Wednesday Night's Rides

Last night, when I got to the barn, the arena was free. I did a test lounge with Cole. His mind was in the right place, so we only lounged 5 minutes. I hurried back and tacked him up. By the time I returned to the arena, a horse was being led in it. That was no big deal, but a couple minutes later, one of the new teenagers came in to ride. I never met this one, before. I warned her that Cole was green and could do unexpected things. Well, she was going to ride bareback, and didn’t take off the horse’s blanket. It was the nylon type. As she scrambled aboard, it made all kinds of swishing noises. That really freaked Cole out. I struggled and somehow managed to keep him for bolting. If he were to spook before the girl was in place, it could cause a wreck.


He was still nervous as she started to walk about. I had him stand, and clicked him for it. After a minute or so, he still didn’t relax, so I got an idea. I threw my mitten on the ground. He picked it up, and he was fine after that. It distracted him, and he forgot what was bothering him.  

I was able to do some great trotting circles, and he didn’t misbehave a single time after that. This teen was quiet and polite. I won’t mind riding with her in the future. The jury is still out on the other two.
I cleaned the stalls while the horses were getting their hay.

Once Cruiser ate for a bit, I took him out for his ride. I trotted him for several minutes, and he was sound. He did much better than Monday, but he is still getting very nervous when we go clockwise. I do believe it is his cataract in that eye. When it is on the outside, he gets worried, throws his head up and tilts it the same way as the blind horse we have in our barn does when she trots.

I will just keep walking that way to, hopefully, make him more confident. He doesn’t even want to walk that way, tries to stop or turnaround. This has been going on for a few years, but this year is so much worse. I can’t wait until I can get him on the trail. He is fine there, unless he goes from a dark area to a suddenly light area. He will throw his head up like someone poked him in the eye, but it only lasts for a couple seconds and he relaxes.

It should only be about a month before we can sporadically go down the trail. I just have to be patient. Someday, this snow will melt…