sight of the fact that I exit, again and focuses only on his buddies. He's already hit me in the back and torso twice VERY hard because of his head slinging. So we did some turns and backs before I took the halter off and I used the leadrope swung in a circle to keep him out of my face while I latched the gate. Hopefully in the next few days he'll calm back down and Dream will go out of heat. >.>
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