I've talked to death about how Ernie is the horsey soulmate I didn't deserve for the longest time. I wasn't mature enough, wasn't experienced enough, wasn't patient enough, wasn't quiet enough...he could probably have gone so much farther with a better rider who recognized his personality quirks as a positive thing instead of all negatives. It's taken me almost 9 years to recognize how amazing this horse is, how tolerant he's been in his own way, and how when I get it right, he comes through every time. When I'm in the zone, so is he. This horse keeps me so honest it's disgusting; I don't get away with a single thing. If I'm not relaxed and loose, neither is he, and if I'm in a bad mood, he throws it back at me tenfold.
Stella is a whole new ball game for me. The epiphany with Ernie last semester came at the perfect time. It was right around then that I began to really ask more from Stella. I have to admit, I didn't believe the old adage about mares vs. geldings. I knew sex would probably play a role in personality, but I didn't think it'd be to this large of a degree. I am constantly challenged by this little girl in new and bizarre ways (at least to me...)
Like Ernie, I've discovered she also keeps me extremely honest. I can't get away with being tense or upset. She reads emotions like a book. She expects a certain level from me, and if I don't meet that, she has no problem letting me know I'm not holding up my end of the bargain.It's slightly humorous, I think. If horses can possess levels of maturity, she is far more mature mentally than most horses her age. She catches on QUICK, which can be a bad thing sometimes. I have to watch my habits around her, because she picks them up so rapidly I have actually pissed her off when I reprimand her for something I've unconsciously taught her was okay. Example: when I bring her and Ernie in, she usually walks right into the stall. No issue. We turn around, take of the halter and fly mask, and to her hay she goes. The few times I've stopped her for some reason, she's gotten confused and thus frustrated.
I think her maturity also shows in her ability to work things out in her head. I know some people argue that horses don't really possess "maturity", persay, at least not like humans do. I don't agree. I equate "maturity" with "trainability". Some horses never get out of that 2 or 3 year old phase; they can sort of focus, but God save you if something shiny and pretty comes along, because you're never going to get their head back. Some are so dead to aids and direction from the beginning that they get stuck and again, you can never get them past a certain point. Most horses grow mentally as they mature physically; Stella is, I believe, mentally ahead of her physical maturity. She's always had a knack for figuring things out. She's still a goof, by all means, and she still has baby moments, but for the most part I can throw a lot at her and it doesn't phase her too much.
This is proof my baby is growing up! I have a few of her deciduous teeth now, I'm forming a little collection on my dashboard along with the incisor and two molars I have from Ernie.I've also had to get used to the fact that you CANNOT muscle a mare around. I try to avoid muscling any horse, however there have been times when I've been riding Ernie, and I just can't get through to him. It happens a lot by the horsey TV; something moves outside and BAM: head up, back hollow, neck arched, ears forward, eyes bulging. When this happens, I usually have to put him into a tight frame and leg yield or sidepass to get his attention. I give him something complicated to do, which forces him to think about where his limbs are, not what's outside/scary/more interesting than me. I can't do that with Stella. I can't even get close. If she gets upset, we stop and walk through it. If I'm lunging Ernie and he spooks, I push him forward hard until he decides the running around isn't worth the effort it took to spook. It happens pretty quickly, and it works for him. If Stella spooks on the lunge or during long-lining, it's back to the walk immediately. We may back a few steps, we may do some circles, we may do some serpentines or some leg yield on the ground or we may just go to the other end of the ring and forget it happened. But I can't fight with her. The few times I've tried, it's ended in her getting frustrated and shutting down on me. Not good when you're trying to start a dressage horse.
All of this thinking (and thus, this post) came about because I had one of these moments today. I brought Stella up to the arena for the first time in a while; I've been working her outside because it's been A) nice, and B) we have all winter to do arena work. Plus the hill work has been a huge benefit. But I needed the security of the arena. We had a moment at the end where she noticed the horses in the massage stalls at the end of the arena, flipped out slightly, and refused to go by there until I proved to her they weren't going to eat her. We stopped, walked, and I ground drove her all over the arena doing lots of direction changes, walk to trot, trot to walk, trot to halt and halt to trot transitions, backing, and inching closer and closer to the scary horsey-eating end (just when she started to shy, I'd redirect her. I wanted her to think it was her idea without it actually being her idea). We ended with some fantastic big trot circles at the spooky end, and we were done. Mission accomplished!
As soon as my friend and barn mate Eryn (who blogs over at Leaving a Giant Impression, go check it out! She writes about G.I, one of the ex-racers at the co-op barn that she's been training to be a driving horse.) sends me the pictures we took of Ernie, I'll get them up. He looks fantastic, if I do say so myself!
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