Yee Haw!

I gave Memphis the day off on Monday. This morning I was anxious to see if the break made him better or if it set us back. Of course, I was hoping not the latter, because it meant the things we've done so far weren't really sinking in all the way. He didn't disappoint, picked up right like we left off Sunday morning.

He still isn't a dream to bridle. It took a while before I was able to rub his muzzle anyway from the beginning. I don't think he's been a gelding long for a few reasons. 1) It certainly explains his cresty neck, and why it's already coming off of him. 2) When I first sacked him out with the saddle pad, I used the wool pad I typically use on my mare (who is quite a hussy), and he sniffed it, then obsessively smelled it, and got REALLY excited by it. 3) He isn't herd bound, and while he's socially well mannered, he has a lot of respect for a mare that ISN'T feeling him. 4) During the gentling process, he was most touchy (aside from his back feet, which I expect) near his muzzle and his front forearms. Typical stud behavior. Anyhow, he's getting better about bridling each time, and he doesn't fight me in any way, he's just a little evasive and picks his head up (even though he knows to lower it to pressure) and he's quite a bit taller than me. He's learning though, and getting much better.


I took him to the round pen first to make sure we were A-Ok, and just let him move around for a minute or two, then off we went to the arena to ride. I wanted some fresh to him, because I wanted to have a lot of horse to ride so we could really get some good forward. We were working on combining foward with direction, because I have each independently, but the two together aren't quite refined. We'd been riding a good while, and things were really coming together. We were loping a large circle at the back side of the pen when Wade threw grain in the cattle trough for the cows, right as we were loping by, and incidentally, right as I spanked him a little to keep him moving, as he wanted to get a little distracted by the activity over there. The combination of the grain swishing hard into the trough, and my little motivation technique, which again, independently aren't an issue for him, scared him, and he bolted blind. Big Boy can move. I went with him for a second then tried to take him to one side hoping to stop him or slow him, but he blew his nose up and kept hauling. I just gave him his head and rode him, knowing that he couldn't run forever (he's like the fat kid at recess), and sure enough, as we got to the other end of the pen, he slowed and lowered his head. I just kept him moving, but calmly, and he relaxed right away. We trotted a few figure eights, then walked, and I took him back down to the cow pens, and he looked, but settled right back into things like it had never happened. I've gotta say, I am REALLY proud of him. He ran, but he didn't buck. It was really a testemant to his progress because if he'd wanted to buck again, that would have been the time to do it. As my dear friend Laura Roberts likes to say (in a sing-song way): Learning is Happening!! Good boy. :)

I hadn't planned on doing much after our arena ride because I needed to get to the office, but I didn't want to quit quite yet after our little yeehaw moment. We rode for a bit more in the pen, then hit the trail. I took him down the steep hill to the creek and through the thicker trails. He wasn't so sure about the hill, and at first he wanted to go way too fast down it, then he was practically tip toeing, but he finally figured it out and felt like a good steady eddie trail horse. It was a great ride. He's really going to make a super, super boy. As we riding back to the barn, Wade was moving round bales with the tractor, so I made Memphis hang out and watch. He decided that was a great time for a nap. Yep, I think he's going to be allright.