Saturday, April 18, 2009

Three Weeks old ALREADY!

Lady is now three weeks old. She is Kid #1's 4-H project, so today Kid#1 and Kid #2 (Foxy's 4-H project)worked their horses on showmanship. Foxy was not happy about being lead away from Lady and Belle was left in her stall. Fortunately, Kid #2 can handle Foxy's tantrums. He made her run circles when she was panicking and was able to get her attention on working, once she realized that --

A -- Lady was still in the arena
B -- Lady was not being hurt
C -- Kid #2 was actually WORKING her

... then she settled right down to work.

Lady lead beautifully. Kid #1 is no longer worried about getting kicked. She finally figured out that as long as she was really close Lady's kicks don't connect and she can stop tantrums much quicker if she is right on top of things. Lady was really excited to be doing her own thing away from Mom and Aunt.


Belle was furious. She was left in the stall so that I could focus on the kids and kick the separation anxiety problem. Fortunately, Belle will not be at the 4-H shows, but we still need to work on the problems NOW. After the kids were finished, I lunged Belle for a while (she was still completely aggravated with the situation -- now Foxy and Lady were in the stalls -- the joys of not enough arena space, and sharing with others!!!) Then I rode Belle. Now if I had been smart, I would have tacked her up. NOOOOOOOOO! I tied the loose end of the lead rope to her halter and hopped on. She tried a couple of times to disengage my butt from her back, but I held on. After working on flexing and a slow jog, she finally settled down a lot(after working with her as a carriage horse, I discovered that when she is wired, letting her go fast is not a good idea. She just amps up higher. If I can focus the energy elsewhere, like a slow jog, turns, flexing that iron rod of a neck, then she is more likely to relax, slightly.

I should have called it quits when she was happy, but NOOOOOOOOO. I had to tie her up and finish cleaning her stall. She tried digging a hole to China.

Lady is suffering from Foal Heat Diarrhea (happily being treated with Desitin after unhappily having her rump, legs, and tail scrubbed down). Foxy is suffering from being a cranky mare in heat. Belle is just a cow that needs more work. Hopefully I will feel better soon. I can feel a relapse coming on. . .

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