Ouch

My 4th ride on MerryLegs went superb. We practiced our walk/whoa transitions, did some straight lines and he seemed to understand when I wanted to turn. Things were looking good.

On Saturday, I rode at a walk for about 15 minutes. I decided to ask for a trot. I tried the ride before, but he didn’t do it, and I didn’t push it. This time, I was more determined. I said the word, squeezed my legs, got nothing and continued to squeeze. Next thing I knew, I was flying through…

Rides Two and Three

Totally uneventful.  I didn’t have my number one assistant, Ellen, but Kevin did a fine job as number two assistant.  He held MerryLegs for mounting and stood with us as we practiced standing quietly and walked by our side.  He stayed with us the majority of ride #2, but I only had him help a little on ride #3. 

We haven’t done much except practice “walk” and “whoa.”  He only tried backing up a couple of times.  We got stuck at a standstill…

Because a person doesn’t turn 50 everyday…

I wanted to do something special on my special day.  I didn’t tell anybody, just in case I changed my mind.  The conditions had to be right.  It needed to be quiet at the barn, MerryLegs had to be in the right frame of mind and my gut had to say it was right.

I saddled and bridled the little guy and…

Last night, Kevin and I were finally able to cross the river in at least a week.  Both horses seemed excited to be doing something other than going up and down the hill.  Unfortunately, we didn’t get very far before we were blocked by a tree across the trail.  Dejectedly, we rode back.  When we were nearly about to cross the river to go home, Kevin suggested turning around and doing it again. 

At first, both horses didn’t want to go away from home, but with a little kick,…

Paradise Returns

Mrs. Shoes replied to my email.  As I expected, MerryLegs was never a barn sour horse at his Canadian home.  She described how she gentled him by touching him all over with the whip and the rope.  This was excellent news.  Since I planned to do it, too, it would just be a review of something he already knew.  Evidently, everything I was experiencing was a new behavior, my theory was probably correct—and the good news—it isn’t very ingrained in his head. …

Trouble in Paradise

I have been having some trouble with MerryLegs.  It all started when he didn’t want to walk out to the loop.  I don’t know what caused him to feel that way, but I couldn’t get him budged without a struggle.  That was the beginning.  It began to spread.  Soon, he didn’t want to walk away from the barn, down the driveway, down the street and eventually, he didn’t want to go out the barn door.  At one point, he didn’t want to go in the barn, either.  Ellen…

Great Success!

Friday evening found me struggling with MerryLegs.  He didn’t want to go out of the barn, he didn’t want to walk  on the street, he didn’t want to walk back to the loop, he didn’t want to go around the first corner of the loop,  he didn’t want to go into the indoor arena…  He wore me out.  He would either plant his feet or go backwards. …

Improvements?

I decided to try taking MerryLegs down to the river in the evening all by myself.  No Ellen to give us moral support.  I had no problem getting him to the street.  As we were walking down the road, a couple cars went flying by.  It bothered him, and he jumped a little.  When I got to the head of the trail, he said he couldn’t enter the dark…

The Honeymoon is Over

I knew that MerryLegs and I would have our “moments” as we got to know each other, but I was surprised about what the first moment would be.  I took him out of the barn to go for a walk on the driveway—heading for the back of the property.  After just a few steps, he decided he wasn’t going.

He has had some other incidents of refusing, and I was able to get him started back up by shifting his weight.  That wasn’t working, this time.  I…

On Saturday morning, I decided it was time to take a hike down the hill to the river with MerryLegs.  He was very, very excited.  As he walked down the hill, he looked left, right, left, right.  There was so much to see!  Actually, all there was to see was a lot of trees, but MerryLegs thought it was exciting.

He did so well that when I got to the…