Not-so-good first ride, and even worse first lunging attempt

As much as I tried to set up success, it all fell apart when I rode Mag for the first time today. Thank God my husband was there holding Mag's lead rope the entire time. I had no idea how important that would be.

I always knew Mag would have a problem with patience and holding still, that is why we'd been working on it so much on our walks. Apparently not nearly enough, or perhaps ground work does not translate to under saddle so perfectly. And I knew from riding him in November that he was extremely barn sour, but I figured it was partly because we were strangers.

He would not hold still.

I decided we'd start to teach him "ho" because I hadn't really taught him the verbal, and since J was with me I knew he could reinforce it.

Mag was fine for mounting, even from the off side. He remembers that lesson.

But once in motion, stopping was out of the question in his mind.

I'd sit down and say "And, ho" and then use my reins to reinforce the cue. I remember how he'd slam to a stop in the arena at his former home, stopping in there was no problem.

On trail, no way. He wants to get wherever we're going.

My husband didn't actually use the lead rope in any way, he just had the end of it for my peace of mind. Eventually I was asking him to use it, "Can't you help me?" because Mag was fussing, swinging his hips left and right, aligning himself perpendicular to the trail, backing up in protest repeatedly, biting the reins (that's new for me - making my reins useless cuz they're in his teeth!), and biting my saddle, which got him  the toe of my shoe in his nose.

I found it amazing that two people couldn't get a horse to hold still. My husband tried stroking him and talking to him, and eventually shortened the rope and pulled on it a little.

One of our stops Mag had finally had enough and he BUCKED! I whipped his nose around, yanking out a handful of mane as I held on, not knowing what he'd try next. I scolded him and finally he stood still a little. J described the buck - "He just jumped in the air with his hind legs." : )

We were just getting little tiny moments of motionless and rewarding them, because he was not able to give more.

At the street where I was going to hop off and lead him home, I stopped him one last time. And he had a meltdown. We were there a very long time, trying to get a moment of motionless, and he was angrily moving INTO my leg aids, swishing his tail any time I touched him with my right leg, whereas earlier he responded properly to my independent leg aids. He was completely defiant and doing everything possible to tell us no. He started getting worse, not better, and sometimes swinging in a circle wide enough to end up on the pavement, and I was so worried about him hurting my husband. J was perplexed, not knowing what to do, not understanding why the horse was flipping out about what should be such a simple thing.

Finally he was distracted by something, so he held still for a moment, and I got off.

And backed him up back down the trail a ways.

When we got home I had the stupid idea to lunge him in our pasture. Stupid! I didn't think it through that he doesn't lunge well, he will randomly switch directions to say how dumb he thinks it is.

The one good thing - I remembered gloves. Because he ended up ripping holes in them, dragging me around the pasture in protest of simply staying in the direction I asked him to go. I was not asking him to go fast, but I had to use the whip to correct him if he switched directions, and he would take offense and gallop through the mud, scrambling up and down the hills. I thought he would get tired and give up but he simply did not. Amazing, cuz I've never worked him before, so perhaps he's exercising himself.

Somehow he did not get away from me, and I did not get tangled and dragged. I've never had a horse fight so hard on a lunge. And here I thought he was a lazy horse. (He was, really! And remember how I told you about watching the girl lunge him, she had to HIT him repeatedly with the whip to keep him moving?)

I think it's the fact that it's his field, because Baasha was always naughty in his field too, I couldn't ride him there without him trying to take off with me. And our field is so hilly, it really invites galloping off!

I really thought once he was tired, he'd quit challenging me, but when he'd start to be good, I'd talk him down into a walk and then he'd think, "Oh wow, I'm rested, I can fight again!" and he'd gallop off, trying to pull me off my feet.

I finally got the left pretty good so I wanted to get some success at going to the right, and he thought about turning around every single time. But only tried it randomly. I was absolutely exhausted trying not to get dragged. I'm glad the line was not on the bit (which was still on) because he'd have wrecked his mouth. A serrata would have been great, for my own safety.

I got the right to a certain point and then quit. I won't be trying that again, in my field, until he's good in an enclosed area. Wherever that might be, I have nowhere to go.

Back at the barn I tied him up and when I removed the saddle, I saw even sweat marks, but the entire horse was sweaty so who knows. The wool of the pad was evenly scuffed so I think I shimmed the saddle right.

I am glad today is the warmest day we've had yet, it's 16C and I wear shorts at 18. So I got the hose and sprayed all his sweat off, my first time hosing him all over (except for his rump which was slightly dry). He's obviously been bathed, he stood tied perfectly still for it. I scraped him and left him in the sun for an hour while the donkey wandered around pestering him. But he rubbed his face all over her back where he was itchy. That was cute.

Now he's completely dry and for the first time, really clean and soft.

I'm sure he'll be sore the next few days from ripping up our field and so I won't try to ride him right away again (though I wanted to!).

I will, however, take him out for a walk tomorrow.