Being the busiest day of the week at the barn, he couldn't even finish his beet pulp today because he was focused on some horse walking down the street. Usually he can at least pay attention to his bucket until it's empty. Hrmph.
The weather was calm and warm again, 5C, so that's not the reason.
I worked him in the arena, ground work, pole work, and lunging at four distinct gaits (walk, jog, trot canter). For some reason I thought I'd try leaving the arena door wide open today and that just blew his mind. So many people walked by with our without horses, and Willy took the wheelbarrow by, etc, he could not think about anything but the activity out that door. I honestly thought that he might be better in the outdoor, where the distractions are less concentrated. But the outdoor is a snowy ice rink, alternately snow and glassy ice.
Marie brought Sleipner in and they did some in-hand work and ground work and that's always relaxing to be around, but Mag was worried everytime Sleipner got too close. I was thinking, "Last time I rode with Marie, I ended up falling." I was convinced that I'd fall again today for some reason.
But I had my plan, transitions, forward walk, that was it, and we worked on it. Every time we passed the fascinating doorway, I bent Mag and/or asked for a few lateral steps, which destroyed the forward marching walk so I felt we weren't getting anywhere. The transitions were fine, one was even fluid, I noticed.
I spent some time just letting him stand still while I relaxed on his back. So I guess we were able to relax a little.
Then the Leitstute came in and Nina said, "Oh, since you're riding, I won't hook up her respirator machine." I said, "Please go ahead, my horse is more afraid of your mare than her machine!" Sure enough Mag didn't even notice the whirring mechanical noise and the large bucket on the mare's face, he was just, "Oh no, oh no, the Dowager Countess again!" But I followed her around a while because he had something else to think about other than the stupid door. That was nice. Then another lady brought in another horse to lunge and I thought that's enough for the day. Her husband was sitting on the bench with two dogs and I took Mag over to show him "Audience!" but Mag didn't care by then. I gave him a thorough face massage and that was it.
Back at the barn for the first time he got the tie rope stuck over his head, behind his ears, and it's about 24 inches long, but instead of panicking, he just pulled a little and I was able to get it off before he broke anything. I really don't like those ties, they're attached to rings in the wall, but very low, for ponies, not horses. It's much safer to tie high, as high as possible. At home my tie rope is attached to the roof beam in the loft. I do appreciate that tying to walls is safer than hitching rails.
I just now realized what might be the reason for the low ties - every day after lessons Gabi feeds her school horses from buckets on the ground while they stand tied. They wouldn't be able to reach their buckets if they were tied to the standard of safety - eye level or above. Hm!
I groomed Mag throroughly (I rarely do that) and put him away, feeling bad about a not so great day.
Not so great isn't bad though, huh?: )
He looks like such a criminal, being tied twice *lol*. The tie he got stuck over his head today is the one directly behind his tail in this photo. As you can see it's lower than the one he's tied to here. This ring is about mid-chest height, the dangerous one is forearm height - safe for ponies but not much else, at least not while he's trying to eat from his bucket. I'm glad I took these photos a while back because he has gained enough weight from all the beet pulp that his ribs are not continually visible anymore. (And my hay bag is not safe at all, tied like that. I am more careful how I tie them in his stall - here I was lazy cuz I was trimming his hooves and not leaving him unattended-- see the hoof bock in the lower left corner.)
6 comments:
A not so good day with Mag would've perhaps counted as one of Mara's best? He's just so handsome, I've grown so used to my Mini's he looks HUGE in your picture lol
Camryn, Mara's best has disappeared from memory: ( Well, I have a few photos of her behaving, so they must suffice.
Mag is 150cm I think. The cutoff form pony to horse is 148cm. I do not want anything bigger, this is really my limit. As you know, the smaller the horse, the more powerful they are. The larger the horse, the more effort they spent on their own weight. When I hear someone say, I'm so heavy I need a large horse, I think, oh no, you need a horse not already burdened with its own excess! But what can I say.
I would argue that it was a good day- there was a lot going on, Mags was very looky and worried and you rode anyway. And it was fine. That will go a long way to help him figure out that even with excitement things are fine.
He's such a pretty boy!
And yes, his "bad" days aren't as bad as most of Mara's good days. And so many good days that are so much better!
When I double-tied horses in the past, I would tie a normal rope clipped to the halter in the usual way. That was the shorter one. The longer one got looped over the poll--it would absolutely not engage unless the shorter one had already broken and the horse continued to be a knucklehead.
I don't know if it was the (insignificant) weight of a cotton lead rope over the poll or what, but Toad never pulled back with that set up. (Fiddle cured herself before I got around to using it)
Mag looks fantastic!!!
I vote good day! He was distracted, but not bad.
I wish my horse were they clean!! Chrome looks bay lol.
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