Manny hasn't bitten anyone lately, but don't tell him that; boy was a sharky beast last night, with the fangs and the gnashing. His niptiousness is manageable on cross-ties, but when we got down to the ring and I went to check his girth, he tried Grayson-hard to make his opinion known. I knew what was going to happen when I started to tighten the cinch, but I misjudged it a little: Instead of seeing my flat hand right near his eye as he whipped his head around, he came around faster than I could get it out and and smacked cheek first into my outgoing fist. Oops. At least there wasn't a gap between action and consequence, which might've made him think we were playing a game. He seemed to get the message, and tightening the second strap was uneventful.
Once I was in the saddle, all my love for him came back. Not only has Manny almost entirely stopped rooting, between last week and this he figured out that I'll give him breaks and that he's allowed to reach down during the stretchy trot, so we bumped along comfortable with his nose in the dirt and his back relaxed for a good five minutes. Manny is the first barn horse I've been genuinely tempted to buy: He's young, he's getting fit, he's smart, his conformation is (I'm told) excellent, and if he can get past his worries on the ground he'll be entirely swoon-worthy. Pat and I are trying to schedule round-pen sessions to teach him that people are the boss of him all the time, every time; if we can get that into his head, he'll turn into one of the most popular horses in the school. Hm. On second thought, maybe we should leave him troublesome.
"O villain! O rogue! O slave! O rascal!"
"I dare say that when I get out of this bed I shall do some deed of an almost terrible virtue." —G.K. Chesterton
2 comments:
I'd be wary of a confirmed biter because that is so often a sign of pain such as in the back or legs or feet; chronic pain. He does sound awfully nice but if you're entering the buying arc of thought, be careful. I'm glad he has you in his life.
"Rastyper" now??! Did you sign up for a psychoanalytic word verification program? Or am I just going insane.
Not to fret, he's not up for sale at the moment. But his biting seems situational--cross-ties especially--rather than a reaction to specific triggers, so if he does well in the round pen, we'll see. I'd like to see one person deal with him consistently; the downside of schoolie-dom is that it's hard to see what is a reaction to people in general and what is a reaction to (possibly) pain.
Hoo boy. Drinks with a friend at the local speakeasy (a "Rite of Spring" and a "Papa Doble") make typing much more difficult. Good thing that being the blogmistress means not having to deal with tricksy captchas!
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