Ruger was given his final health check last week by the mil vet so we have finally been able to let him meet the rest of the horses. We were worried that Bandit, our alpha male out at the ranch, would take umbrage at the young colt being in his kingdom. Bandit is a giant, black Tennessee Walker that had to be retired from the Army several years ago due to arthritis in his pastern. Bandit is still lame but doesn't have any problem enforcing his rule.
We had kept our boys in the north pasture to keep them away from Ruger until he was cleared by the vet. The horses could see each other and smell each other but couldn't touch each other. The day after the vet check, we kept Ruger in his stall and let Bandit and the other boys through. Bandit walked straight up to Ruger's pen, stuck his giant head over the rails, and then.......began licking Ruger's face.
Debbie does most of the work with Ruger during the week, but I can get a little time with him on the weekends. Our first session together, about a week ago, went okay. Ruger is spirited and young but reasonably controllable. The first grooming attempt by me didn't go so well. Ruger hadn't figured out how to stand on three legs very well when you're cleaning one of his hooves. When I picked up his left rear hoof, he kind of stumbled. I lost my balance also and toppled over underneath the horse--one of my least favorite orientations in relation to a horse. I got mad at him for that and he quickly calmed down and stood still.
In the round pen, I turned him loose and it was obvious he knew what the round pen was all about. However, he didn't much care for me turning him. He'd try to bull his way through or turn without permission so I'd have to get rigorous with the whip and smack it on the ground to turn him. Then, Ruger would get angry and jump in the air and kick. After about ten minutes he calmed down enough so we could have some semblance of a normal training session.
Since today is a holiday, Presidents Day, I was able to spend some more time with Ruger. Our grooming session went much better. Debbie has been working with him on being able to balance on three legs and the training showed. I had no issues with grooming him and we made it to the round pen without incident. Once we started working, he again would get upset with the turns. Each turn was accompanied by a huge leap into the air with either a back leg kicking out in defiance or a front leg striking. He was no where near me when he kicked out, but it was obvious he was upset with me. However, after ten minutes of this nonsense he calmed down and could execute a nice turn without acting stupid or speeding up. Later, when I ended the lesson, he wouldn't immediately join with me. Initially, he turned away from me, so I made friendly noises until he turned and faced me. At that point, I approached him and gave him a pat and praised him. There was lots of licking and chewing going on as he considered all that had happened.
Of course, when Debbie takes Ruger to the round pen, she doesn't get any of this behavior. Her challenge is getting him to turn without him coming in to join up with her. She says he has trouble focusing on the lesson. In my case, I don't see a lack of focus, but a very energetic and focused defiance. He doesn't like being herded around by me and he hasn't developed enough respect for me yet to be willingly obedient. With Debbie, all he wants to do is be next to her. With me, it is a battle of wills. It is funny how the same animal can react so differently to two different people.
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