Wicca Training

This was not the best day, but first...

I got all four horses fed and in their stalls. As I turned back toward the tack room I heard hooves on concrete. But... all the horses were stalled and the cows don't come in the stable when I'm in there. I turned to look:

Macchiato and I had a nice social moment. Then Trixie tossed her food bin and Macchiato decided that was his cue to leave.

I brought out Wicca, but she could tell I was in more pain than usual. I'd also taken a corticosteroid. That helps with the pain, but leaves me more easily irritated. Sometimes Wicca is really sweet about my difficult days... but sometimes, she exploits them.

Today, she exploited it.

She kept removing to move, even just getting out to the round pen. A defiant, square stand from an 800 pound horse is not something I can change with force. Try to push her by tossing the lead rope behind her or using a whip and she'll use violence back against you. "Patience" is the way to deal with her refusals; a calm wait for compliance, then lavish praise upon her when she complies. Eventually everyone will get there, and still in one piece. She also gets less stubborn over time (though it's a "two steps forward, one step back" situation).

We got out to the round pen and, once there, she followed me perfectly. We worked on this for months, and finally she has it. I took her to the mounting block and... she rotated away as I tried to climb up. When I tried to move her back in with a tap from the crop, she moved forward, away.

Around the mounting block we moved to try again. She did the same as before, but quicker.

I positioned her again, and that time she stuck her head between me and the mounting block. I let her stand like that for a moment, then I moved her head. I then let her stand for a bit longer, having a break.

I said, "Going up" as I always do before I climb the mounting block with her (she freaks out if not warned). I stepped up fast and threw a leg over her, faster than she expected. I was on and she's standing. What a good girl! She's developed a habit of trotting away as I mount (which is... exciting), but she stood! I lavished praise.

And then the battles started. She wouldn't move. When she finally moved, it's at a trot, not a walk. I responded to this by telling her to trot. Can't have that! She stopped.

She won't go where I ask. I can pull her head to the side and push her off balance. When I tired that, she hopped, little "I'll buck, I'm gonna buck, are you really going to make me buck?" warnings. I can't seem to get my seat secure on her this day and she knew it. She wanted me uncomfortable. She wanted me frustrated. She wanted to get my goat.

I wrapped my legs around her, using brute force to hold me on instead of proper seat movement. I had let Wicca's goadings, my pain, and the steroids combine to get the best of me. I tried harsher cues (taps from the crop, digging my heels in), and Wicca gave me more threats. I tried pulling her off balance, and she tried to bite my foot.

"Fine, then, just stand here!" I said, angry. She stood. I glared at the back of her head. She stood. I took a deep breath. Her head lowered. I lengthened the reins. She sighed. I pet her shoulder. We both relaxed.

We stayed there, her just standing, for forever (maybe a minute?). Finally, I asked her to walk. There was a beat of hesitation, and then she stepped forward. Praise. She walked on a loose rein, turning for gentle cues, stopping for my voice alone, and generally behaving fairly well. I didn't ask her to do the really hard (for her) stuff, but when I asked for the medium hard stuff, she only gave me minor pushback. We walked around like this, both of us more calm, for a little bit. Then I asked for a hard thing again. She really had to put in the mental work to get herself to do it, but she did. I rewarded her with praise and dismounting.

Wicca's behavior this day was much worse than Friday or Wednesday, but I was in worse shape, both mentally and physically, too. We'll have bad days. I stayed on, despite a poor seat and her intentionally attempts to unsettle me. I also managed to find my patience, which helped Wicca find hers, and we finished on an accomplishment.

And, of course, I had that wonderful Macchiato greeting.

That might have been a "worse than normal" day, but it was a pretty good day.