Foamy mare!

So, there is good news and bad news.

First the bad. She's tip-toeing again with a *very* slight limp and I have no idea why. No more under saddle work even light. She may not be lame, but she will get there soon enough at the rate we are going.

So this morning she decided she didn't want to be caught. After about 5 minutes of me calmly walking after her, not giving up, she stopped and decided she was not going to win the battle.

I have no idea what her problem was. Well, now I might. After she charged yesterday Andrea chased her off. "Chased her off" could mean she yelled at her, popped a lunge whip and corrected the behavior, or it could mean she literally chased her around. Either way, I have a feeling it's probably connected to her not wanting to be caught - perhaps she thought I was another human back to chase her around? I mean, she is NEVER hard to catch, and she was not in a bad mood at all today, so I can only assume that's the reason.

Also, I found out Victoria WAS leading a horse - Zeus. I think he's a little lower on the totem pole out there. I highly doubt she was targeting Victoria now. After all, the vast, vast majority of horses are not going to randomly charge a human being unprovoked. Still not okay, but like I said - makes much more sense than her randomly charging a person.

Anyway. Once she was caught and inside she was totally mellow and happy. Stood still while I groomed and tacked her. Then I took her out and lunged her. In sidereins. Well, she was inverted and ugly on the line. I think the movement of the chain (which I wish was NOT on my lunge, I do not use that chain whatsoever, it just acts like dead weight to swing and bother the horse) was bothering her. I was a little uneasy about free lunging with tack and side reins. But I told the red mare I would take a leap of faith since we were not getting anywhere on the line.

Now, usually, round pen or not, I like a lunge line because it keeps them on a proper circle and allows the human more power over their carriage. Apparently, this is not so with Amber. I was expecting her to want to turn in and be all over the place without the direction of the line, and expecting her to have no concept of self-carriage whatsoever...but...alas...

She stuck to the rail like glue, got nice and round, she stretched down, and she put herself on the correct bend - you could see the outside rein steady and the inside had a little slack. On the forehand, but given her back feet, I was impressed. We only worked about 10 minutes - I wanted her to get the work, but not over do it with the limp. It was barely noticeable, but definitely there. I don't think she has had much lunging experience, but she did great.

This will DEFINITELY be incorporated into our future training once we get back 100%. I didn't know how she'd react to side reins, but it couldn't have been better, and I think it will be a huge aid to getting her to accept contact, and will also help her build up the right muscles so she can HOLD that contact.

I tossed her a flake of hay and sat in the tack room (which her stall is right across from) and watched her eat while I waited for it to be work time. I heard some noise from the dry lot beside the barn, but just thought it was the mare in there being...well, a mare. When I walked out into the aisle, all 3 horses had escaped and were loose. The flimsy chain on the gate had simply been popped open. *sigh*

I just do NOT like how often horses get loose out there. It's like at least once or twice a week horses break out. Every barn gets a break out every now and then - it happens, and that's just part of having horses. But as many times as it happens out there is unacceptable, doubly so for a boarding facility. I do not even care if they don't go anywhere but in the barn, there is still so much that can happen! Even things in the barn. And God forbid they venture into the road.

*Headdesk* Two more weeks. I want to leave on good terms but it's getting harder and harder. Already our hopes of showing is probably pushed to summer. I want her feet to be 100% clear before I put her in heavy work again, and it will take 2-3 months to get her fit and responsive as I need her to be with this time off.