Bad News: Moose has some kind of funny looking thing on his foot. I don't even know what to call it. It's right below his fetlock on his right hind foot, and it's like a bunch of lumps that looks like mud but they stand apart from his skin. They're attached to his skin, though. I tried removing one and he moved his foot, so he didn't like that idea. My mom's going to look at it tomorrow and see whether we need to call the vet or not. So, I just rented a DVD on Tai Chi and I think I might try that in a few minutes to calm down. I hate unknowns like this, so I'm overreacting a little. Sorry.
I was very proud of myself today, though. I spoke up for a horse! I was putting a horse out in his pasture when I heard someone yell. After the horse was in, I saw Bandero eating grass with a blanket half-on and put the pieces together. :) I haltered him up, and the guy who had tried to put the blanket on him came over. He held him while I disentangled the blanket. Once its off, he tells me to stand back. I move away. He slaps Bandero on the butt with the end of the lead rope. I was astonished, for this guy does Parelli, too. I actually defended the horse, because that wasn't fair. I'm proud of myself for sticking up for him, because normally I wouldn't have the confidence to speak up in front of someone I don't know very well. So, a step in the right direction.
Based on the last post I wrote, I went outside today and got Moose all tacked up. I think he's crooked in his body, because I only have 1 shim and I put it in the same place on each side and his right side was perfect, but his left side was tight near his shoulders no matter where I put the pad. I don't know if I'm being too picky or if I'm blind, because it was tight no matter where I put it. I admit that it frustrated me. Just another reason I can't ride yet. Ah well, great time to use "oh boy!"
The cool thing was that I realized Moose is being dominant. Know his unconfidence in Zone 3? That's still an issue, but I realized to compensate for it I've been letting him boss me around a little bit. I thought he was unconfident with the saddle, so I let him sniff it and whatever, and I think he was a little bit unconfident. But then, he gave me this face today: his ears weren't really back, but it was kind of like a warning face. I ignored it at first. But, then he did it again. I backed him up hard. He licked his lips. Ding! Point for Erica. So I felt cool I found out that the threshold has moved and I noticed.
Then, this translated into our Circling Game. Moose was doing pretty well, until he started coming in when I didn't ask him to. He came in 3 times on one lap. First 2 I let him, it's about the relationship after all, you know? But by the third, I was like "Okay, dude, that's enough." And I Phase 4ed him twice with the stick. He was surprised, but it was definitely a dominant thing, because he tossed his head and ran off. He did 4 laps trotting and then I brought him in. Then, we did a little bit with our downward transitions, because I always focus on upwards instead of downwards, so they're practically non-existent. Funnily enough, Moose performed perfectly, even though he shouldn't've even known what I was asking. Hmm, "how interesting!" So, we ended the session when he was able to canter without pulling on the rope. Oh, forgot to mention: cantering was WAY easier for him today. Don't know why but it was.
And he even offered to do some close-range Circling Game! He was trotting, and I asked him to canter, but instead he circled around me. It wasn't super close, but it was way closer than normal. Very cool. He had his head nicely tucked and his body was curved, too, it seems, so sweet!
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to sit on him today (I was hoping to) because he got nervous about the saddle. I don't know what set him off, but he got a little jumpy and didn't seem happy. I didn't think the saddle changed at all, but the pad has a tendency to slip back, so I decided to just take it off. He did good for one day. Besides, it's not about the saddle.
And also, Bella is terrorizing our round pen! Since it's in their pasture, she's learned she can push on the wire and spread it out. Well, she keeps knocking the wire down, and tried to walk through it today. What a sassy! I'm thinking I might need to switch to boards, because if she no longer respects the fence, it isn't going to last long.
Oh, oh! Personal best time: I carried a saddle with girth falling off, pad, shim, 22' line, carrot stick, and 12' line into our barn through the mud at 1 time without getting anything dirty. Sorry, had to brag! I should've got a picture. I could barely see where I was going.
Also, I thought about my personality around the horses, and I think I'm LBE. This is a theory in development, so not going to go into lots of details. But I thought about how when I'm outside by the horses I'm direct-line a lot, and pretty goal-oriented. Well, those aren't exactly LBI characteristics! So, we'll see. . .
