dancing horses

dancing horses

Friday, October 6, 2017

Feisty Redheads

hard to believe that this face could be bad
Irish has had very little riding this spring/summer. Mostly because he's been unsound (those dang feet). But it's have a negative impact on his muscle and topline. Not that I expect him to look how he did 'back in the day' but I know that horses need to keep moving to keep going.

Last Saturday I had just finished a good ride on Carmen and was back in the barn. Irish was looking at me with a grumpy face. He's been a bit cranky lately. So I decided to take him out for a short hack. I figured I nice little spin in the woods might help him to feel less restless and grumpy.

I also felt that it would be good for Carmen to be the horse left, rather then the horse leaving. She was less than enthused about that idea but I was impressed. Other then a few forlorn whinnies she didn't have a total melt down.

I tacked Irish up and hopped on him right outside the barn. He was on high alert and do his best Llama impression as we walked up the hill. To be honest I'm more worried about his tripping then doing anything to unseat me so I let him have some rein as we marched up. As we headed around the outside of the ring he stopped dead. Guinness had left his favourite toy there on our morning walk (he likes to take it with us but sometimes gets distracted).
this all that remains of the jolly ball but he loves it
Irish took one look at that red thing laying in the grass and decided that it clearly dangerous and did a spin-bolt. Except that it's Irish and he's older and unfit and not that coordinated so it was the slowest spin-bolt in history. Kinda like a person sprinting with a walker. I was laughing so hard as I brought him around again. When Irish was younger the technique I used to get him past spooky things was to  walk him towards it and halt before he was going to stop. And then ask him to go forward, then stop until we were by it. As soon as I did it the first time he totally knew what I was doing and marched right by the ball (although he gave it the stink eye). 

We headed into the woods and played on the new trails. It took a while for him to relax. 
does this look like a horse happy to be in the woods? No, it does not-
it's the look of a horse convinced you've taken him to a bear infested wilderness
There was a big rock on one of the trails that caused some snorting (even though he has been by it a dozen times before). But it felt good to get him out and moving and as we walked he began to enjoy it a bit. 

We finished up back at the barn and I turned him back out to enjoy the grass. I might be biased but I think he looked much less grumpy then when we started. 

And one more photo of Guinness- he's turning into a very handsome dog. 




24 comments:

  1. I'm sure Irish enjoyed his time out with you. He's probably a little jealous of all the time you spend with Carmen. Guinness is beautiful, he's getting so big.

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    1. Yeah, he might be a bit. This time of year he gets a bit restless.

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  2. Grumpy old man horses have my heart.

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  3. Ohhhhhhh Irish. He's gotta keep you on your toes! ;) And Guinness is incredibly handsome!

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    1. Guinness is handsome. And so lovable. Irish has a history of keeping me on my toes.

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  4. We have 3 horses, 2 butts that regularly ride; my SIL usually comes to ride the odd mare out. But this year she's not been around much, so we started ponying and that mare is happier than ever.
    Yes, he is good looking!

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    1. I am not sure how Irish would do ponying. It might be 'interesting'

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  5. Guiness is definitely a handsome dog. I've done the same with Jackson a few times -- it does help their attitude/happiness immensely.

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    1. It has helped with his attitude. He just likes to know that he's important too.

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  6. I'm sure Irish had a blast! And your description of his geriatric version of the spin-bolt had me LOL'ing. Nice that you got the old boy out for a ride :)

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    1. He's pretty funny - he's always made me laugh. :)

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  7. Guiness is gorgeous! Love that Irish is feeling so well :)

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  8. I loved the picture of Guinness and his Jolly ball. My younger German Shepherd has a jolly ball obsession and goes through one every 2 or 3 months. We currently have a red one that is in similar condition!

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  9. Aw glad Irish got out even if he feels a little full of himself!!

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  10. Happy to hear you're giving Irish some special time too: )Your farm is SO safe with that dog. When we moved in here there was a sign on the gate from when they had a dog. It cracked me up:

    https://i.pinimg.com/736x/f0/ef/2e/f0ef2e5af0842808115025fa35b577cd--oder-html.jpg

    It says "Warning, loose dog. If the dog comes, lie flat on the ground and wait for help. If no help comes, good luck." *lol*!!! I also like the one about how fast a dog can make it to the gate, "faster than you."

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    1. That's a great sign. Guinness has a deep and scary bark but really is a pussy cat.

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  11. Woah, Guinness is looking so adult!

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  12. Lol the old person with a walker analogy had me giggling something fierce. Poor Irish!

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