'Tis a Sad State of Affairs....

Sun Jan 9, 2005

When the ARABIAN is the best-behaved horse in the arena!

O, what an interesting afternoon at the barn! Quzqo was pre-exhausted because, since I didn't go out there yesterday to bring him in, they left him out all night (it was "mild" though, around 30), so he never gets much sleep, Mr. Spoiled Boy that he is. We had a very good time today, using the new Wintec saddle. He is getting SO good at backing!! (well, compared to what I started with in June...). He does it willingly now, THAT is a big thing. Heck, he backs better than Tezlu ever did (but then, I didn't know what I was doing with Tezlu...if only they had RFD-TV in 1989 it'd have been a different story).

We walked, we trotted, we sitting-trotted, we cantered, we halted, we backed, we flexed, we just did SO nice!!

Everybody else though...LOL! The owner's daughter was giving lessons this afternoon, and her first pair was a husband and wife team of boarders, the wife is "experienced" with a crazy off-the-track TB named Mr. Ducks (?), the husband less so, but at least his horse only spun and balked and threw his head constantly. Mr. Ducks went into a full-blown all-four-feet-off-the-ground bucking fit and dumped his mom flat on her back (OUCH!), but she isn't one to be trifled with (if you ever heard how she speaks to her husband, you'll know who wears the pants in THAT family), and she held tight to the reins in a death grip...the horse backed up about 30 feet, dragging her with him until he held still (for the record, both horses had side-pulls on, by the time he stopped the noseband of his WAS sitting on his nostrils).

She did get back on, and rode Mr. Ducks some more...although Jenn, the daughter, didn't say anything, I could see a couple of errors right away. The sidepull was still way too low on the nose, on the soft bits, she had her hands waaay too high, making the horse high-headed and hollow-backed, and I think she should have spent time doing small, calming circles until
the both of them relaxed. But they made it through the rest of the lesson intact.

I was working Quzqo in the safety of the round pen when all those fireworks happened, and he got VERY upset, stopped in his tracks and looked at me with wide eyes...like..."Whaaaaa?????"

We had a blissful half hour or so of the arena all to ourself, where we did the afore-mentioned good things, then it started filling up again...teenage girls with horses, the family with the ponies showed up (they own 4 ponies & all 4 kids ride them all at once), and some guy who I don't know on a horse that really needed lunging. But being a Manly Man, of course, he just got on the mare and started cantering her around. Well now, that girl didn't WANT to be cantered, so she was spinning, rearing, smashing into the fences, then would behave, then would start to rear, and got into a BIG bucking fit in the narrow area between the round pen fence and the arena rail (it's about 9 feet wide)...again, full-blown airs above the ground WITH the bonus of a spin in there...Mr. Manly Man flew off her back like a sack of shit and met the ground nice and hard (GOOD!). But, he got back on, and began riding the mare, more cantering and cantering...the owner's daughter was lunging a crazy young mare in the round pen, so SHE was ripping around and bucking and snorting, all the other horses started fussing and acting nuts (herd thing),

Quzqo started pinning his ears and veering to and fro...when Mr. Manly Man's mare started bucking again in a corner, full-blown midair antics (he stayed on, durn)...I called it quits. I've got no real death wish, and all I need is that jerk and his mare to go bucking into me !

FWIW, Quzqo was puffing and sweating from our little workout. He's gotten to be such a tub, he needs the exercise, LOL! Maybe a session with Mr. Manly Man!

Quzqo VS The Killer Belgians, Part II

Fri Jan 7, 2005

When I stopped out there last night, I was relieved to see both the Belgians tied up in the indoor arena...which meant I could get Quzqo in peace. I did see the owner and told him what happened the day before, he chuckles and said "Well, that mare IS really protective"...uh-huh (then I did see that one Belgian was a mare, the other a gelding...guess we can guess which one was doing all the "protecting")

So I go out to get the horse, who once again I got to walk back with me without lead or halter (just a constantly-crinkling peppermint wrapper!)...and a young Foundation QH named "Wyatt" followed along...and THEN I see, coming up the aisleway between the fences...the Belgians! Aarrrgh! They'd thoughtfully turned them out for the night...

Now the only way out was blocked by two huge horsey masses, slowly lumbering up the hill...Quzqo and Wyatt both stopped in their tracks BEHIND me, ears pricked, tense...watching...(behind me...LOL). I quickly got the halter & lead on Quzqo, didn't want him running off...the drafters took their time, stopping repeatedly to stare at us...finally they came up and came right towards us (ears forward). No thanks...once again I had to "HOOHAAAAAH" & fling the lead rope at 'em...they weren't so quick to leave, but they did eventually, and I was surprised to see Wyatt tag along after them like a kid brother. They just ambled on down the fenceline perpendicular to the rest of the horses, and ended up kinda hanging out by themselves, with Wyatt. Maybe they made a friend, or Wyatt, being a dork, figured to cast his lot with them for protection, LOL!

That pasture is big enough and there's enough haypiles, I imagine the Belgians will just form their own little "herd" and be fine. There's 3 "herds" in that pasture already...unfortunately Quzqo is a member of the Dork Herd, LOL...with Wyatt & a grey QH gelding named Colby. But that's just fine. At least it seems he's the Head Dork of that little herd.

Quzqo VS The Killer Belgians

Wed Jan 5, 2005

Life is always interesting with a horse in it!

As usual, I stopped out at the barn after work to bring Quzqo in...as I was walking out the barn door to the back, the guy who works there in the afternoons (really sweet college age guy, very sensitive to his and other horses) hollers and warns me that they put a pair of Belgians out in the pasture and they've been fighting with the other horses all day, so, be warned! Oh, great...I look out the door, and at the end of the fence aisle leading out to the big pasture are two HUGE silhouettes guarding the entrance to the pasture...and all the smaller horses further up the hills at the haypiles.

The aisle is still sheer ice and snow and still hard to negotiate, but I had my snow boots on tonight, made a lot of difference! The Belgians were coming down the aisle towards the water and the gate when I was going out...BIG gorgeous red-sorrel boys...damn, they are BIG muhfuhs!! They looked at me kind of interested...so interested that they decided to follow me back out to the pasture! Rather quickly! Okay, yes, I was worried...I could hear their big feet crunching the ice rather close behind me (at work today we were discussing being chased and mauled by cows and horses, so...kind of apropos)...but they hung back by the fence, leaving me to go find Quzqo in the usual growing darkness of the early evening hours.

And, again, he saw me, I called him, he left his haypile and walked a good 40 feet right up to me!! Little snot wouldn't let me touch him or position myself so I could get a rope over his neck, he wanted me right in front where he could keep an eye on me and get the peppermints! LOL! But he was momentarily distracted by a small band of horses (the Upper Echelon of the Herd actually...6 of the dominant horses) that broke away from the haypiles and started moving en mass down the hill toward...the Belgians! Once I got Quzqo haltered, we started following that small band...until I saw they WERE heading right for the two Belgians, and damned if those 6 horses didn't start ganging up on the two drafters...heads snaking out, ears pinning, squealing, rearing, the Belgians started moving quickly away out into the field, the band of little horses (lol...QHs mostly) passed them and ran ahead.

BUT then the Belgians stopped, saw Quzqo by himself alone (I was on his other side, I don't think they saw me)...and the big fat bastards turned and started CHARGING at him! I'm talking snaking heads, flattened ears, rolling eyes, right for poor little Quzqo!! I jumped out around the front of him, lead rope flashing, and started yelling and hollering, smacked the one right
in the chest with it...happily they took right off in the opposite direction...and then along comes that band of 6 horses again, and they started herding the Belgians back towards the barn! Oh shit...

So now we've got two aggressive Belgians slipping down the icy aisleway, followed by 6 crabby QHs, and I'm trying to get Quzqo past all that..we stuck to the edge where there's some bare dirt (separated from the rest by a good 3' section of glare ice no horse would dare walk on)...(and unfortunately a live electric fence on the other!). I felt like I was watching an equine version of West Side Story, I tell ya...the 6 QHs started squealing and snapping and ear-pinning at the Belgians, kicking and rearing before heading back out to the pasture...the Belgians started moving towards us again, but again I waved the lead around & hollered at them (I do a very good gutteral HOOHAAAAH! when I need), and they moved on back out to the pasture as well. I kind of think I impressed Quzqo, because he stuck to me like glue the rest of the way to the gate, LOL! Hey, I make a good Alpha Mare I guess!

They think those Belgians haven't been in a herd situation EVER (and they're both over 10), and don't know how to behave...and what "little" horse out there is going to teach them manners? Shit...only good thing is the pasture is 30 acres, so there's plenty of room for everyone to stay out of each others' way...I hope.

And as an aside, my new saddle from State Line Tack DID come today, I went back to the barn tonight to try it out, it fits GREAT...the gullet is a full inch wider than my old one (that was so uncomfortable for him)!! He didn't feel like being ridden, BUT I was able to get him to back three times with the lightest pressure on the rein, I am so thrilled about THAT! And the resident Trainer lady there (she's a legit trainer, doing work with a lot of horses there) complemented me on how well Quzqo's come along! Pretty good, considering I don't know what I'm doing, LOL!