Roundpenning Pepsi 6/5/08

Well, Pepsi was SO good while I was working him today. I went out at about 8:00 because it was just too hot for me to work him before that. I put him in the round pen and let him warm himself up at the walk. When he started trotting I started going toward the fence again and waving the lunge whip at the fence. He just turned right around and went the other direction. :D

After about 15 minutes of him being absolutely perfect I took him in to hose him off. We were almost done when one of the boarders pulled up with her trailer and unloaded her horse. Pepsi was NOT happy that he couldn't see what was behind him (she pulled up directly behind the wash stall, which, in her defense, is about the only place on the farm where the trailer will fit!) and started throwing a fit. After about 90 seconds of him ignoring me when I told him to knock it off and calm down, I finally grabbed him by the halter, looked him straight in the eye and told him to KNOCK IT OFF NOW! After staring him down for close to a minute he finally got the hint and behaved.

Anyway, we were almost done when I was trying to put some medicine on his feet (just to ward off thrush) and he tried to swing into me. I slapped him good and told him to quit it, and that horse pointed his butt right at me and seriously thought about double-barreling me. His feet didn't actually come OUT, but they did come up, along with his butt which was about 3 inches in front of my face. I didn't even hesitate- he got pulled back into the round pen and I let him run himself around until he could hardly breathe. Only AFTER he listened to me did I allow him to walk and then finally to come into me and take a breather. We did some moving over of the hindquarters and shoulders while he was in the middle, and once his eye was soft, his head was low, and he was moving over when I asked did we finally go back in.

At this point I stuck him in the wash stall, hooked him to the cross-ties and just sat down on the ground in front of him while he got to stand there for 10 minutes. AFTER he stood patiently I hosed him back off, did some more moving over IN the washstall, and then we went out to graze.

When I was ready to go home I walked him up to the field and made him do even MORE hindquarters and shoulders over, along with lots of backing up and halting before I took his halter off. Once I did take it off he stood there for a moment for a scratch and then calmly turned and walked away.

I am winning the battles, but I'd prefer for there not to BE any battles in the first place!