I got up early, feeling virtuous on my last day of vacation (ok, not really – the alarm clock is on my side of the bed, so I kind of HAVE to wake up) and went down early to the stable. The arena was empty for once, so I threw tack on Kip and hauled ass down the aisleway, only to see some other girl doing the same. She beat me. *grrrrrr* I stood for an hour, holding my place, and when she finally put the jumps away and came out, she didn’t even say thank you, sorry, kiss my ass, whatever. Bitch.
Actually, though, it was ok. He was pacing nervously at first, standing outside the arena in the cold, but soon he settled and we just hung out together. He actually has a sense of humour, which I hadn’t seen much sign of before. Horses do have a sense of humour, but it tends to be a slapstick one, like when they sneakily reach over with one hoof, searching for your foot as you’re girthing them up. We blew into each other’s faces for awhile, and he would wait until I looked off, my attention elsewhere, and then push me hard with his nose. He pulled my hair with his teeth and I pulled his ears.
Kipper is just getting used to balancing himself with the weight of a rider, and he’s all spaghetti loops and legs everywhere right now. We were working on trot today, working on the rail and large circles (ovoids, whatever, certainly not proper circles yet), and it took a while to convince him that it wasn’t as difficult as he obviously thought it was. I’m just trying to sit as balanced on him as possible right now, as he stumbles and falls in and out, as the head goes down between his knees and then sticks up like a camel.
We’re only working in the indoor arena at the moment, because he finds it impossible to concentrate in the outdoor one by the paddocks. The other day, when I was lungeing him out there (couldn’t get into the indoor again), we tried some poles on the ground and then a tiny crossrail, just to keep him from being bored. He was very concerned about a horse that had been turned out in the paddock, and FELL over the crossrail, did a total faceplant in the sand. I was laughing so hard as I made sure that he hadn’t hurt himself; I felt like saying “See? What have I been telling you?”
I love this horse so much. This dinosaur-sized baby, clumsy and ignorant and a bit of a bully…he means so much to me.
He’s a bit of a loveable moose…stubborn but cute – especially the whole ‘worried eyebrow’ thing…and the ‘Kipper-Dance’ when he sees the food-ucket…
I have great admiration for your patience!
Well, you of all people should know…it’s all worth it in the end, isn’t it? :)
It always is worth it in the end, but dealing with the urge to eviscerate bratty children isn’t fun. ;)
Yes, that’s true – he has the most mobile face I’ve ever seen on a horse. Those little worry-wrinkles around his eyes, when something scares him, and his bad-ass face when he wants his grain bucket. You’d think he was a people-killer from the faces he pulls. :) I know, I’m such a sap for him.
I’m going to cut that statement out and keep it…and show you at a later date when you’re cold, muddy, bruised and shivering!
Some people just have no manners. I would have shouted out good morning after she had gone past. Are you still thinking about moving him to another stables?
Yes, definitely. I’ll leave him there for a couple of months, probably, until he’s more settled in the work that we’re doing, and then move him. By then I’ll have a better idea of how much I’ll be able to afford with the new job…we’re VERY broke right now!