First Ride at the Farm

Sometimes the fastest way to accomplish something is to take it slow.

                        The last days of August were hot and dry. Auggie was beginning to settle into his new surroundings a little at a time for the first couple days. He was turned out in the pasture with two other geldings during the day and was behaving quite well, according to Rich and Amy. He really enjoyed eating and was mostly focused on grazing when turned out. He still walked on the lead with his head held high like a massive periscope, though, and he walked with a definite purpose. He was still a bundle of nerves and seemed to internalize his anxiety. 

    I planned on taking things as slowly as possible. He was in a strange place again, and I had no desire to make this change a bad experience for him. I now had a bridle that would fit him, so the process of tacking up and taking him out for his first ride could be completed. If I could figured out how to overcome his fear of being touched on the face and get the bridle on, that is.

     It was the Wednesday before the Labor Day holiday, and summer camp at the farm had ended a few weeks earlier, however, school-aged kids were still darting around the place as afterschool lessons were ramping up for the fall show season. It was a lively, happy place, full of laughter and joy just as I remembered it from my own childhood. Auggie did not seem to mind the little kids running by him, or the loud sudden noises they produced. I found this surprising as many horses simply do not enjoy the commotion that comes with energetic children. 

   

Auggie attempting to eat grass while I sponge him down. Notice the marks on his leg where he had been pin-fired in his past life; our best guess from his racing records is that this occurred in 2015 when he was 4 years old. 

    In his stall, I groomed him quietly. I was dreading the fight to put the bridle on, but I was not about to quit now. Once he was groomed, I attempted to bridle him, slowly, gently and carefully, but despite my best efforts, his head flew up almost hitting the ceiling. He was planning on winning this battle, so I dug in. If I could outlast this behavior, we could accomplish something.

• I tried cross ties. He hated crossties.
• I tried gently putting my arm over his head and almost got smacked into the ceiling.
• I tried bribery, but he wasn't going to trust me. 
• I tried leaving the lead rope on the halter and slipping the bridle over the halter, which almost worked, but he then flung his head and nearly hit the ceiling again.

    It became clear that he was just plain scared of having his face touched and he wasn't comfortable with me yet. He tolerated the saddle and girth just fine, but absolutely did not want his face or mouth touched. He had previously allowed Josh at the rescue to put a bridle on without any incident, so I could only surmise that he just simply did not trust me yet or that his teeth were bothering him for some reason. 

    After what felt like eternity, I decided to give it one more go. I draped the reins over his neck, slowly and held the bridle open towards his face with bit clearly visible. At last, he relented and lowered his face into the bridle and took the bit on his own terms. Auggie was not one to be forced, but rather asked. It seemed like a miracle, and I felt some of my frustration melt away instantly. I decided that afternoon. to make an appointment for him with the horse dentist to see if there was any physical reason for his resistance. More on that appointment later (spoiler alert, he hates the dentist).

    Once he was saddled and ready, I was already tired out, but still determined to continue mission. He followed obediently to the indoor arena, although he walked like he was going to mow something down. He looked around at everything, but never spooked, even when a couple kids popped out from behind a shed row running full speed. Auggie was pensive, cautious, and curious, but he was not explosive as far as I could tell. 

    He initially hesitated to walk into the arena, where it was dark and enclosed compared to what he was used to. I encouraged him a little to cross the threshold of the aluminum building that housed the arena.  A double row of horse stalls lined the front of the arena and you had to walk past the chaos of feeding time before actually getting to the ring. Auggie tolerated this part very well, as workers scurried from stall to stall throwing hay to impatient horses demanding their evening meal. In the ring, some of the young riding students were beginning to gather for their 4:30 lesson. Ponies and girls were scattered all over, and I walked Auggie past them around the outside of the arena. 

    I hand walked him two laps until he felt sufficiently settled with the situation. I allowed him to pause and soak it all up. Everything was brand new to him. The jumps were strange and unusual for an Amish Cart horse. He snorted at the fake flowers in the jumps, but he never took a wrong step. I patted his neck and led him to the mounting block to get on. He stood like a solid citizen while I got on, and I breathed a sigh of relief that he was handling this so well. Little did I know that the mounting block would become a point of contention in the near future.

    We walked the outer edge of the ring a few times as it came closer to lesson time for the kiddos. Donna, one of the instructors at the farm, came into the arena to begin adjusting girth and stirrups for the beginners. Auggie watched, and the kids watched him. He was big and unusual, and most importantly, he was new to them. There was always much excitement about a new horse in town. 

   Once the lesson began, I hopped off of Auggie brought him back to the barn to untack him. It didn't seem like much, but for him, it was a big deal. It was the first tiny step in a very long journey, but I was starting to feel more confident that he could handle life as a riding horse.