Who's Scared, Her or Me?

This was my horse page article for this past week. I might be slow, but I always get there eventually.


When the Boogy Man Comes To Stay
By Janet Huntington


When my yellow mare was a three-year-old she showed an early talent for cattle work equaled only by her foolishness. Silly and emotional, she had an inclination to whip into a spinning, bucking, twirly thing when she didn’t feel secure. My approach was to work her hard, try not to over-react and to keep exposing her to life’s up and downs. I figured she’d get her head on straight as time went on.

Unfortunately, my previously tried and true method wasn’t working like it normally did. She was getting bigger, stronger, more physically fit and much more athletic. Her spinning, bucking, twirly thing was getting harder to sit and she was getting a little more loft every time she went for it. If I’m being honest, I have to admit she was beginning to make me nervous.

One afternoon the boss and I had finished a good solid work out on buffalo. He opened the gate and followed the buffalo out to drive them back to their pen.

This was usually my job and my little filly decided to take offence. She hollered and launched into her routine. By the time my boss came back I was puffing, she was sweat soaked and we both were about to go at it again.

“What’s going on in here?” he asked.

“She’s losing her mind,” I told him.

“Then why are you still standing there letting her rest up! Get her to work. Make her work until the only thing she has on her mind is what you want and how fast she can get it done for you.” He shook his head the way he did when he was ready to throw his hands in the air and just give up on me. Then he left to change horses.

So we went to work. My bratty little horse still thought she should try to squeal and buck, but I kept increasing what I asked from her and demanding I get it, all at a pretty good clip.

When the boss came back with his next horse he told me to take my filly outside and work her alone.

“Don’t quit until all she wants to do is stand quiet with her head down and wait for you,” he snapped.

I sighed. Then I went out to do what I was told.

My nerves were zinging a little, but not enough to admit it to my boss. Our workout ended up being pretty intense. By the time I had her where she should be the boss had ridden through all his colts and I was three or four behind. But my filly was quiet. She was tired but not exhausted. She was respectful. She was calm.

“That’s how your horse needs to start her day,” my boss and mentor told me.

“Huh?” I replied. Nobody has ever accused me of being the sharpest tool in the shed.

“When she starts the day with the same attitude she ends with you’ll know you’re getting somewhere,” he explained.

This became my standard gauge for when my horses were ready to go. When they started the ride with the same relaxed demeanor they ended it with I knew they were on the right track.

These days my horse training gig is over and I’m riding my own for fun. I have also found myself dealing with my yellow mare sliding back into her old behavior.

She’s being a snorty, spooky little freak. Her anxiety is through the roof when I take her anywhere by herself but the arena. Even when she has a buddy, if she’s in the mood to cause a problem, it can get ugly.

She’s making me pretty irritable. I’m having to fight the urge to get angry. There’s no way she’s as scared as she’s acting. She knows better. Right?

Here’s the kicker. She doesn’t. My confident little show horse is fast becoming a neurotic wreck and it’s my fault. All mine.

I don’t ride her as often as I used to. I have changed what I ask from her. Instead of a regular routine of arena and cattle work we’ve been out on the trail, riding in groups and alone and working on maneuvers different from the reined work she knows so well. She became a little boogered. She also has become a little buddy sour. I’ve been letting it go.

Old me would have pushed her through this with a vengeance. She would have realized I wasn’t asking her to do something dangerous, there was nothing she needed to be afraid of and we would have gone on our merry way.

New me has become hesitant. Am I pushing her too hard? Am I expecting more than she could handle?

Old me expected results from every horse on every ride. I knew how much each horse could handle and expected 75% effort from them every day. I didn’t always get it and some days I got more, but I had a clear goal in mind.

New me might go play in the creek, work on strengthening or bending in the arena or just let her graze while I groom her.

I’ve been falling down on the job. I haven’t been expecting my horse to begin her day as calm as we end it. I can’t because I haven’t committed to riding her until she is completely calm.

In her horsey little brain this has translated to thinking her hissy fits have merit. If I take her home when she’s being a spooking fool she is going to think her spooking got her home. Before long the spooking will move from silliness to anxiety to outright fear. I wouldn’t take her home when she was scared if she wasn’t right, would I?

It’s the same with a horse who pitches a fit when he leaves his buddy. If I cave and only ride with the buddy he’s going to think there really is something to worry about. Because you would have made him go if there wasn’t. All of a sudden wanting to hang with his homies turns to real fear and then a real fight in no time.

This stuff can inch up on you, it certainly has me. The fix? Only take on what you have time to finish.

If I only have 20 minutes I’m going to lope some circles. Maybe somebody else will do some ground work or just groom, but try to make sure your horse is relaxed and well behaved before you put them up.

If I have the afternoon ahead of me, then I’ll go tackle the scary trail or riding over to work in the FRRC arena at Metcalf Park.

Get to your trainer if it’s more than you can handle, but make sure you get some instruction for yourself.

I also finally realized what my boss was really after on that afternoon. My little filly wasn’t the only one who needed to work through some issues. I was letting her nerves get to me. A few wet saddle blankets built my confidence as much as hers.

It’s not just my horse who can turn a silly spook into a serious spook and move on into fear. I can jump at the boogy man as well as anybody. Boo!