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Mares.

Went on a ride yesterday to kick off the new year. It ended up being kind of blah.....I went out, called for Red,  he walked to the barn and walked right in but apparently he was "stiff". Here's the thing that no one but me and my mother seem to grasp. Red is barn sour. He ALWAYS acts "stiff" and "tired" in the barn, we get going and he's fine. He was NOT stiff in the pasture just a minute ago. At all. He's stubborn. That's it. But I ended up riding Patches, an Appaloosa mare, just because I wasn't in the mood for "oh your horse is stiff you can't ride him" and drama. In the end, I wished I had waited for my mother to get there-Jeff dropped me off and then mom was coming later on-and actually ride MY horse, but I didn't. Oh well.

The ride went fine, Patches was hormonal but she's a good horse. Very lazy. Her trot is possibly worse than Red's. Very stubborn. She refused to do more than walk 99.9% of the time. ;)) She pins her ears back at everyone who passes by, lol. We had a little "I'm gonna kick you" moment with Dusty behind us..she cow-kicked him and settled down. Oh, mares.

The ride wasn't exciting or anything. Just went in the trails, loped for a couple beats until Patches got tired of it. She's a sweet horse, just very different from Red and what I'm used to. And I've come to the conclusion that I don't click with mares at all whatsoever. I never have, I doubt I ever will. Geldings? Sure! Stallions? Sign me up! Mares? Nope. No thanks. There are some mares that I like, but none that I would just go out of my way to ride or buy.

Once we got back, I hopped on Dusty for a few minutes. He was going through some barn sour issues and wanted in the run in, and he had a few bolts and spooks. He's fun to ride, though, so it was enjoyable. Did some pacing and racking, very different from a trot, canter and gallop, but fun.
Pacing.

 


Dusty is way different than Patches and Red, obviously, rofl. Very fast paced, he'd rack all day long if you let him. Very barn sour. He has some difficulty staying in his gait, but it's easy to get him in it. Requires very tight reins, spooky, studly, but a good boy. He was just broke and he's amazing. No bad spooks, just a little bunny hop and bolt.
 He also enjoys flagging his tail!

I have videos that I'll upload later.


Once I was done with Dusty, I went to go spend some time with Red, who was happy and perky in the barn. Did some trick training and trust exercises. ;) A lot of you safety people may get onto me for the stunts I pulled, rofl. Hopped on tackless for a few minutes, crawled underneath his belly and between his two front legs (Of course, he didn't budge, just lowered his head to see what I was up to) worked on his directions, left and right, up and down, worked on his manners while I lead him, did some bowing, etc. Then, he learned how to smile after 5 tries. ;)

See those cute little teeth?


Way easier than I expected. Just put the treat at his nose and made him curl his lip for it, I managed to get a video and photos of him doing it with the treat but none without. :( By the time I had left, he was doing it everytime someone touched his lip and said "Smile" :))



Soo...maybe we should've worked on more important stuff, but instead, we did silly things and it made my blah start to the year better. :) Soon...I'll be back in the saddle, alone, riding my big bay fatty.

Barn sour, lazy and stubborn or not.

7 comments:

  1. What's that saying?
    Tell a gelding, ask a stallion, discuss it with a mare:)
    I love an opinionated MareFace. You definitely have to be a certain type of person, though.

    Please be careful around the horses. I know you hate it when I say it, but you do worry me sometimes! Even the best horses can have their moments...I'm a safety freak, so I have to say it.

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    1. Haha! I agree with that saying quite a bit. Although it seems like I've had to do quite a bit of discussing with Red recently. ;)

      I appreciate the concern. :) I am careful, just not so overly cautious that I'm afraid of every little thing that they do. We do a lot of working up to the "stunts" that we pull, and I would never just do it. Lots of training beforehand, lots of safety precautions. The parade proved that even my bomb-proof horse-who apparently is NOT siren proof, LOL-has his freak attacks and being careful is a necessity.

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  2. There are riders who work well with mares, deal with mares, and should never touch mares. It's really funny to watch how it works. I have yet to own a mare but I have worked with them and... well... Let me say there are also MARES who deal with riders haha. You always learn something new. Love the trick-training. Definitely a good brain builder for you and the horse. I'd like to start more with B. My OTTB was the horse I used at camp to show the kids NOT what to do with a horse like go under their bellies or between their legs or run up behind them. It's good to see what you can and can't do with your horse and get them ready for any situation. Keep it up, just be safe. <3

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  3. I don't know if its my laptop or your blog but the pictures didn't show up. It showed a square where the picture is supposed to be but not the actual picture. Huh. Anyway I am a mare person myself. Never really connected with any geldings or stallions.

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  4. Aw it's too bad they give you grief about riding him when he's acting stiff--sometimes even if a horse IS a bit stiff, the best thing you can do is give them a gentle workout to help them loosen up!

    I like mares a lot, but I also adore my River buddy--geldings are so easy. Gotta love them! Never rode a stallion so I can't say on that. ;)

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  5. I'm definitely a mare person - mares have so much more try and spunk than geldings.It does take an experienced rider to deal with them sometimes.

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  6. Gelding gal over here! But Polly does the trick for the interim- she's sweet but has mare-ish moments. I guess I have my moments too haha. Agree with Briana- the best thing for a stiff horse is the flex a bit. Too bad you get a tough time!

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