I'm back!

I'll be posting some pics from vacation soon.

Mom and I went to checkup on our boys yesterday. Our instructor took each of them out twice for training, so they wouldn't be too bored while we were gone. Plus she found two students who wanted to try them each in lessons. An adult lady rider absolutely loved Huey during her lesson. She asked if our instructor could help her find a similar horse.

Unfortunately, poor Huey has an abscess in his cheek. We think his pasture mate kicked him and he bit the inside of his cheek. It must have happened some time after Saturday's afternoon feeding. I applied a hot washcloth with epsom salt to his cheek for 20 minutes. The vet visited him this morning and I will get the details later today. I hope we can help him feel better quickly.

A teenager whose horse is laid-up borrowed Armani for two lessons. She liked him under saddle, but he was very pushing with her on the ground. I'm a little disappointed that he was disrespectful of an unfamiliar handler. I've been working very consistently with him on ground manners. However, when I first got him he displayed very dominant behavior. He's quite bright, so I wonder if he decided the "rules" don't apply to a "new" handler.

I rode him yesterday and he felt more forward and consistent, a testament to our instructor's work. However, he tried to test me under saddle. While on a 20m circle, he tried to take the bit and run in the opposite direction. I was able to quickly correct it, without much fuss. However, he hasn't tested me that strongly in 6 months. I think since I was gone he wondered if we might "renegotiate" our relationship? Or perhaps he was unhappy about my absence or the unfamiliar riders he'd had? He's always shown signs of being a “one rider” kind of horse. Have you had a similar experience? What do you think the horse was feeling?