Horseness and grossness
I was wrong about Xena. She might prove to be rather frustrating and difficult for an inexperienced rider to deal with. Megan had a lesson on her today and I went to watch. It was like watching myself trying to ride Lightning 8 years ago. Stiff arms, cranky horse. Megan would brace, Xena would brace back and rush, which would make Megan brace more. Megan even mentioned at some point, "I think a big part of the problem is that I can't seem to relax my elbows!" and her instructor still made no comment on it. I really felt while watching her that the instructor should have focused more on her and making her sit up with her upper body, relax her arms and work on her transitions through the body, not the hands. Teach her how to half-halt and release instead of grabbing and holding.
The result was that instead of seeing much improvement through the course of the lesson, Megan ended up frustrated to the verge of tears, while Xena was just plain cranky. They moved on to jumping, and to my surprise Xena was very well behaved. I expected her to rush the fences and take the bit, but - while still strong on downward transitions - she was very good. The only trouble they ran into was when it looked like they were coming in for a long spot and Megan would hold for a short and Xena would stop. I was kind of surprised that the instructor didn't opt to explain to her how she should be looking for her spot 5 strides out instead of waiting until one stride out and just seeing what you get. *shrugs*
I went out to see Champ on the way home (I've backdated my first two sessions with him). My initial plan was to bring him into the arena, tie him up and brush him, then bring him out for a round pen session.
When I went out to the field to get him he was still good. He watched me while he grazed, but when I stopped and called him he came right over. He was good until we went through the first fence. Then he began to fret about leaving the others. He would shove into me and if I had let him he would have walked right over me. The second fence was the same. He was more interested in trying to locate the other horses than to pay attention to me. So I changed course and opted to round pen him first.
The session went well. There were a few times where he threatened me and I actually began to wonder if he was going to come in on me, but I just chased him on and he eventually submitted. I did some work getting him to move his hindquarters and shoulders away when I asked him to, slowing teaching him that kissing noises means "step away from me." He did better today than on Tuesday. I decided that I would just groom him in the round pen instead of taking him into the arena and squaring up for a fight again. So I left him alone in the pen and went back for my grooming kit.
I was pleasantly surprised when I came back to see Champ pacing the near side of the pen quietly. He was not calling for the other horses, even though they called to him. He focused on me and came to me at the fence. I was pleasantly surprised! I left him free while I brushed him and he didn't move a single leg, and didn't look for the other horses. I went to put hoof oil on his feet (they're getting quite dry) and he stepped away. So I turned it into my idea and chased him on. When I asked him to stop and approached him to put the oil on, he again stepped away. I sent him on. This happened 2 more times before he stayed still. I finished by brushing out his tail and then his face.
He was much better on the way back to the pasture. He still tried to push in on me when I dropped off my grooming kit and I had to get him to focus on my again and step out of my space, but it was better. I had to correct him to turn and face me on the other side of the gate - but again he accepted the correction and waited. Better at the last gate. He waited quietly while I removed his halter and didn't bolt away after.
All in all I consider today to be a complete success!
When I got home, I was watching some tv in the kitchen while I ate lunch. I reached up to idly scratch the back of my neck and found a bit of something in my hair. I pulled it out, not thinking much of it - it was super windy outside so it must have been a dried leaf, or bit of hay or something. I looked at what was in my hand. It was a tick. I freaked out threw it on the ground. It started to crawl away. I grabbed the nearest thing, a dish wand, and tried to crush it. It was so hard that the first hit didn't even affect it. I mashed it again and killed it. Ew, ew, ew! It was big too, bigger than the one I found on the cat in September, and red. I felt all jibbly, so I checked thoroughly for any more. I threw it in the toilet.
Then I went downstairs to grab something out of the fridge (ps: our fridge is broken, but fortunately we had a spare one downstairs from when the previous owners rented it out) and this huge spider (well, huge by Canadian standards) ran across the floor right in front of me. I've never seen a spider move that fast! I screamed. A tick, then a ginormous spider not one minute apart was way too much for me. I ran upstairs and grabbed the cat, confident that my fierce little predator would eat this trespassing terror alive.
Useless cat! He gave it a halfhearted little swat, and even though it bolted away Bruenor didn't pursue it. Loser. I grabbed a tv remote to mash the little fucker, then finished it off with a kleenex. It joined the tick in the toilet and I flushed it.
I've been paranoid about ticks since it's started getting nice out. The hiking book that I bought mentions an abundance of ticks everywhere and it honestly made me leery. Sure there were ticks back home, but the only ones I've ever seen are once on my horse 7 or 8 years ago, and the one on the cat. Everyone at work in Parks assured me that they've never even seen one in town, so I was beginning to think that maybe the concerns in the book were a little over-cautious, just like back home.
Then I find one on my fucking neck.
I don't think it bit me. It was pretty big, but I don't think it had any blood in it. One would think that it would have smushed out when I killed it.
*shudder*
The result was that instead of seeing much improvement through the course of the lesson, Megan ended up frustrated to the verge of tears, while Xena was just plain cranky. They moved on to jumping, and to my surprise Xena was very well behaved. I expected her to rush the fences and take the bit, but - while still strong on downward transitions - she was very good. The only trouble they ran into was when it looked like they were coming in for a long spot and Megan would hold for a short and Xena would stop. I was kind of surprised that the instructor didn't opt to explain to her how she should be looking for her spot 5 strides out instead of waiting until one stride out and just seeing what you get. *shrugs*
I went out to see Champ on the way home (I've backdated my first two sessions with him). My initial plan was to bring him into the arena, tie him up and brush him, then bring him out for a round pen session.
When I went out to the field to get him he was still good. He watched me while he grazed, but when I stopped and called him he came right over. He was good until we went through the first fence. Then he began to fret about leaving the others. He would shove into me and if I had let him he would have walked right over me. The second fence was the same. He was more interested in trying to locate the other horses than to pay attention to me. So I changed course and opted to round pen him first.
The session went well. There were a few times where he threatened me and I actually began to wonder if he was going to come in on me, but I just chased him on and he eventually submitted. I did some work getting him to move his hindquarters and shoulders away when I asked him to, slowing teaching him that kissing noises means "step away from me." He did better today than on Tuesday. I decided that I would just groom him in the round pen instead of taking him into the arena and squaring up for a fight again. So I left him alone in the pen and went back for my grooming kit.
I was pleasantly surprised when I came back to see Champ pacing the near side of the pen quietly. He was not calling for the other horses, even though they called to him. He focused on me and came to me at the fence. I was pleasantly surprised! I left him free while I brushed him and he didn't move a single leg, and didn't look for the other horses. I went to put hoof oil on his feet (they're getting quite dry) and he stepped away. So I turned it into my idea and chased him on. When I asked him to stop and approached him to put the oil on, he again stepped away. I sent him on. This happened 2 more times before he stayed still. I finished by brushing out his tail and then his face.
He was much better on the way back to the pasture. He still tried to push in on me when I dropped off my grooming kit and I had to get him to focus on my again and step out of my space, but it was better. I had to correct him to turn and face me on the other side of the gate - but again he accepted the correction and waited. Better at the last gate. He waited quietly while I removed his halter and didn't bolt away after.
All in all I consider today to be a complete success!
When I got home, I was watching some tv in the kitchen while I ate lunch. I reached up to idly scratch the back of my neck and found a bit of something in my hair. I pulled it out, not thinking much of it - it was super windy outside so it must have been a dried leaf, or bit of hay or something. I looked at what was in my hand. It was a tick. I freaked out threw it on the ground. It started to crawl away. I grabbed the nearest thing, a dish wand, and tried to crush it. It was so hard that the first hit didn't even affect it. I mashed it again and killed it. Ew, ew, ew! It was big too, bigger than the one I found on the cat in September, and red. I felt all jibbly, so I checked thoroughly for any more. I threw it in the toilet.
Then I went downstairs to grab something out of the fridge (ps: our fridge is broken, but fortunately we had a spare one downstairs from when the previous owners rented it out) and this huge spider (well, huge by Canadian standards) ran across the floor right in front of me. I've never seen a spider move that fast! I screamed. A tick, then a ginormous spider not one minute apart was way too much for me. I ran upstairs and grabbed the cat, confident that my fierce little predator would eat this trespassing terror alive.
Useless cat! He gave it a halfhearted little swat, and even though it bolted away Bruenor didn't pursue it. Loser. I grabbed a tv remote to mash the little fucker, then finished it off with a kleenex. It joined the tick in the toilet and I flushed it.
I've been paranoid about ticks since it's started getting nice out. The hiking book that I bought mentions an abundance of ticks everywhere and it honestly made me leery. Sure there were ticks back home, but the only ones I've ever seen are once on my horse 7 or 8 years ago, and the one on the cat. Everyone at work in Parks assured me that they've never even seen one in town, so I was beginning to think that maybe the concerns in the book were a little over-cautious, just like back home.
Then I find one on my fucking neck.
I don't think it bit me. It was pretty big, but I don't think it had any blood in it. One would think that it would have smushed out when I killed it.
*shudder*