I Had to Walk Back...

Can you guess from where?
The plan was, yesterday, to go on a nice quiet hack for 20 minutes, straight down the tractor path and let the prisoner stretch his legs. 

His version of 'nice quiet hack' and 'stretch his legs' have 2 very very different meanings depending on if you ask him, or if you are asking me.  What I got, was a: bucking, prancing, snorting, head shaking, spinning, bucking, half-rearing, head in my face, assh*ole of a horse.  To the point where - because by this time, he had planted his feet and spun around on me three times - I got off and WALKED THE DAMN HORSE BACK - because in my mind, the last thing I wanted was for him to hurt himself even further. I was pissed Beyond Belief.  It didn't help matters, that I could barley keep him from bolting every 3 steps and he was happier circling around me in a trot, then walking back calmly beside me...

That was me, yesterday.



He has NEVER acted like that with me before. Ever. I was pissed. Beyond Belief and had a moment where the option of sending him to the glue factory was looking like a good one.  Rather then let him win - I got on him in the indoor and made him walk (although he would have preferred to jigg/prance) for 20 minutes.  I was pissed Beyond Belief and could be heard muttering under my breath 'torn ligaments my ass.'



DVME mentioned to me, after my really annoyed message to her: 'Some horses just can't be walked under saddle. He might be one of them.'  Sigh, she might be right. 

At this point in time, I am leaning towards not riding him for the next 3 months...simply because, I do not want anything WORSE to happen to him, should we be riding and he decides to pull whatever crap he was up to yesterday again.  Not worth it.  Maybe it was just the typhoon force winds? Maybe it was because I shouldn't hack a TB the first time he has been 'ridden' in a week.  Who knows.  There are a ton of other horses for me to ride.  Kelly has even said that she would let me event one of her horses this summer...but, I am not sure how I feel about that...just wouldn't be the same.  I do know, I can't not ride for the next 3 months. I do know it is going to suck.  I do know it isn't fair.  I do know that we have a Plan to get Chester better. 

The rest, is up to him.

(And, he is going to be grounded for the rest of his life.)