However there was no wind, and I think that made the difference, because Mag was just fine. In fact, he was his old self in traffic; he only flinched twice, once at a gravel truck and once at a semi who crept very slowly behind us because it wanted to turn into the driveway we were crossing. A DHL truck went zooming by us so close we could have touched it (how rude) but Mag just reached out his nose curiously.
He also reached out his nose to people on the sidewalk that we passed, when people say Guten Tag to me, he wants to say "How d'ya do" as well.
I spent some time just hanging out at 101, the main drag through town, to see what vehicles we'd see. We saw them all, and since it's garbage day, we got some of that action. We were at a bus stop and at one point the bus arrived just as a garbage truck was dumping containers at the same moment, and Mag moved around a little but didn't spook. Wow, I think I may be getting the old Mag back! (To be honest we were in a 50kph zone, so it's not as bad as the 100 streets around here).
We met up with Ani and made our way down to her little riding ring. The ring was harder than usual, but fine to ride in.
I lunged Mag a full 20 minutes because he was on fire and wanted to buck and leap and play, and try to drag me off but the arena is too small for that. I just encouraged him to play, and regretted that I cannot turn him loose in there, due to the fences being "suggestions."
I don't have any photos from today but here's the fancy arena last May. He's behaving himself in this photo - the tail is the clue. Today it was completely over his back, which is the "watch out" tail.
He's thinking about changing directions suddenly and spinning off to the right (note his lead).
Ani stopped riding and "hid" in a corner to not get run over by his antics. I realized after a while she was enjoying watching his performance, and I told her I am encouraging him to get it all out before I get on his back - that I wasn't going to ask him to go slow and behave - he really needed to let loose.
He actually broke a sweat. Mag. Damp. Can you believe it?
Then I got on and rode patterns with Ani and tried to get her to talk about films she has seen, because she has a TV now and wants me to bring films over.
Keeping her talking kept me listening which kept me calm when I was expecting some sort of outburst from Mag after standing around the last 6 weeks.
He was fine. Except for not liking to share space with another horse. He hates working in close proximity and that is what we do there, the arena is like 15X25meters. We played the copying game, where we do everything Mira does. Mag was sluggish as usual, but his lateral movements are much improved - in fact he started offering leg yields when I wanted to just ride straight, because he likes the cookies he gets for it.
I started to ask for contact today, something we don't really do, but eventually he'll have to know. He was confused, "You're making contact with my mouth but you don't want me to slow down? Well that's a paradox!" I'm showing Mag that I want a connection with his mouth, nothing fancy, just a line of communication that adapts fluidly.
Ani asked if next time she could ride Mag again. "You want to ride this lazy horse? I did not expect that!" I thought she'd never want to again, after experiencing his sluggishness the one time she rode him.
On the way home Mag was straining to drink out of frozen puddles so I offered him my water bottle. For the first time, he figured out how to close his lips around the sports bottle and let his mouth fill with water and then swallow. He did that right on 101 with traffic blowing by. Proud of him.
By the time we got home I had run out of cookies: ) Mag got some warm seedy bread that had been drying on our radiator. I treated all four hooves for thrush because suddenly he has deep cracks in all four central sulci. Ugh, my fault, during the hard freeze I'd ignored his hooves, and he didn't get his regular walking on pavement to stimulate bloodflow.
***
Mag's poop changed sizes. You probably don't believe me, but I've seen poop change size based on temperament. I'm talking about the individual poop pieces. My red mare pooped grapes. Not kidding, if it wasn't fluid from stress, it was grape-sized. Mag's has always been small, and Bellis normal, actually, rather large for her size. Today I looked around the paddock and couldn't tell the difference between Mag's and Bellis' poop. Then I saw him poop and lo and behold, it was Bellis sized. That's a relaxed colon.
This horse had the best topline, completely self-made from stress. She carried so much tension in her body she was ripped, I had nothing to do with it.
As awesome as she was in the arena, she was rarely happy out in the woods. If a deer moved, you could see her heart pounding through her chest.
I have so many photos like this, where she's seeing her life flash before her eyes.
"Whatever it is, it's gonna kill us. And I'm all out of poop."
I do miss this color. And I'm delighted that her new owners love her. It must have sucked for her, to be here and not be loved. Mag will likely never have a topline like hers, he doesn't worry about things.
This is not photoshopped, that horse really looks like this. In contrast to that old fashioned standard for Arabian horses, where they measure the poll to the eye, and the eye to the nostril, and the distances should be similar.
***
Anyway I feel hope that the season of dangerous crazies is over, or will be soon. Looking forward...
Even running around, his face shows no tension. "Nothing bad ever happens to me."
9 comments:
DO you have any pictures of the roads you walk him down? Its hard tot imagine you walking your horse past bus stops and garbage routes. I'm glad he was so well behaved for you!
I'm glad you are getting your old Mag back. You poop size theory makes sense to me. Gabbrielle has tiny, tight road apples, elongated and smaller than the size of golf ball. Rock's individual lumps are gigantic and fibrous. Bombay and Lostine are somewhere in the middle.
Sara, good idea! Just today I thought, I should really try to capture a photo of me and Mag in traffic. Not that it's easy, I have to be on guard. But I promise I'll try.
NM, you believe me! Yay: ) Smaller than a golf ball to me is "grapes": )
Mag is such a good pony.
Your weather needs to get better- we're on a countdown to our European trip!
What a good day with your boy!
I can always tell whose poop piles are whose. Mama Belle has big piles! And the others are different from each other too.
That brown horse with the big head isn't Fiddle, but it should be. BIG HEAD.
He's growing up at last, your Mag. Gooooooooood boy!
It is wonderful to see Mag being such a great horse for you after you tried so hard with Mara. It's nice that you are both enjoying new relationships.
If you can ever manage it I, too, would love to see pictures of the roads and traffic. I bought myself a new horse 3.5 months ago and am riding again, she is 3 soon to be 4, and green as grass. She is very quiet and self confident but I just can't imagine leading or riding her past some of the traffic you describe, and I think of her as exceptionally level headed. She also adores Sparky the donkey.
I just really enjoyed reading this post Lytha. Nice one. PS is your saddle a Specialized? It looks SO comfy!
Melissa, I wish you'd blog about your own horses!
Chelsey, It's a Specialized. Since I don't ride in any other saddles I don't appreciate how comfy it is. I do remember the first moment I sat in it after riding in English saddles most of my life, it was "Ahhhhh."
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