I had a disappointing ride yesterday. It has been a couple of weeks since I hauled Rosalee to the arena, and Mesa has occupied most of my attention (Imagine that....) I rode a few minutes in the grazing paddock, then headed out and attempted to ride down to the river.
Attempted... because we didn't get very far. As soon as I point her away from the barnyard she balks. So I worked on side pass, serpentines, circles, etc. and pointed her down the trail again. She spins away, I turn her back. Rinse and repeat..... turn her and back her down the trail, work circles, etc again.
I would have her just stand and relax and look at the pond, as a reward for not evading, but as soon as I asked for forward I got reverse. I wasn't asking her to go in it, just wanted her to go by the edge of it.
Nothing worked.
Dang prairie horse never got her feet wet before or what? When she evaded by backing up she stepped into a little bit of the water.
It was getting to the point where she was losing her mind, so I changed it up and rode up to the road and over to our house. Well, that felt like sitting on a coiled spring... I figured she would relax because she was in familiar territory but nooooo....
I put her away, and need to rethink my plans for her. It's obvious that me riding her out alone is counter productive, so I put out a call on Facebook for trail riding buddies and got a good response, hopefully I'll be able to ride out a few times a week with friends and get her mind back on having to work for a living. Also, Shayla is back for a couple of weeks so I hope to get some help there. It always helps having someone watch what you are doing.
Meanwhile. Mesa is thriving! I have them on daily turnout in the larger pen and in the foaling pen with the shelter at night, it's working great.
The grazing paddock in the background with Belle and Rosalee
Coulee is doing better as a momma, not quite so worried about her precious baby. Mesa's hind legs have straightened up and she is getting easy to catch and loves her butt scratches. I halter them and take them out for hand grazing most days before they get closed into the foaling pen for the evening.
I really think I will be keeping this filly for my future riding horse; so far all the horses I have bought to ride don't measure up to my expectations, and I want to ride what I raise. I would have been riding Stella as a 4 year old this year. Such a loss. It could be years before I get another filly from Beamer as he is prone to throwing colts. And really, I don't have years to wait! Not getting any younger!
Also I just remembered that I didn't share with you that Loretta has gone to a new home. A friend of mine (who owns a breeding farm in Alberta) is putting her into his program for raising silver dilutes. He has a stallion who is homozygous for silver bay, and Loretta is a silver buckskin who is not homozygous for bay, so he hopes to get a foal or 2 from her who will be guaranteed to be silver, perhaps homozygous and some different colours other than silver bay. The ultimate goal of course is raising good horses regardless of colour, but colour does help them sell, and he kind of has the corner on the market for silvers in Alberta.
3 comments:
I worked on crossing a creek with Leah Sunday. My trainer rode her. It was eventful. She tried to jump it, but landed in the middle. Eventually, she walked across. Today, I took her to the river and she started to bolt when we got close. Another horse took the lead and then she was fine. So, I've tried it all: getting off and walking in first, riding, following, and having a trainer ride her. It's fun, but we have a way to go. Trainers and riding buddies really help!
Rosalee is being rotten! What a turd!
I was hoping you would keep Mesa, it will be fun to watch her grow :)
I feel your frustration. Koda evades the same way. Once they refuse, it's hard to change their mindset. I know you know all this and much more, but for whatever it's worth here are the three things I keep in mind with Koda: Catch it before it happens, tough because many times it comes out of nowhere. Use more (appropriate) leg, I don't use enough leg pressure, reins can only direct/block/encourage so much. Think & truly believe the desired action, even when we think we are, there are often other lingering thoughts for them to feed off (including fear, or focusing on what they are not doing). We haven't headed out on a trail yet this year, but I will be trying to do these three things with conviction. Much easier said then done. When all else fails, sometimes it just takes someone without "the history" to get them through it. I have no doubt you will get this worked out with Rosalee!! I am glad you've got some help & company on the trail. Wish we didn't live so far apart, would love nothing more then to trail ride with you. Beautiful photo of Loretta. Sorry to see her go, she will no doubt miss your TLC.
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