Sent to Bed Without Supper

I guess the constant onslaught of rain, snow, melt, rain, cold, repeat ad infinitum has made all of our tempers short. 

 I have a certain routine when I feed.  Except for horses with special circumstances like bolting feed, requiring mash, or heaves, I prefer to feed out of nose bags - little cylindrical bags with mesh sides, a smooth bottom, and a strap that goes over the horse's head.  It works great for ensuring that each horse gets *their own* feed and supplements is a huge asset for sloppy eaters who like to chew with their mouths open while looking around as they eat (Legs, I love you, but I'm talking to you here!).  I am lucky that all of the horses on my property are easy to maintain on free choice hay and only get grained once per day.  (Legs, in fact, has *gained* weight over winter for the first time ever, and the others are holding steady at a nice 5-6 BCS).

So every evening, I put the rations in the bags and head out to the field.  Larry has come to be the first one fed because he has nominated himself "King of the Pasture" and nobody else had the stones to run against him.  Usually he just crowds his way to the front, gets his bag, and is fine, but lately, he has started making nasty faces at the other horses and me, and crowding me at the gate while pushing his way into his bag.  Last night he was particularly pushy and wouldn't let me even latch the gate because he was pinning his ears and greedily shoving his nose into all the bags.  It's not like he doesn't have 4 hay racks stuffed with first and second cutting alfalfa mix in front of him all day long!  Enough's enough.  I shooed him away and tried to feed the others.  He retaliated against Legs.  I growled at him and shooed him again and this time he spun around and kicked out AT ME!  He was far enough that I could tell he meant it as a warning shot, but I got the message loud and clear.  Larry got yelled at and chased into the corner of the field.  Then he had to watch while the others got fed and I took his bag out of the field and back to the barn.  I may be anthropomorphizing here, but he looked pretty contrite when I went back out to refill the hay racks, nibbling the ground quietly and not offering to make faces or approach.  I rubbed on him and made amends after haying, but I wasn't about to relent and let him have the dinner he wanted to take by force.  We'll see how it goes tonight!

Here's hoping that, please for the love of pete let this roller coaster of miserable weather that is driving us crazy with its cyclical misery of unending cold, ice and wet causing frayed tempers and not letting us ride or do anything enjoyable relents some time, any time!

Making the best of it

We got a much needed break from frigid temps last Friday, with highs approaching 60! I would have been a fool NOT to ride. Lar hadn't been ridden since I don't know when. He was pretty good under the circumstances, but was having one of his ADD days. I've concluded that he's not a fearful or spooky horse, but he does sometimes have a hard time maintaining his concentration. He didn't misbehave, persay, but he kept getting distracted and wouldn't keep a steady pace. But hey, for a horse who hadn't been ridden in weeks, there was no bucking, bolting, or shying.

Saturday was rainy with dropping temps, and Sunday was cool but clear so I eeked in another ride. He was a different horse. Much more focused and lighter on the bit. We worked on some transitions, a little on bending ( I unfortunately can't do much in winter since I'll tear up the middle of the yard that doesn't have added sand, so I'm mostly restricted to riding around the perimeter). We can't work much on bending or canter prep, but we made the best of it with transitions, pace consistency, and going in a steadier frame. He's definitely progressed from where we started; the key will be getting the consistency. Walk to halt was getting better; he was starting to get his hind end under him and isn't bracing his neck like he used to, though though he still noses out on the downwards. I know he's a smart horse and I just need to figure out how to keep his attention and achieve consistency.