Sunday I hopped on Indi for her to teach me a lesson, I mean to ride her for a little while. I didn't put on my helmet, which is rare, even though we usually have an uneventful experience. The back of Indi's pasture is wooded and I don't know what kind of horse eating monster was loose in the woods, but she was not going anywhere near them. Blowing , snorting, jumpy, not paying attention , not stopping when asked, turning and leaving without being asked ..... I finally had to get off, do some ground work with her and show her that the woods were safe and that what I say still goes .... I told her she could take most anything that came out of the woods. She was unimpressed and proceeded to forget about personal space and leading manners. Whirling, bumping, pulling.... more ground work until she settled down. I rode again for a few minutes to reassert my Alpha mare status. Then I gave her the evening hay. That was the answer to everything, the monster apparently slinks back to oblivion when one gets one's hay. So I learned two things.... hay is more powerful than I thought, and always wear my helmet. No matter how well behaved she normally is, she is still a 1200 lb animal with a mind of her own and can flip me like a peanut anytime she chooses.
Sunday I hopped on Indi for her to teach me a lesson, I mean to ride her for a little while. I didn't put on my helmet, which is rare, even though we usually have an uneventful experience. The back of Indi's pasture is wooded and I don't know what kind of horse eating monster was loose in the woods, but she was not going anywhere near them. Blowing , snorting, jumpy, not paying attention , not stopping when asked, turning and leaving without being asked ..... I finally had to get off, do some ground work with her and show her that the woods were safe and that what I say still goes .... I told her she could take most anything that came out of the woods. She was unimpressed and proceeded to forget about personal space and leading manners. Whirling, bumping, pulling.... more ground work until she settled down. I rode again for a few minutes to reassert my Alpha mare status. Then I gave her the evening hay. That was the answer to everything, the monster apparently slinks back to oblivion when one gets one's hay. So I learned two things.... hay is more powerful than I thought, and always wear my helmet. No matter how well behaved she normally is, she is still a 1200 lb animal with a mind of her own and can flip me like a peanut anytime she chooses.
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