A Big Day!

Sat Jun 5, 2004 9:28 pm

Today was a big day for Quzqo!

Today he got to go Outside!! Yep, he's out of quarantine, and is now allowed to go out into the Big Pasture with all the other "guys"! I would have liked to have seen his reaction to 30 acres of open grass this morning, LOL! Up in "Cannonball Run" as it's called (where Tez is buried, snf).

I guess he had a good time, because late this afternoon when I got out there, I was able to locate him easily (among the three "white" horses out there) (lot easier than trying to find one of many "brown" horses on the hillside!!), as I started walking towards him, he started walking TOWARDS me...no welcoming nicker, but he let me come right up to him for pats and snap on the lead rope! Whew! I was worried, not knowing how he'd react out in the open like that (I"ve laughed at enough people running around that 30 acre pasture trying to catch their horses!)

Once back to the barn, Quzqo enjoyed the near total Spa treatment (no bath, not yet)...total grooming, massage, Show Sheen, forelock combing, and...CLIPPERS! Yep, I'm happy (as hell!!) to report he's totally blase' about electric clippers. He let me trim his bridlepath with out so much as one eyewhite showing! Hoorah!

I'm still waiting to find out what it is about him that made him enter the auction stream. I'm really leaning towards someone getting laid off and unable to pay for his upkeep...cuz there's very little wrong with that boy (so far!)

Rode him indoors, and he behaved almost perfectly, which surprised me. None of his usual "OHMYGOD I'M ALONE!" behavior... "normally" he gets upset when there's no other horses around, but today, he was near perfect!!! I think getting to go outside was a Major Factor with his previous bad behavior. Truly! Hanging out with 30 other horses in a field, running around in the fresh air and sunshine, being able to roll in the grass and get green stains on your butt...makes a difference!

If anything, he was a lazy butt who didn't want to do anything! I remedied that by carrying my dressage whip. I only tapped him with it once when he was veering towards a gate, and from that moment on he was up, in the bridle, collected, and At Atten-SHUN! LOL! Yes Ma'am! What do you want me to do Ma'am! I'm your horse, at your service!!! Ma'am!! LOL! Very supple, good
strong forward trot, even a tiny bit of leg yielding, something he wouldn't even be bothered to do yesterday! U-huh.

Last night I did bug him a bit, mostly free lunging in the round pen, then tried to ride him outdoors, he wasn't having any of that and was being a turd (head-tossing, veering, balking) (despite there being two other horses being worked in the arena with us). But fortunately two of the teenage girls were heading out on a short trail ride, and we joined them. He was near PERFECT on that trail ride; didn't shy at the Scary Gates that terrified him earlier, not worried about the forest, or the steep hills. Trotted on with the other horses (two huge fat QH's). Felt wierd riding down that steep hill I'd usually get off and lead Tez down(as he had troubles with going down steep hills)...when the horses in the pasture came running up to the fence, Quzqogot a bit worried about that.

The big challenge came to a wide mucky area that at the time was under water (heavy rains). He wouldn't have anything to do with that. The lead horse walked through it up to the road, but not Quzqo, nuh uh, dat boy don' like no mud!!! ('tis true, there's a wet spot in the round pen, he'd leap over it rather than run through it). Finally the other girl on her QH went ahead of us, THEN Quzqo had no choice...and damned if he didn't JUMP over it! LOL! I figured he would, and was prepared; he did quite well actually, and we were up on the road as well!

Maybe next weekend I'll take him out alone again...we'll see.

Sure felt weird to ride a horse that wasn't yanking on the reins, wasn't trying to be in front (in fact, Quzqo was so happy being in the back, he left slobber on the one QH's dock, LOL), and not spooking!

Yep, gonna be an interesting Summer.