We moved Aug. 30th to a larger house on the same property. It's a beautiful house with no spiders, unlike the deer camp, which had some of the largest spiders I've ever seen. This second move will hopefully be our last in a LONG time
Tex had a break in training during the move, but I worked him today for the first time in around 3 weeks. I haltered him, groomed him, cleaned out all four feet, walked him out to the open area in my yard, and stuck out my right arm with a kiss, asking him to walk. He started in the walk, picked up the trot, and suddenly kicked up his rear and bucked a small buck or two while traveling around me. After finishing his first hissyfit, he maintained a fast lope until I pulled his head toward the inside, saying "easy, easy." He did slow down, but then threw another fit. At this point I realized that I hadn't brought my homemade lungeing whip, which was not a smart decision. Instead, I kept the long lead a little shorter, giving him around 6 or 7 feet of length while I kept 3 or 4 in my hand to wave at his hip. During the second and third hissyfits he aimed his inside hip at me, threatening with his body language to kick my face in. 6 feet of lead line could have allowed him enough room for his back foot to reach me. The foot never came up, but he got the message across, and it worked. I got scared and overreacted, feeling very angry. I stopped him, backed him aggressively, and tied him up for the rest of the afternoon, a bit discouraged, wondering if I can actually accomplish this goal of breaking a horse from start to finish.
My hope is that his attitude was due to his resting period, and that tomorrow will be a better day.
This picture is one I took in mid-August. Tex's weight is ideal for his height in my opinion. He is currently eating 4 pounds of Purina Junior feed and 2 pounds of rice bran, twice a day. TM
.jpg)