This:
And even some of this:
It was a fabulous three weeks in Peru, complete with riding Peruvian Paso horses in the Andes mountains!!! Talk about your hill work!
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| Peruvian ears! |
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| The grumpiest but best little Peruvian pony |
I went to see Miss Beauty on Monday, and it was less than a perfect reunion... While she looked happy to see me and we snuggled in the pasture, riding was nothing short of awful. My friend L had ridden her a few times while I was gone, and she had said everything had gone well, but when I saw the barn manager, it sounded like a different story... While there had been no dramatics, the rides hadn't been exactly... gorgeous.
I chose to hop on without lunging, mostly because I was super cold and lazy, and figured I could handle any of her shenanigans, as she's never been one to be dangerous or unmanageable, just a little speedy.
Our first problem was encountered at the mounting block. My little horse that has never given me issues with mounting (other than wanting to walk off the second I touch the saddle, but that is just enthusiasm to get moving!) would NOT stand at the mounting block! We had a nice 5-10 minute discussion regarding that, and finally her brain found its way back into her head and she stood relatively politely.
She was great at the walk, resisting contact a little, but not as bad as I expected. Then I asked for the trot and suddenly we entered a time machine and were transported back to two winters ago, complete with an ornery little six year old mare with minimal undersaddle training. There was shoulder popping of the extreme variety, then a complete tantrum when I tried to correct it, complete with head flipping, tail swishing and threatening to kick out.
Um, excuse you?!!!!
So we had some Back to the Basics lessons, aka "No" is not an acceptable answer when I ask you to do something, tantrums don't make the cue go away, that sort of thing that we covered when she was still being greenbroke.
Luckily, I've dealt with this before, so she didn't get away with her stuff. Mare, please, I MADE you, I know your tricks!
So hopefully the lessons stick and we can get back to where we were before her break. But due to this ridiculously cold weather, she is going to get a few days off until it warms up a little.
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| Good thing she's gotten nice and fluffy and scruffy to keep her warm |
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| Rocking the "Feral for six weeks mohawk bridle path" and pom-pom ears |
