Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Houston We Have A Meltdown

Apparently poor Stinker could not life yesterday.  Everything started out fine, he was a bit resistant to my leg but that isn't uncommon at the beginning of a ride.  Typically lateral work gets him to soften and relax.  That was not the case.

This guy was not here

Instead we had an epic meltdown.  It was like time had rewound to last year.  Couldn't walk, couldn't halt, couldn't trot, couldn't bend... There was spinning attempts at bucking and bolting.  So much tail sass.  I got slapped in the face multiple times...

Can't. Handle. Life.

It didn't feel like he was being an asshole, it felt like he was legitimately panicked about something.  What that something was I don't have the faintest ides.  I got off him twice and did ground work both times he seemed to settle and then promptly went back to having a meltdown.  I checked to make sure everything was fitting correctly and he wasn't getting pinched or anything (it was all fine).

Back off bitch!

I took him to the dressage ring because that is where he is the calmest and the meltdown continued.  I finally got him to give slightly to the left.  It was quite ugly and he was totally convinced that he could not possibly do that.  And then it was like his brain clicked back into gear.  It wasn't great work, but he would at least walk and bend both directions.  So I called it good enough and got off.

At least he looks cute while being an asshole

Hopefully, it won't pick back up tomorrow.  It is really bothering me that I don't know what caused it. I am taking a lunge line with me tomorrow just in case.  If he wants to canter so badly he can do trot canter transitions on the lunge line and actually work correctly.

19 comments:

  1. These sensitive snowflakes sometimes just.can't.horse. Irish had those moments in his youth and once or twice last summer. Carmen still has them but they are less dangerous now. The key is busy work for both of mine- frequent changes of direction, small circles, big circles (well more like ugly blobs but still) until the brain engages and we can take a breath. I hope that he's feeling better tomorrow (or today I guess).

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    1. I managed to keep things from escalating today so I am counting it as a win.

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  2. Oh Stinker. Hopefully things are better today!

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  3. poor Stinker. sometimes braining is just toooo hard. that browband looks fab on him tho ;)

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    1. I'm the SB approach. If your horse is an ass make him cute so you don't totally hate him 😂

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  4. I hope things go better today! Some days they just can't even. Hopefully it's nothing.

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    1. I am sure it is all in his little brain. Just have to figure out the right reset button.

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  5. Days like this are so frustrating, but it sounds like you handled it beautifully! I'm glad you found a good note to end on.

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    1. He isn't human so he gets a lot more patience plus I've had lots of practice. ;)

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  6. Hopefully he just woke up on the wrong side of the stall and will feel more likely to come out and play next ride.

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    1. I like the "wrong side of the stall" phrase...speaking of which he has remodeled it again. I'll blame it all on the stall.

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  7. Sorry to hear that, I hope it's just a temporary blip in the progress you've been making!

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    1. I think things will turn around I'm slowly narrowing down the possibilities of the root cause.

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  8. That was my day today -_- It got to the point of getting off and lunging because riding wasn't getting us anywhere. I hope it's gotten better since you wrote this.

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    1. I'm sorry. Days like this aren't fun. Hope Leo gets back on track too!

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  9. Always the best when you cannot figure out what is causing the meltdowns. :P

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