This is the best thing I can say whenever Dixie comes into heat - "at least somebody's stud didn't jump the fence and knock up my mare!" She is SO silly when she's in heat.
Yesterday we went OUTDOORS, even though she was in heat. I was rather concerned that she'd crash right through a fence or flip out about an invisible monster, so I rode her in the curb. That illusion of extra control gave me the courage to go outside with her. I have no doubt it is an illusion!
It was nice, though. Really reinforced in my mind all the things I like about the snaffle. I didn't really realize how nicely she was bending til I rode her in the curb again. Today I'm definitely going back to the snaffle.
Anyway. We rode in the outdoor arena, which is a square. I should try to count fence rails and estimate its size. It's not very big as far as speed arenas go, but definitely big enough to ride in. Dixie had the attention span of a very angry butterfly. When I brought her in from the pasture to brush her off, she came unglued with loneliness and screamed her head off. When we went back outside, she wanted to stop and pee and flirt with all the geldings on the other side of the fence. She wanted to eat grass. She didn't want to walk in the 1" deep totally translucent puddle. She did not want to go in the corner with the Invisible Mountain Lion. She did not want to listen to any aids at all under any circumstances.
Sadly for Dixie, she didn't get her way on most of these points. I insisted that she ride NEAR the Invisible Mountain Lion. She had to get her front feet WET, ugh. She got to graze for a long time at the end of our ride, but not before. When she'd ignore my aids and bolt for her buddies, I'd pull her around into a circle and make her run AWAY from them. She even had to rack for a while. Please, everyone take a moment and pity my poor mistreated princess.
When we were done, it was only about 30 minutes before evening feed, so I left her in her stall. One less horse for the BO to bring in! Dixie could not believe her misfortune. She love/hates the palomino next to her, and she started squealing and cow-kicking the wall to get his attention. He ignored her (because he was outside!) and she got furious and double-barreled the back wall of her stall. Argh. Please don't hurt yourself, mare. I hung out long enough to be sure she was just acting pissy, not actually having a meltdown, and I left her to sulk.
I hope she has forgotten her mistreatment yesterday. I hope she's coming out of heat already. We probably won't go back outside today; there's rain coming in. We're definitely riding in the indoor if we can't go out though!
Also, I'm sorry I haven't been posting all that regularly and responding to comments like I usually do. Thanks for hanging in there with me!
I'm sooooo happy to not be the only one in the blogosphere with a mare-ish mare. Fiddle was supposed to get new shoes yesterday, but when I brought her out of the stall she practically peed on the farrier (she likes him anyhow, but this behavior is a bit much!). I put her back in the stall. Some days, it just ain't worth it. My mare is definitely a candidate for spaying!!! Argh!
ReplyDeleteGlad that you won your arguements about the Invisible Mtn Lion--it sounds like you and Dixie are making a lot of progress!
LOL, at least Fiddle is nice to the ones she loves! Dixie shows affection with her feet. She's a sadist.
ReplyDeleteNormally I can convince her that it's easier to do things my way, but I don't feel like I ever win when she's in heat. I just fight her to a draw. I think things are generally going better all the time though!
Raven's heats are LONG at this time of year, so I hope Dixie is better today -- Raven wouldn't be. At 16 she is still such a slut that people I don't know stop to tell me about it. They walk by our place and she will turn ass to wink at them. She things the mini stud down the road is the SECKSIEST thing on earth. Gawd.
ReplyDeleteSilly mares. I'll stick to geldings, tyvm. :)
ReplyDeleteLOLOL Funder.. I say the same exact thing every month.. only about moi... ;)
ReplyDeleteNice to see you two gaining so much ground there. I envy your ride time!
I've been thinking about bits lately too. Using a plain double jointed snaffle but wondering if there's a better alternative for gaited? Or is this just my tack shopping addiction finding a new desire?
ReplyDeleteI did once have a mare who was so mare-ish as to jump a fence to get in with a stallion. He'd been too lazy to jump, but not too lazy to breed her. Well, it was a nice foal anyway.
ReplyDeletePoor Dixie :-( I can't believe you are so mean and abusive to her. I mean, not only taking her away from the boys, but to make her step in WATER? That poor, poor mare.
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