Sunday, March 4, 2012
Crazy Hot and Royally Pissed
The temps hit 46 degrees today. The sun was shining. It's riding weather but I don't have borium on Maggie. The trails are still snow packed and icey but the dirt roads around my neighborhood were soft and ice free. The urge to ride was too much to stand. Even if it meant road riding , which can be taking your life into your own hands in my neck of the woods, I decided that today it was worth it.
Maggie and I headed out.Both of us a bit apprehensive. Maggie, for leaving her herd. For me, the first spring ride of the season. The wind was blowing , blowing Maggie's temperment into a fit. As usual, Maggie got about a 1/4 mile up the road and realizes "oh oh, I am out here alone, let's go back". So she tries to turn around. When she can't get turned around she tosses her head and tries to buck. I can't get after her with any leg pressure because she just gets more pissed and tries to buck more. So, we spent the first mile and half going through her temper tantrum's and me trying not to get unloaded. (should have brought the quirt) She was so tense and uptight about leaving her herd that when she tried to whinny , all that came out was a high pitched "eeeeeehhhhh". I don't even know what you call it but it was hilarious. She was royally pissed, I mean royally pissed, that I kept making her move forward in the direction she did not want to be going. temper tantrums be damned, we made our way along the gravel muddy roads, only meeting one dumbass along the way. He was yelling at me as he slowly passed by . I couldn't hear him obviously, but apparently I had done something wrong. Not sure what... like I said, dumbass...
We turned around and headed back, same route... unfortunately there are no loops unless I head out to the main highway. Turning a horse around to travel home the same way they went out can often create issues. It did. I had to deal with the other personality; snorting blowing, jigging, crazy hot mare. We did alot of circles , side passes, half halts, back ups and finally , the last mile home, she gave me a flat footed, albeit brisk, walk. We were cruising along and we were both starting to relax a bit when a herd of 6 deer came running along the edge of the pasture that was just below us to our left, crossed the low part and head up the hill towards us. We stopped , let them pass. Maggie was more surprised at their abrupt appearance rather than scared but she used it as an excuse to have another temper tantrum. We got a slow five miles in. It was better than nothing and even with all that went on, it was enjoyable to be riding, to feel a horse underneath me. Riders are really crazy, when you think about it. We will withstand all this just to go out and ride a horse.
So , final thoughts here? Sure, lots...
5 miles wasn't near enough
I need to make her leave the herd from home more to get her more confident, even if it means I lead her along the road if there is too much traffic.
Get borium so I can get off the roads
Ride the hide off her
Take the quirt next time
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4 comments:
That sounds like kind of a hair raising ride! Glad you had a successful first ride of Spring despite the herdboundness.
LOL, I call that noise the pig squeal. Good job working through all that nonsense and getting that first ride done!
I appreciate the honesty of this post. You are a diligent horsewoman, work hard with your horses, but just illustrated that they DO have a walnut sized brain of their own that can result in behavior outbreaks. Good for you for saying it, working through it, and riding it out. I'd give you a "like" if I could.
Phebes does the squeal when she's p'od. I'm not a big fan of road riding near home. Traffic runs to fast, drivers don't give you any respect at all, and if I come off my horse will be loose ON THE ROAD.
@CG- yes, indeed hair raising. The joys of owning a saucy mare! I have much work to do.
@ Funder- YES!! That is exactly what it sounded like (why did I not realize that ???) Thanks.It was ugly but we "got'er done"
@EG-Thank you for the nice compliment. I think it's important to include the good , the bad and the ugly here on this blog. It keeps it real. Endurance is a hard sport, no sense sugar coating it.Horses are unpredicatable and we can't forget that . With Maggie, it's easy. I just always know at some point, we are going to battle a bit! It's just her thing. For that day's ride, I knew before hand I was going to have a fight on my hands and I had to spend an hour getting mentally ready because I intended to win. See, I made the mistake back in December , before we had any snow , of going up the road, she pitched a fit and I turned around to head home. Didn't feel like dealing with it. I knew it wasn't the best choice at the time, but I wasn't up for it that day. I didn't put her up when I got home however, we worked a while longer but horses have good memory. In her mind , she got to go back to her herd. Lesson learned Road riding is not fun for me either , and I do worry about having a loose horse on the road but for now, it seems to be a necessary evil. Atleast for a few weeks. I generally know my limits with when I can ride something out and when I need to hop off in order to maintain a level of safety. Bucking doesn't scare me,it just pisses me off. Its the runaways that do. Maggie has a good brake installed so I don't worry about that too much. Ofcourse, I am well aware that sh!% can always happen!
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