Chapter Nine - Back to Work

Well, it's mid April 2010 and I have had Harley for 11 months now.  He is a different horse from when I first got him.  I think there will always be ghosts in the shadows for Harley, after so many years of mistreatment, but they rarely raise their ugly heads any more, and he copes much, much better now.  Instead of panicking and trying to run back to the barn, he looks to me for reassurance.  He literally turns his head around and looks at me, and I only have to pat him on the shoulder and tell him he's okay, and he is. 

We continue to work on getting him more flexible on his left side, and me not leaning to the left when tracking left.  By doing counter-bending to the right, it is correcting both of our issues (thank you, Jane).  Harley is also beginning to stretch out into contact instead of tucking back or down, and that is a big accomplishment.  Contact is extremely difficult for both the horse, and the novice rider.  As Jane tells me frequently, "you're holding his hand, just holding his hand" and that's so true.  You don't let go, but you don't squeeze too hard either, it's all about support and partnership, being equals.  I give him what he needs, and he gives me what I ask for.  Here is a photo of Harley happy and relaxed on contact.

Chapter Eight - Rain storms, sharp objects, and that irritating dry cough

What happened to March? What with so much rain last month, and then Harley came down with a bit of a cough, and then managed to find the only sharp thing in his stall and cut his face open, to the tune of 7 bright pink stitches, March was a bit of a wash.  However, he is still doing very very well with his contact, stretching more into the bit now, and we are working very hard on taking contact at the walk.

Harley is stiff on his left side, so Jane has us doing counter bends while tracking left, and circling to the right and spiraling out with a leg yield.  He's doing well and seems to enjoy changing things up a bit.  He also really likes lateral work, and sometimes does leg yields without being asked :)

Harley is turning into the "big babysitter" at the barn, the go-to horse to calm and guide other horses who are nervous or new to the barn.  Harley took a new boarder for a nice walk last weekend, and yesterday, he took another new tenant for a trail ride and a little workout in the dressage arena. Harley seems to know when a horse is unsure, and acts as a calm, reassuring guide.

Here is a shot of Harley's boo-boo.  The location of the cut meant I could not ride him for a week, and that was after not riding the previous week because he was coughing (that went away last week, thank goodness).

Anyways, after 2 weeks off, he was wonderful when I finally rode him, and the only things that bothered him were the pretty purple asters that had bloomed while he was confined to quarters.  Once he realized they were not carnivorous, he was fine.  I took his stitches out last Thursday and he was really good about it.