sometimes she is pure evil

After months and months of training the mare, I forget easily that she was once a total monster to work with. For a little while we would have three good days and then one terrible day...we developed a pattern where I could count on her for a few days in a row and then brace myself for the inevitable. In fact, when I look at my google calendar you can clearly see the pattern (and it is usually during lessons that she acts like a bitch). So I have gotten a little complacent with her. I trust her now...which is both good and bad. I am always trying to figure out if she sees me as a leader or as another member of her herd. It's clear that she accepts me and enjoys being around me. We definitely have a bond and it's very sweet to see how much she's softened over the last few months. Anyway, last night I helped out doing evening chores at the barn, which wound up taking forever because the turnout schedule is all wacky and then a guy shows up in the middle of everything to speak with L about having some thoroughbreds backed. The guy was really nice so I gave him a tour of the farm and he met the horses etc. When we got to Kiki's pasture she came over to say hello and was being a little cutie pie, I insisted she's actually a monster, ha! So fast forward to a little later and L and I are trying to switch up a few of the geldings and there are two fawns trapped in the paddock, we try chasing them out but they can't figure out how to escape and they wind up spooking the two horses which alerts Kiki, so she and the herd come cantering over to see what the ruckus is all about. L had me go in an grab her (since I was going to ride) and let the rest of the mares into the bigger turnout. Holy crap, she was not happy about that. I don't know if she was upset because it was me that took the other horses away or (more likely) she was mad because they got turned out and she had to go work. At this point L and the potential client are standing with Kiki who is acting like a right idiot. Now L doesn't put up with those kind of shenanigans so he was correcting her the whole time. I get through the gate and he hands her off to me and I am hoping she'll just chill out and walk nicely back to the barn She starts running around me in circles, and since I was holding an extra lead rope, I flipped it around and slapped her in the chest...and then, she reared violently yanking the lead rope through my hands at a record pace (I was sure all the skin was gone from my hands**) the only thing saving me here was experience as I let the lead slip through my hands and then got a firm hold pulling her back down to earth (meanwhile she's hopping around threatening to do more damage bucking in place) a few more firm tugs and a "knock it off!" got her listening again, as she dropped her head and sheepishly walked back to the barn. She was still trying my patience acting like a 2 year old, but she knew better than to pull another stunt like that. I wedged my elbow into her neck and pushed against her shoulder reminding her that I would NOT be dragged back to the barn. I was worried I had made a bad impression on the new client, but since he breeds race horses for a living, I am sure what she did was small fries.

I was soooo exhausted after finishing all the chores (I haven't been sleeping well lately) but I knew there was no way I could let her get away with that temper tantrum. She was promptly thrown in a stall while I mucked a few more stalls. I did a super quick groom as it was getting dark and decided to take the stirrups off her saddle (I was simply too tired to ride) and got her working on the lunge line. She was going to work...she was going to work until she looked at me saying "can we stop now?" Then she would work a little more. It simply cannot be up to her when she leaves her field, or when she works, or for how long. I lunged her for 30 minutes total with lots of transitions, she was soaked, and huffing and puffing. I wanted to hop on her and walk her out but this deemed to be a bit difficult with no stirrups and she was not even a little bit cooperative. She started spooking at everything we I tried to hop on, and at one point I got half way, she started walking away and I kind slipped and hit my ribs on the saddle...I winded myself because I broke my ribs a year ago and they are still really sensitive...I gave up and hand walked her.

One step forward, three steps back. Oh the joys of a green horse.

On a side note, we still have some silly ground issues to deal with. When I first started working with she was nearly impossible to bridle, she would throw her head around like a cannonball. I was warned that could easily knock me out if I wasn't paying attention. I am not sure how this behavior developed but I suspect she started using it as an evasion technique and realized it was intimidating. On this front she has gotten much, much better. She drops her head quietly for the bit and is relatively sane while I fasten everything. The issue comes when it's time to do ANYTHING regarding the bridle after that. Attaching side reins, feeding the lunge line through, untying the reins from the throat latch...she turns into a monster. She throws her head around when you get near her and makes it really difficult, especially towards the end of any session. The things is, she's not head shy, she just knows that if she puts up enough fuss you'll stop, so it becomes a battle. She snorts and stamps her front feet in protest. I have learned that sticking with her is the best solution and the faster I can make my adjustments the better. Taking off her bridle is a god damn nightmare, but I have started a little training with her when every time she moves her head I stop (a little different that what I just mentioned, ha!), then I hold my position, ie. I won't pull the bridle over her ears until she'll let me hold onto the bridle near the poll with no fuss. She HAS to learn how to do this quietly or I am going to wind up being the only person that will ride her (it's already that way for the most part). I'm not asking her to do anything complicated, she's not in pain, so she needs to get over it.

Lately I have been thinking a lot about how she will react to someone else working with her. I'd love to see someone else ride her but right now there's not a single person at the barn who will outside of the racehorses exercise rider and he'll ride anything.

**it should be noted, NO skin was removed during this stunt..though I can't feel my finger tips very well and there are some blisters under the skin, my callused hands saved the day.