Keeping it real - Part 1

*Note: These events happened back in October and I started writing this post a few weeks ago... I have been tempted to just post cute horse and cat pictures and not talk about the not-so-good things that have been going on...

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I haven’t been posting as much lately because I’ve been in a bit of slump. I find I really have a hard time when it gets dark so early – I have about 45 minutes of “daylight” left by the time I get home. Also, Spencer and I are having some minor issues. I’ve been trying to figure out how to write about it, but haven’t had much luck. Today I just decided to try typing it out and see what happens...

When I bought Spencer, the only negative thing the owner and coach had to say about him was that he sometimes had a bit of attitude with new people. They said that with new people he would get a bit bossy and sometimes do a little cow kick, but if you nipped it in the bud it wouldn’t be a problem. I didn’t really think anything of it, as he was really good for my rides and the following six weeks after I got him home.

Our first six weeks were great – he was easy to handle and I felt very comfortable riding him. He didn’t seem outwardly stressed about being turned out alone at all. After the six week mark, I noticed one day he was tense and a little difficult to handle. He cow-kicked a couple of times in the cross ties, but I gave him a little smack and he stopped. I continued on with my day/week and didn’t think much else of it.

A couple of weeks later, I was longing him instead of riding since it was really windy. After about 10 minutes on the longe line, he started cow-kicking and stopping to face me. He wasn’t acting dangerous or anything, you could just tell he was frustrated and didn’t want to work. I was able to get him going again, but then stopped the longe session because it just didn’t seem to be worth it to push him, as I was getting angry and frustrated with the whole situation.

I have kept in contact with his previous owner and emailed her once the behaviour started showing up. She was really helpful and said that it was just him being a bit dominant and grumpy and he would work through it. She explained that she was a bit nervous as well when she first bought Spencer and he really helped her become a confident leader. She told me that he had never been aggressive or dangerous in his behaviour. She mentioned that she thought he might have had ulcer issues in the past, but never had a vet confirm it. He wasn’t acting like a horse with ulcers to me and I had a chiro check him over, so I was fairly certain there weren’t any obvious pain issues.

At this point, I was able to see that there were several small problems brewing:

• Spencer was alone and to me seemed a tiny bit anxious all the time
• I was spending less time out at the barn since it was getting dark so early and I was nervous
• I was becoming more and more nervous of his behaviour and didn’t want to do something to make it worse
• Since I struggle with confidence issues, I was sure that I was a big part of the problem – I didn’t have the confidence to be a good or consistent leader, so Spencer was trying to take control

To be completely honest, there were a few weeks where I was really questioning horse ownership. I felt that I was ruining a good horse and that I didn’t deserve to have horses. I had this nice little property and would only be able to have a quiet old horse that wouldn’t be as much fun to ride, etc. etc. I even contemplated asking Spencer’s previous owner if they wanted him back. The only thing that stopped me was that I was sure that if I just had the right knowledge, I could turn things around, as I really like Spencer.

To be continued...