I’m so proud of my girls right now! Well, my boys too but not nearly as much.
Yesterday was trimming day. Always fun. Lucy used to have major issues with getting her hooves trimmed so trimming day has always been held in high regard as to behavior.
Although the reason I am proud of Georgie is more significant, Lucy’s is sort of a longer standing proud.
I guess I better just tell the story huh?
So Loren and I took our ducklings home yesterday, and since I needed to help him get things set up, I just tied Lucy up and left her with Luke (my trimmer). To most people that doesn’t seem like a lot, but Lucy has been through a lot with trimmers and being able to just leave her there with him and for her to hold still and be (pretty darn near) perfect is a major accomplishment! I even commented to Luke that I don’t know when she turned into my dependable horse. When did she go from being my nervous, skinny little mare, to my sturdy, dependable trail horse (odd how her qualities are also used on trucks!)?
Lucy is really a wonderful horse, and somewhere in the last couple of months I have truly come to see that. Odd since I haven’t been riding much, or really spending much time with her at all.
Now there’s Georgie. I could not be more proud or happy with her at this moment! I was horrible in that I did not spend nearly as much time working her her feet since her last trimming (which was only about a week after brining her home, and not a real fun experience for any of us). In this last week I did do some work with her back hooves until she got the point that I wanted her to pick them up, but I didn’t hold them much wanting to take it slow. Apparently Georgie doesn’t really need to be taken slow.
Luke was able to pick up and work with both front hooves for an extended amount of time (she would only let him have them for about 15 seconds), she let him put them forward on the hoof stand (although she looked horrified about it) and she let him pick up and trim her hind feet despite not having them picked up yet.
Truly, she was a really good girl. She did finally get tired having her feet messed with and started refusing to let him pick them up, but really, I think she did amazing otherwise. I can only imagine what I will be able to do with her once I start working with her more.
I still stand by my earlier statement that she is going to be a jumper. I think its only a matter of time before she jumps out of their current paddock, as its fences are lower then my pasture (no horse is jumping that fence!). So she used to just jump down the wall in my paddock, well yesterday when she was throwing a fit because Lucy was out getting her feet trimmed, she jumped up the 3 foot wall! She only just made it, but keep in mind that she wall is at the very least, as high as her shoulder when she is standing below it. One of these days I will get a video of her jumping the wall, although I truly hope she does not try jumping up it again.
I still haven’t quite figured her out yet. I really get the impression she is not the kind of horse that bonds with one person and will only do certain things for that person. Lucy was kinda like that, she would let me do whatever with her but other people were often not allowed near her unless she knew them. Now of course Lucy is pretty easy going and more then willing to let new people come up and and touch her and play with her (and ride her too!). Georgie on the other hand, seems like if she understands what you want, and its clear that your going to make her do it, she is going to do it weather she knows you or not. And it really seems like she will do just about anything you ask of her as long as you give her time to understand.
I feel like I got over a bit of a hurdle with her yesterday and deffinatly feel closer with her now. Even though she always lets me pet her and handle her, she was emotionally distant or maybe I just didn’t know how to read her. Now I feel like I can read her look better.
Now I can’t wait to start working with her more! The last couple of weekends I have been mostly cleaning house, but this weekend I am riding my wonderful mare and working with my amazing filly!
I’ll try to get some updated pictures of her for the blog.
