This Sourness (the mare is having ) is NOT what you think normally about this topic.It has nothing to do with riding off property, or away from her boarding herd.
I have had some pretty bad behaviour with a "Barn Sour" mare- ere now, at the former barn. She loved her herd and it's handsome gelding Romeo, and Alpha mare Panna. They have shared her life for the past 5 years, on and off as we have ridden and camped and boarded together.
But this "Nappy" behaviour is NOT what I speak of now. No, my mare's sourness, continues for coming into the barn! An altogether weird occurrence that coincides with the Red horse of doom arriving, and my mare coming home from our beach trip ,to have him stare at her.
He is actually kinda sweet, very needy, maybe proud cut as I heard he displayed some aggressive behaviour towards another gelding. WHATEVER the case with him...my mare, she simply is un -nerved and it is NO FAULT of any one's and I am dealing with it best I can..it is NOT dangerous, just severely strange to have my mare not respond to me the way she does normally...by meeting me at the gate to come in, or slowly walking down the long hill, away from the stable, as we ride off property.
Now, she actually wants to trot down the hill! At least I know her saddle won't slip and it does not cause her any pains!
She also is choosing to go all the farthest places away from the stable in her turnouts to hang in and at the quickest, most forward paces to leave the area, as we ride. I am blaming this frantic behaviour on a recent lost shoe. Her turnout buddy herded her and ran her off recently in the back lot turn out. And she tends to run as she gets turned out there as well.
I suspected that area could make for overreaching and ripping off of the EWshoes. It is not the first time a horse has overreached and pulled a shoe there. It is sinkhole city and uneven.NORMAL for the winter we had and the grounds that got mashed with 1,000 lb horses! The plan is for grading it and graveling it...yea!
I LOVE MY PBO's for how conscientious they are!
Less mess for retrieving the horses (wintertime)and less chance hopefully, of the overreach situation.
I noticed a gouge in her heal last Monday, and put some protection on her...'cause if she is hitting heself in the heal, she may also rip the E.W. shoes off!
I use BELLBOOTS for just this reason. Well, oops..someone thought I forget them on her, and took them off. She is ripped one of the E.W. shoes off by the time I got back to the stable, after the work week. BLAST!
Last year, in 3 sets of shoes, this never happened, thankfully...but the terrains were very even and flat where she was, plus I kept the BELLBOOTS on her always for the protection of overreaching.
Her hoof wall did not look bad, as I called the farrier to reschedule the shoe to be reset, the farrier had asked that question.
Today -SUNDAY- I got it reset and went out for the first ride since last Monday( when I actually wrote this post...was waiting to see if anything ahd changed in the mare's attitude for the barn- NOPE) Procede reading and nothing has changed...sigh...they dislike whom they dislike, just as we do.
I did an experiment with the mare, after I finished my Monday Ritual of making her feed grain packets up for the coming week, and then, after I held my sissy's mare Pantz, for the new Barefoot trimmer we found for our two mares, I got back to my place to find...the mare hiding...wayyyyy in the back of her run. She apparently has muddied it up good by running into so much! She would not come to me. For the second time, I trapsed back through her muddy place, brought her in and cleaned her legs off, to put her leg boots on. I decided to put the hot-tape up (making it smaller and therefore easier for me to reach her) in her run, so she could not avoid me... but I know it is not me, she actually was avoiding the Red horse of doom.
She stood...not allowing her backside to be towards him...look at how far away he is!
Hangover looking mare..not getting her beauty rest!
I again, had to groom her facing the opposite direction...there is something wrong with this picture...the nice rubber matting is NOT under us!
She was very pensive..showing me that she did NOT like her backside to him....
But, when I turned her to face his way, she relaxed , snorted and sofened her eye...and that was what was needed to continue.
....no amount of time, standing in the ties was going to change this.. human reasoning of "let her deal", may get her hurt as she wanted to flip around to avoid him. Common sense made me just turn her, so she could see him. She snorted relief, and so did I!
Look left, look right
For me, it is not worth picking a fight ..those I choose -so I may accomplish a move forward with her trust and willingness. I know her well and this kinda thing will just have to settle on it's own, without me FORCING the issue.
We went out to ride, the normal way...she wanted to trot..I allowed her to, if she stayed lower relaxed. She was in a nice self carriage, on the buckle. She wanted to trot down the hill too..but I did not, so we walked at hyper speed.
Walkin' kickin' !!!!
Once on the road, my experiment of "lets see where she goes" started and...I was impressed that she was so long and low with her back under me... so-we remained on the buckle.
She was wow-so moving out in the kickiest, swinging walk ever! I decided to influence by body weight only, and not picking up the reins. As I looked down into the woods left..she went there. Then, looked up the road, she went there. I LOVE her sensitivity to my weight and slight bump of calf. She went all the places I "looked" to go plus-all the places she normally does not wish to go...farthest away from the stable!
We stayed out for some 2 hours..doing this..and I can say- she would not have asked to come home...A bit sad truly. But home we did stride towards, eventually.
Again, she asked to go an opposite direction once up the last Long hill..we did so and came in on the opposite side of the stable-still, the mare being somewhat reluctant.
Funniest thing too....she was so en rapt with looking ahead for the Red Horse (even outside the fence line) she and I were taken unawares...when A bicyclist announced himself, as he glided very stealthily up behind us!! She paid him no mind, as he whizzed on by..I laughed and she kept her focus.
I am not sure(when?) she will get over this ultra vigilant behaviour .Though not many, if any, can see any difference in her-She always tells me the truth! As someone asked me recently..."do you talk to your horse?" Yes, not in common language, but by a horsey sort of lingo of subtulty and stance. The more important thing is to me is: my mare talks to me, all the time. I hear her language, I see her language..it's is so obvious to me!
Lovers of equines learn this language ~from their own.
