The Honeymoon is Over

Yep. Let real life begin. Or, more colloquially known as Boot Camp. Yeah ... that's where ponies go to get their heads on straight. Speedy spent years in boot camp; he wasn't much of a yes, ma'amer as a youngster (not much has changed!).

Even though Izzy is six years old, training wise, he is very clearly still a four year old. After the screaming and hollering he did on Saturday's hand walk, I made the decision to let the real work begin. Sunday morning was warm and sunny which meant our heavy fog had cleared up which made keeping an eye on an isolated horse much easier.

As soon as I pulled into the barn, I put Izzy in his rope halter and walked out and around to the back side of the arena to a particularly large, and sturdy tree. I tossed the lead rope up and over a thick branch, tied a slip knot, patted Izzy's neck, and walked away.

It looks farther away than it was, unfortunately.

To my surprise, he was pretty unconcerned about being left out in the middle of nowhere alone. He could see the barn, of course, but really, all he did was circle around a little bit trying to figure out the situation. I left him there a good twenty minutes while I groomed and tacked up Speedy. When I was ready to ride, I untied Izzy and escorted him to the other end of the property.

I could still watch him while I rode.

I kept my eye on him as I warmed up, but he didn't whinny, and he wasn't fussing. I left him tied up to my trailer while I rode and later untacked. Once Speedy was back in his own stall, he started hollering to Izzy (bad pony!). It was only then that Izzy started to call. My plan was to let him holler all afternoon if need be, but Speedy actually gave up the fight rather quickly which meant that Izzy did too.

When I went to get Izzy, I saw that he was quite sweaty and there were some hoof prints in the dirt. He was obviously stressed about being alone, but I suspect his previous owner worked on standing tied because Izzy never challenged the lead rope. And for those are worried, I only tie with a Blocker Tie Ring. If something had happened, he would have been able to pull himself free, but he would have had to pull back pretty hard as I had the Tie Ring set on the second tension level. 

Some nervous sweat and some pacing around, but not too bad.

Since the day was so warm, mid-sixties, and he was pretty sweaty, I walked him the long way around to the wash rack. Speedy hollered immediately, Izzy kept it together and remained quiet (rock on, superstar!). I gave his front end a quick hosing, but I was very careful about not getting his hind end wet for fear of inadvertently spraying the bandage. And then, since I could, I made him stand in the wash rack for another twenty or thirty minutes.

In total, he stood tied for the better part of an hour and a half. He got moved every twenty to forty minutes, and I could always see and hear him. Considering he was so goofy about being off the property the day before, I was quite impressed with he handled being alone. He could see the barn and other horses, but at a clinic or a show he'll be able to do that too. I didn't want to torture him, but I did want to help him build some confidence. 

There will definitely be more of these kinds of days over the next month. At the end of February, Speedy and I are heading back to the Ventura area for another two-day clinic with Dr. Christian Schacht. Izzy needs to be able to see us drive off without panicking. A few more days of this kind of work and he should be a bit more confident.