Baasha's vice

I went on a ride today with the wife of the firechief and a friend of hers. Kerstin rode her huge Irish Tinker, Merlin, and her friend rode an Andalusian/Paso Fino (!!) mare whose color took my breath away - a bright bay with no white. A breathtaking color. The mare wore Easyboot Gloves (in Germany!) and Baasha had his Bares on. The mare fussed a bit, glaring at Baasha the first part of the ride, but then calmed down. What calmed her down was a mad gallop that scared years off my life. That mad gallop did NOT calm Baasha down. Total opposite effect. He was a freak the rest of the ride, prancing and jigging even when they let me ride in front. I was pissed, and annoyed that I agreed to ride with two people when one would have sufficed and he wouldn't have seen it as a race. I found it interesting that the mare went into self-preservation mode after she worked up a sweat, and to save energy, she behaved herself the rest of the ride. Sometimes mares are just the best, the way they take care of themselves!

If I'd been on my lease mare Princess Buttercup, I'd have enjoyed a gallop or several. But Baasha's old and fragile, and retired from hard riding. However, I have to admit he came back to me a bit during that gallop. He actually let the mare pull ahead and I was able to finally rate him. The Tinker's not much for galloping, he's really built for logging, but for some reason Baasha and Merlin were lighting each other on fire the entire ride. If Merlin was behind Baasha, I could hear him "roaring" in agitation. His huge chest was dripping sweat due to the manes on those horses. If Baasha was behind Merlin, he did his "growl" every stride, telling the world how pissed off he is. Not fun at all for me. I finally spoke up and told them that my horse is retired and we mostly walk and trot. They were totally cool and let me lead. Thank God, but even then, Baasha was jigging sideways and daring them to try to pass him.

They both commented how beautiful Baasha was as he jigged, chin to his chest. They said he looks like a fairy tale horse. I was simply ashamed. I purposefully relaxed and let the reins loop, and one stride later he'd jump forward to jig, and I'd pull him back, drop the reins, and the next stride he'd jump forward again. We went back and forth like this a long time. Finally, eventually, he settled down a little, especially where the ground was really uneven, or when we rode on pavement. Strangely, when Merlin and Baasha were side by side, they both relaxed and walked normally. Odd, huh?

I found a horse that looks exactly like White Horse Pilgrim's - I have to go back with a camera! Spitting image. He had this odd leather and chain link halter on and stood behind barbed wire, tempting fate.

When we finally split up and I got Baasha home, he was filthy and covered in sweat, and I gave him a bath mostly cuz I'm mad at him. He has no idea what my problem is. They want to ride again on Wednesday and I know that practice is what he needs, but practice with one other horse to start would be nice! Hopefully that will work out. He's such a pleasure to ride out alone, it's amazing how unpleasant it is with a group. This kind of training requires the patience and cooperation of riding buddies, and I have a hard time asking people to help when I've only just met them.