I've been thinking about this lately (what else can I do in my motel room at my second job but play on the computer and think?). In particular, a friend of mine who keeps asking me when I am going to get Whisper "fixed". This got me to thinking what, specifically, needed "fixing". Mainly her going out alone, but also her attitude in a large group. I had a major insight into her the other day when I was riding her with my mom's horse. We were riding along the trail side by side and I commented how nice it was to ride with a horse Whisper doesn't pin her ears at and make ugly faces. Then, not 2 minutes later, Whisper was in front, and Fireman was coming up from behind (he stopped to poop) and she suddenly angled her but and tried to double barrel him. After that, I kept her slightly behind mom's horse. Her reaction, knowing she is low on the totem pole, was purely defensive. She thought Fireman was going to get her, so she let off a preemptive strike. That was/is a big reason she doesn't like to ride in a group - she doesn't like horses behind her. So is it fair to Whisper to "fix" her ie. force her into a situation where she is afraid she is going to get attacked from behind where her herd instinct tells her to protect herself, then get away from whoever is back there? Does the word "fix" mean I have to try and change my horse's innate personality? Is that fair to the horse? Working with Whisper and knowing her personality and dealing with HER and not her issues, to me, is not necessarily avoiding her issues, it's just understanding her and why she has issues. With a lot of her issues, I understand her and accept her, but still ask for her to listen to me. So, without being nasty to my friend, who I want to continue to ride with, what do I say when she asks me "When are you going to get her fixed?" Frankly, the only thing I want to "fix" about her is her balking when going out alone. Otherwise, I will put 100 red ribbons in her tail to keep everybody as far away from her butt as possible - more to protect Whisper than any idiot stupid enough to get on top of another horse's butt.
Susan in NV Nevermore Ranch http://users.oasisol.com/nevermore/ Disclaimer CAUTION: DO NOT DRIVE WITH HOT COFFEE IN YOUR LAP ____________________________________________________________________________________ Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ
