My 1,200+ Pound Wimp.

Mom and I realized something the other day. Red is a total wimp. Yes, that horse is huge and let me tell you, if you start picking on one of the underdogs of the barn, the one's he's kind of taken under his horsey-wing, you will get chased around the pasture and you better run fast or else you'll get beat to a pulp. He typically doesn't fight back against other horses unless it's 100% necessary or he's just mad, but when he does turn around, the horses know to back away, because he's probably one of the strongest horses at the barn. He may be chubby, but he's big and strong and he has some huge Quarter Horse hooves that'll pack a punch. ;)

No, he's not physically wimpy, he's just emotionally wimpy.

I find it hilarious because all of my non-horsey family and friends are kind of scared of Red and they gravitate towards Spirit because of the size difference. Red is pretty close to 16hh, which is pretty tall around where I live and in the Western disciplines, and he's muscular muscular muscular. Spirit, on the other hand, is 14.2, in good shape but definitely not a tank, and just small in general. They find it hard to believe that Red is the safe horse in this scenario, but in reality, he is. And when they see me start to work him, they totally say, "Ohhh...." and look at Spirit, as he's getting antsy to run, and say "Nope!" to him.

Red is just a wimp. First off, he keeps a good memory, meaning that if something bad happens or if he gets hurt by something, he is so not gonna go near it again. For instance, I put a girth on him when we first got him and it rubbed a scab from sweet itch and it created a little mess there. It wasn't horrible, but I definitely wasn't putting a girth on him again any time soon. He remembered that and got cinchy for a few weeks until we got a softer girth. (Fleece) And I'm guessing that's exactly what happened with bits.  He had one bad experience and he's just like, "Uh. How about no?" He's bucked people off before because of a bit. He's been vet-checked, had his teeth floated, we've tried every bit out there, nothing, he was a brat...so I'm not gonna push that one, lol!

If you use spurs, be prepared for him to be scared of you for awhile, even if you use them as lightly as possible. Y'all know the whole spur story, so I won't go into it. He doesn't really mind crops, but if you yell at him? He acts like a kicked puppy, no joke. The other day, I got onto him for trying to untie a lead rope that had fastened a gate closed(It was in the round pen, no worries on safety, haha!) and he literally drops his head and sits there like Eeyore. If he gets scared of something, he will run to you and walk behind you the whole time until he's away from the object.

But, even though he's a wimp, I guess it means something amazing about his character that he knows when to control his wimpiness and so far, in almost 2 years, the only time I've been hurt on him has been my fault completely.

Red is the best at nonchalant winking while falling asleep.

Also....if you bring in a child, be prepared for Red to follow him/her around until the kid gives him attention. He won't run over the kid, he'll stay about 5 feet from him the whole time, but yes, he is obsessed.

And, a proven fact...Red enjoys hugs.