I've been a bit slack with updates, so I thought I'd do a "summer with Luka" one giving an overall picture of how we are.
He's grown up and finally got his head in a good place, it takes a
fair bit to go wrong now before he has a flashback (for want of a better word) though it can still happen. He's still bright, full on, and quirky but truth told I wouldn't have him any other way.
He's pretty chilled on the yard now and it'll be interesting to see what happens when winter comes. will the more laid back attitude extend to stabling? The horse who'd often be impossible to get out of the field safely if a horsebox was parked near the gate now stands tied up on the yard not even flicking an ear as people drive them on and off, indeed I have to keep an eye open because some wing mirrors are a good height for a bum scratch
The chickens are an issue though, one pecked him on the nose the other day when he was eating dinner and now if they're around he has to have the bowl held or he stands looking pathetic as they eat his food. Seriously nearly 500kg of horse is terrorised by maybe 1kg of chicken - what the Hell did I buy?
Hacking he's so much saner and has finally accepted that a steady trot is the only acceptably trot on the roads so there's no point hammering off and then arguing, though he will sometimes get a bit cute and lengthen in the belief I won't notice - he's wrong, but it wouldn't do to ruin all his fun! He'll go past almost anything if I keep my leg on, hand forward, and reassure him, he may dance and grow a hand but that's all. If I hack out with one or two others he's no longer an explosion waiting to happen, though I only canter with one other and he goes first because I still feel he'd be a handful. That said I cantered him out with someone a few weeks ago and while she stayed behind she was very close and the worst he did was pick up the pace and get rather strong. Cantering on his own he's lovely. Oh and we still don't canter towards home after an "interesting" ride last year!
We've recently gone back to my old RI for some very baby lessons at hers. It works fairly well as it's just over a mile and a half hack there so he's had time to loosen up and if he is a bit bright settle down, plus it keeps the hacking element involved which will always be his main job. Her school is a bit small, and set below the main yard with woods on two sides it's spooky, but he's coping well and with his head in a better place he's relaxing and stretching which is something he couldn't do in a school before. To date lessons have been
1) let's go into the school and try not to have a complete meltdown, walk a circle, eat mints and leave.
2) trot a couple of circles, still a bit tense but at least trying and not too tense to stretch a bit
3) get a back up - to date this has made no sense to him under saddle except as an evasion early on - and do a bit of trot that was nice and relaxed on a circle.
4) walk the outside of the school, initially with her on foot until she declared his walk too fast and stood in corners instead lol. That really filled up his head and trot even on a circle was verging on mental overload so left alone after a couple of strides
5) he remembered the outside of the school was safe and realised that with more space he could do bigger trots and changes of rein. Happy cob and slightly mindblown RI on seeing what he could do with space and confidence!
He has a real quirk going into her school. There's a slope for horses to walk down and I think 5 steps for people - will he walk down the slope? No, he carefully picks his way down the steps! He walks up them too, but with how steppy he is that's not really any different to his normal walk.
He no longer sweats like a pig from even a short walk ride which just goes to show how much tension he was still carrying even though he looked more relaxed last year. Also when people see him now they often comment on how kind or gentle he looks, how happy, and those weren't responses we used to get. They do however still think he's a lot bigger than he is! He'll happily stand and talk to people, will graze under saddle until asked to move rather than just snatching a mouthful and wanting to move on - yes it's something many people frown on but to me it's a mindset. Oh and I've finally managed to get a physio to him a couple of times who can treat him - before he was too tense and I also suspect didn't really like the woman whereas the new one he thinks is lovely. Quite a bit to treat the first time, a visit 4 months later showed only the result of a nasty kicking and greatly improved muscle tone.
So overall I'd say he's grown up, learnt to trust and relax, and basically got his shit together! He's the horse he should have been, and while I wouldn't want a nervous or novice rider on him he's certainly not difficult or living on his nerves anymore
