That's What Friends Are For

When people ask how Izzy is doing, I always give a little sigh and then launch into a long explanation of our daily struggle. I need to stop doing that. He's not that bad. Really. He's just not perfect, but we are making steady progress toward solid equine citizen. It's just a long journey to get there. 

Having Speedy around as a confidence builder is really helping to resolve some of Izzy's tension. My new normal is to bring Speedy out first and let him graze while I go and gather up the big brown horse. Once I have Izzy in hand, I go and find Speedy who has usually wondered off to a patch of grass. I bring both boys up to the tack room. I pick out Speedy's feet first, check him over for any new bumps and scrapes, and then maybe I knock some of the dirt off.

Izzy then gets his feet picked out with the same search for dings and knocks. I saddle him, put boots on us both, and then bridle him up. After a bit of shuffling bodies around so that Izzy is in my right hand and Speedy in my left, we walk up to the arena together where Speedy gets tied in the corner.

I am sure you're sick of hearing it, but Speedy is an absolute saint. He'll stand in that corner all day without flicking an ear. No matter what happens with Izzy, Speedy waits there quietly, projecting nothing but calm and quiet vibes. As we work, I push Izzy down to the far scary end, but then we come back and do 20-meter circles in Speedy's end of the arena until Izzy feels more relaxed. 

As Izzy builds more confidence, I plan to move Speedy down to the far end to see if that will help Izzy relax down there as well. It was Chemaine's idea to bring Speedy along for our rides. I would have never thought of it as it irks me to create a dependent horse. In this case though, I think Izzy really needed a friend to help him through this anxiety.

I use my friends all the time to help build confidence or work through a tough situation. It only seems fair to give Izzy the same resource. Best friend cocked an eyebrow at me the other day as she waited for me to ask her to stand in the scary corner. Izzy knows her as his human "goat" so it only makes sense that she could help him too.

I haven't asked her yet, but she's ready for it. After all, that's what friends are for!