Head Butt

I decided to go to the barn on Saturday even though I was feeling kind of lazy and Walker had been off for a couple of days.  Well, he definitely wasn't off yesterday, that's for sure.  I rode with two other girls, and Walker was really forward (and kind of naughty).  He was practically chasing one of the two horses every time we got around near them, and he didn't want to walk/trot.  All he wanted to do was canter.  So I made him canter.  A lot.  But of course, he didn't want to do that either.  So then he threw some good-natured bucks my way which simply resulted in more work for him by the time I was done.  I really made him listen to me, and even though I didn't work much this week on packaging him up in a frame (since I was trying to coax some jumping speed out of him instead), I made him go in a frame yesterday to show him that he couldn't just run away with me.

This might sound really weird, but it was actually a really great ride.  Walker is much more forward with other horses in the arena, and I like him that way.  It's great to have something to work on.  When he's feeling lazy, I spend so much of my energy actually trying to coax him forward that I get exhausted when we actually start working on things.  But yesterday, since he was already feeling up, I was able to work on cantering nice little circles and controlling him with the other horses around.

That being said, we had a few not-so-pretty arguments.  When he wouldn't listen to me or slow down, I took a page out of the clinician's book and started running him into the wall/making him change directions on the wall so that he had to pay attention to me.  This was all fine and dandy until one time, I ran him into the wall (so to speak - you know what I mean), and he head-butted the wall (all on his own).  Well, when I got off him after our ride, I realized that he had a little cut on his nose.  Sure enough, there was a nail on the wall where he head butted it. :S  I felt really bad about it then but it's mostly his own fault.  Obviously I didn't run him into the wall in that way.  I wanted him to stop at the wall, change directions, pay attention, etc.  But like an idiot, he actually rammed his head into the wall full force.

Anyway, the cut is just little (more like a paper cut really), but I put some salve on it to make him feel better.  I never made it to the barn today because we got a little snowstorm, but I'm going to go out tomorrow and check on him even though I don't normally go to the barn on Mondays.  My parents came to visit today so they brought the spoiled brat an entire bag of apples.  I guess I'll have to give him a few tomorrow!

I'm sure many of you have seen this ad, but I just love it.  The little foal is kind of bad/playful the way Walker is.  I'd like to think that Walker would come running for me too, but I'm pretty sure he'd just stay where the food was!