The BeeGees vs the Sex Pistols

As you may know from reading this blog (and if you don’t I’m about to tell you) Pip has attitude in spades. And, like spades, his attitude can be pointy and black. He and I have worked all that out, and we get on fine, I’m the boss, but I recognize what a kick-as horse he is, which is probably a big reason why our rides are getting so fun. Pip however, is not satisfied that I understand him; he has to make sure that everyone on the ride knows just exactly what a kick-ass horse he is. With horses he lives with this isn’t a problem, they know his rank (first minion of the herd boss, Logan), he knows they know, and he’s cool with them. But other horses have to learn.



Enter Bailey. Bailey is a lovely palomino QH who is built like a greyhound. Long legs, back, neck, and fast, that’s Bailey. He also doesn’t spook at much of anything. All of which makes him the ideal lead horse in our group, as he is fastest too. Bailey is the king of his little herd, and also has attitude. Bailey has been known to kick at horses cantering too closely behind him. He also pins his ears and generally acts like a grouch if another horse doesn’t recognize his natural kingliness.



You can probably guess where this is going.



Pip and Bailey don’t get along. Two bossy, headstrong horses; one a tall, blonde, hip-happening disco king, the other a short, skinny, black-haired punk rocker. It’s like the Sex Pistols vs the Bee Gees. Both popular in their own distinctive ways but not really compatible with each other. And sure was brought home this weekend! Pip and I have been on a number of rides with Bailey, I usually just keep Pip back behind partly because I’m having trouble with him on some level. Earlier this year we went out and Pip was great, he didn’t really chase he listened, and was generally great on the ride at whatever speed. But this time, while Pip was good, he went after Bailey: Big time, everytime.



As I stated above, Bailey mostly just pins his ears and if he’s going to kick, it’s at the canter. Pip apparently has no such rules. Pip must have lunged at Bailey ten times over the course of the ride. While we were standing in the stream, at the walk, at the trot, at the canter and gallop, if Pip was near Bailey, he’d not just put back his ears, but also bare teeth and try to get a piece of that golden hide. I did manage to stop each effort, so no harm. Pip even went so far as to swing his butt across the trail and into Bailey in an obvious threat to kick. He never did actually kick, but then neither did Bailey, even when we were in optimal target range.



So perhaps they are working it out, maybe they did, since by the end of the ride, they seemed to be getting on better and a disco king and punk rockers

Corners

Last weekend I had a great ride with Pip. We ride with two other people, one of whom is not the most attentive of other riders. He’s great, his horse, Bailey, is not the least bit spooky (which is nice when you’re in the woods), but I was nervous about riding with him because of his propensity to just take off without warning, he assumes that the rest of the group is ready, willing and keen to gallop through the trees.

Which up until very recently, I have not been so much with Pip. Pip is a very handy horse, which means he can corner, dodge and scare the hell out of me going through trees. He has also, on occasion, taken a short cut off a 20 foot high ditch bank to get to a water crossing. It’s nice knowing that he’s smart enough to recognize the crossing and assume that we are going to go there. It’s also nice to know he’s really sure-footed even when he’s leaping down a 45 degree bank of loose dirt. It’s very disconcerting to have him make decisions like that with no input from me.



That’s what made this weekend such a very nice one. We didn’t have any of those things happen. We galloped, jumped, dodged and just sat around all without me freaking out and feeling as though I was on the brink of riding a rogue horse. At no time did I think that Pip would not listen. Now, that’s not to say he was perfect in everyway and suddenly a dead broke horse. Au contraire, mon Amis. He still took off after Bailey, tried to go where we weren’t going and fussed, but I was able to keep or regain his attention and compliance. It was really great.