What A Difference A Day Makes

At 11:30PM Friday night I got a text from Sue (barn owner) saying that the boy had calmed down significantly and was like a different horse. She also noted that he ripped his (brand new) blanket and that I should bring a needle and thread in the morning. Me? Needle and thread? I had to ask Mike if we had any but he said no. I headed to the barn around 7:30 this morning empty handed, save for a thermos of hot coffee. My car thermometer read a whopping two degrees F.

Horse: 1, Blanket: 0

I arrived to find a seemingly content horse munching on some hay. He had finished all of his mash from the previous night which I was very happy to see. I checked his blanket only to find that whatever rip Sue had seen the night before had turned into a shredded massacre. He was far more friendly this morning and seemed almost cuddly. Er, well, at least he didn't back into a corner when I came near his stall. In fact, by the end of today he was following me around! He loves to be scratched around his ears and at the withers, and doesn't seem too head shy as long as you move slowly.

I put him in a stall with a small "playpen" paddock attached so he could spend some time outside and see the farm. He was very interested in all the horses in the riding ring all day - probably wondering why they were moving so slowly. When people or horses came to and from the barn he got very excited and bucked around his little turnout space like an idiot. But a cute idiot.

Better pictures tomorrow, I promise!

Training-wise today I worked on two things. Well, kind of. I want him to be comfortable with me touching his head and I want to be able to have access to his head when I need it. He's too tall with too long of a neck to be head shy. So one thing I did repeatedly today was apply pressure to his poll and release the pressure when he dropped his head. I was actually somewhat surprised by how easily he dropped his head and how quickly he caught on to the idea. The only other "training" type thing I did with him was walk him down to the ring and around in circles in the ring for about 10 minutes. He had a few bucking and rearing episodes but if I handled it without freaking out it couldn't have been that bad! I did have to put a shank over his nose. He is still a baby and quite strong.

I unfortunately did not get a chance to take any good unblanketed pictures of him today but will make it a priority tomorrow. I am definitely going to want before and after pictures with this guy! I also have yet to name him. The barn kids have begun calling him "Manity", as he somewhat resembles a TB mare at the barn named "Vanity". I would just as soon call him Stupid (pronounced with a lisp), but no one else seemed to like that. At any rate, I think I'm leaning towards Gambler's Choice for his show name.