today I was walking trausti thru the obstacle course. I stepped over
the big high log and tripped and fell, just automatically catching
myself by hanging from the reins. attached to the bit in his mouth.
I landed on a pile of floppy tin that made a huge clapping racket. He
threw himself backward all wild eyed and I jumped up apologizing. he
relaxed, licked and chewed, and I continued on and he was just real
quiet and calm, stomp stomp clomp over the floppy sheets of tin. he
seemed to understand I wasnt mean, that I fell and accidentally hurt
his mouth. While I was riding him in my roundpen, something cracked a
branch in the woods nearby and scared him but he just froze, staring,
very tense. I just waited for him to process it. I can tell when he
is ok now, there is a barely perceptible lowering of the head.
Otherwise you cant tell when he is tense about something. You have to
be looking pretty hard to see if he is worried, and he flinches when
he doesnt like the way you touch him. Like a fly has landed on him,
he will flinch his skin if he doesnt like the way you cue him. he
neck reins like a dream.
Janice
--
even good horses have bad days sometimes.
