I've been having a frustrating two weeks with the horses. They could be a lot worse, but my issue is, they could be a lot better. Let's start with Socks. I am really happy for this horse but at the same time, there's been several times this week when I could have killed her. She's gained weight, she is no longer in with Shadow and she's moved paddocks so that she's near Jimmy and Artemis, and between Mach and Titan (whose in love with her) and a very noisy mare. She had her feet trimmed differently and she's just generally feeling very good. I'm happy for her, I really am. I love that my horse is feeling good and is happy, but I wish she wouldn't be quite so energetic when we ride.
To say that she's been energetic lately is an understatement. She is always energetic. I love my horse but I'll be realistic, she is a hotheaded brat of a horse who takes off at a dead gallop if you so much as think the word run. Now on most days, while energetic, she is still well-behaved. She'll do whatever I want, just with a lot of energy. Lately however, she's all run and no obedience. She stands still long enough for me to swing up on her and then she's on the move before I'm even in the saddle. And she doesn't stop. My first attempt at a cure was to let her have a good, long run in the outdoor arena. Usually if she's full of energy she needs a run and then she'll calm down. That was not the case. One run was not enough, neither was two, or three. So my second attempt at a cure was lots of rapid, changing work. That usually works. As long as I keep her guessing at what's happening, it can help her calm down and focus. It failed, miserably. I worked on barrel racing with her. She was pretty good at it, but the second we weren't running the pattern, she went back to not listening. By this point I was banging my head on the wall. I'd almost rather she developed a bad habit on the ground, something that I could at least work on. But how do you tire out a horse with an endless amount of energy and the attention span of a flea?
The answer, completely change it up. My sister dropped me off at the stable early today. I had at least two hours before my mom arrived. I saddled up Socks and took her to the outdoor arena. We tried attempt #1 and attempt #2 again. And again, both failed. Instead of pounding my head on the wall, I decided I needed a change before I went crazy. I opened the arena gate, hopped back on and we went for a jog down the road. Socks saw the open field and tried to eat through her bit so we could go for a run. I didn't have her usual bit on, which is a curb, but I had her barrel racing bit in, which is a snaffle. Socks runs barrels great in a snaffle, but doesn't tend to respect it as well when she has an open field in front of her. So my poor pony did not get to run full out in the field like she would have liked to. Instead she had to restrain herself to a controlled lope in the ditch. My original plan was to ride to the train tracks and back, about a twenty minute ride. My hyped up pony made it there in ten. Since she was still so full of energy I decided to keep going. I have to say, I was very happy with her at the train tracks. It's been over a year since she crossed them last, and not all horses like to cross them. She didn't bat an eye. She walked over them as if they were nothing. Two deer jumped out of the bushes near the tracks. She barely glanced at them. We continued our speed trotting down the road. We had to have an argument about whether or not we were riding on the pavement or the ditch. I won and into the ditch we went.
We made it all the way to the highway. A huge semi-truck with two trailers went by us and Socks couldn't have cared less. I was very glad to see that a year off from trails and highway riding hasn't made Socks forget anything. We reached the highway and then turned around. Slowly Socks began to slow down. Her head began to lower and the head tossing stopped. She was still trotting but it was more relaxed. We came to the hayfield again and we took a short gallop. She began prancing afterwards but stopped once I corrected her. I finally had me, well duh, moment. My energetic pony was so energetic and disobedient simply because she was bored. My trail horse turned arena horse has done great for the past year but she finally had enough. We didn't have any off the farm trips in the summer because of Artemis. I won't say she's back to being my energetic yet obedient partner but it was a good first step. Hopefully we can catch a few more off the farm rides before it gets too cold. I love my horse but I need to remind her that I bought a Quarter Horse, not a fresh off the track Triple Crown contender like she seems to think she is.
This post is long enough and I'm waiting for my videos to finish uploading so I can have them here. I'll post about Artemis and her blanket later.
