I was so excited. I was bringing Brooke, my rescued quarterhorse, to
her first Fun Day. It would be another great day of games at Andwemet Farm in Brunswick.
[Read about other Fun Days by clicking here.]
She had made so much progress since I adopted her last fall. She had
nice manners and we had a solid walk, trot, canter. She did wonderfully
during two challenging days at Acadia National Park and I had recently
started taking her alone on trail rides.
I was sure we’d have a
successful outing.
Alas. It wasn’t to be!
Brooke was willing and curious when I unloaded her and tacked her up.
My first inkling of the tempest to come was when I worked her on the
ground a bit. I asked her for a trot and she gave me bucks.
What? Huh?
A bit anxious are we?
So I got on and we headed towards the arena.
Big, Scary Speakers.
Big Scary Shed.
Big Scary Everything.
More bucks.
We trotted and tried to work through these anxious moments. Then others
started running around us. Whizzing by to our left from behind. Buzzing
past us from in front.
For Shea, my PMU mare, it would be another walk in the park. She’d be energized and responsive, but not overwhelmed.
It was way too much for Brooke. She registered her concern by bucking
and bucking ‘til I got hold of her head and tried to resume our
trotting.
I sat on her and contemplated the possible morning ahead: it was going
to be rough. Not insurmountable. And the outcome would probably be
positive. But certainly it would not be a walk in the park. And my fellow Fun Day lovers probably would have less fun with us around.
I was happy I hadn’t gotten tossed - yet. My recently injured back was
saying "Stop. Go No Further!" My tentativeness with the ol' back added to our overall anxiety.
I decided to walk away.
Yup, I felt a bit like a loser as I loaded Brooke back into the
trailer, took her home and returned with Shea an hour later. But I think it was the
right call and here’s my positive spin:
I got to show Brooke something new.
We discovered new weaknesses.
No one got hurt.
As I competed in some of the Fun Day classes, my friend, Kim Stone, offered some great advice:
- Change from a hackamore to a bit to get more control of her in those situations.
- Take her places! Bring her to strange barns, different competitions,
new situations. As they say, let the unusual, the new, the scary become
the norm. Make the unexpected the expected.
Thanks, Kim!
Hope you all like the photos. Some are provided by Leisha MacDougall of Boothbay, owner of Buttercup.
Leisha’s business is Photographic Memories.
Many thanks, Leisha!
Buttercup is a Pony of America/Arabian cross and bears a striking resemblance to Shea, who is half Belgian-Quarterhorse (see photo at right). At about 13 hands, she’s Shea’s mini-me! Who'd a thunk it?!
And many thanks to Sharon and Danny Higgins for another lovely day.