What the HECK do I look like?!?!?
Oh, how I wish I could have someone videotape me during sessions! That would be SOOO beneficial! Especially today . . .
I had lessons today, so I couldn't play with the ponies for very long. I decided to just take one of them out and just let him/her graze. Well, Moose volunteered to be haltered (yippee!), so I attempted to take him out. We didn't make it past the gate. I hadn't noticed beforehand, but Moose has a threshold practically ON the gate to go outside (which basically shows how herd-bound he is). Therefore, I suspended all plans for outside activity and just went back inside the pasture. I can't deal with thresholds under pressure when I only had a limited time.
So, we went back in and just messed around for a little while. I checked out our Friendly, did a little Porcupine. Mostly, I just was trying to read him correctly, so we didn't get a whole lot done. But we really had a "HOW INTERESTING!!!!!!!!!!" moment. Moose tried to rub on me, and I immediately took it as dominance. So, I reacted with a strong Forehand driving game. I automatically regretted that: what if it ruined his confidence? But, then I tried a Friendly toss of the string over his back and he didn't care! And I mean really didn't care! He was too busy licking and chewing! He seriously was licking and chewing for at least 3 minutes straight! His head was down, and he kept licking over and over again. If he wasn't licking, his head was down and he was blowing. He blew for a long time, about every 45 seconds. He even moaned, hehe! Then, he started itching! *Lightbulb clicks on* I realized that Moose never itches on line. And so, that made me wonder if he was actually trying to be dominant in the first place!
So, I thought about the whole thing, and came up with the phrase "My horse is my mirror." Then, was Moose trying to tell me that I was hyped up, too? Because I know there have been times that I've been on more adrenaline that that! So, maybe he finally finished settling in or something, because he was really digesting a thought there! Or . . . he could've just been plain itchy!
You sound like me - always trying to figure things out! Carson did the same rubbing thing. I, also, was told it was dominate. I wondered about that at the time, because it didn't seem dominate. Then one day, when I was doing something momentarily, I noticed him doing the same thing to a rail. What he was doing was trying to get his halter off of his nose! I suggest wait until he does it again and see if he responds to scratching or if he starts pushing you around.
ReplyDeleteI've enjoyed reading and want to read more. I've been thinking about you and Moose, wondering how you are coming along with each other. I'll have to come back when I have more time and read on. (I got Pony Boy's book and am looking forward to reading it. I see you have him mentioned.)