Not the one

My hands still smell like him. Not a nice smell, no horse should smell like this. I never knew what the term "staring coat" meant until today when I tried to groom Majour. I tried and gave up, because he's just nasty. Full of dandruff and scabs and grease, and the hair is standing up in all directions despite Summer-like weather today. The coat is rough, like a poor quality stuffed animal.

I can't believe this. I'm so let down. This is the third (bay) horse I've fallen for and made an offer and had it not work out. This time it was my choice, however.

It wasn't that he failed his second vet check today. That left front is still bothering him, oh well, no big deal, he's young and unused, I'm sure it's nothing.

It was that I spent 2 hours with him alone and found out that he wasn't the horse I thought he was.

I was told he fit my one and only criterion - a horse who is happy to go into the woods with me alone. He seemed to, last time. This time, not at all.

Left alone with him, he responded well as I did some groundwork lessons with him right there on a little paved street. He wasn't giving me his full attention but he did everything I asked.

Then we made our way down one of those very long roads they have in Hannover between crops. I was so pleased that he dealt with some scary things so well - a tarp-covered trailer, two dark run-in sheds, he looked at them but mostly wanted to eat grass. A good sign. Well, then again, he's malnourished, so refusing to let him graze hurt my heart a little.

I was so happy, he was so beautiful, those perfect ears, bulging jibbah and dished face, wild Mustang greasy mane, nearly perfect long, long legs.....

I taught him my leading rules, he must stay behind me, a meter away from me at all times, and when  I stop, he should stop immediately. If he didn't, he had to back up several steps, til he got the lesson. And he got it right away. And got lots of face rubs and praise. It's an easy lesson after all. He went from walking right past me as I stopped, to screeching to a halt when I did. Good boy. (Thankfully I had asked for a "Parelli" rope because there's no way I could have done that with a short little German lead rope.)

He's a little nippy, well, he's nippy, and still wants to fling his entire head at you to scratch himself, but he only tried it a few times before he realized I would block him, and put my hand in his mouth any time he tried to use his mouth on me. He wasn't biting, more like trying to take my entire Swatch into his mouth (so cute) so I opened up his mouth and rubbed all over his gums,  noting that he's got a normal bite after all, just a naturally sagging lower lip.

Then we were about to enter the woods and he let out a snort and skid to a halt.  I was perplexed and honestly thought there might be something there. But there wasn't, he was just unsure of himself and didn't want to proceed. Fine, I talked to him a bit and tugged him forward. He complied but then slammed to a stop again, and pooped nervously. I pulled him forward, "No stopping to poop, someone might want to dressage you someday."

We had this stop/tug/go routine going on a bit and eventually we made a little progress into the woods. He was giraffing like Mara, head up as high as possible, eyes wide, but his heart wasn't beating out of his chest, and he wasn't trembling in fear, and he seemed to be  breathing. In many ways, better than Mara. But she's no standard of comparison.

We spent some time in the woods and when I turned for home, he whirled so quickly he almost ran me over. I repeated our backing exercise and then, to my dismay, I had to enforce it the entire way back. He was on fire to get out of there. I did my little harmless trick of swinging my rope over my shoulders, left, right, left, so that if he barged too close, he would get whacked without any animosity on my part, just as if I was a horse swishing my tail to say stay back. It looks ridiculous, I'm sure, but keeps me safe.

I put him back on the quarter acre dust box the 6 horses live on and drove home.

My emotions were, well, not quiet, but my brain was saying, "Aren't you glad you found out?"

NO! He was supposed to be the answer. The one gifted with calm in places that are not arenas.

***

I cannot leave out the part where the owner helped me catch him today, and I insisted that I be able to tie him up. For pityssake I just wanted to be able to groom him at my leisure without him eating grass all over the place. Also, can he be tied? Really? She said, "I don't know, maybe we can try to tie him to this post here? It seems stable enough."

I tied him to it short so he couldn't graze, poor starving thing. Then I started to go back to my car to get my own, newly sterilized grooming kit (which now again needs sterilization). The owner said we can't leave him. What, leave him ....tied next to his entire herd with a distance of 10 meters? No, he's never been left tied. WTH. I'm not going geocaching, I'm going to my car 20 meters away. *sigh*

Majour adapted well, after fussing for about 2 minutes. He fidgeted around and then he went, "OK right, I'm OK, my entire herd is 10 meters from me. I'm done fretting about this."

***

On the way home I called S and said, "OK I'll go with you to look at Haegerhof horses again" as much as I hated that place. So we'll see if the little fatty is actually as good as he looked to me.

It seems to me I'll never own a bay horse. This is the 3rd one I've fallen for and had it not work out. Fine. I'm shopping by temperament, not prettiness.