Boot Camp Time

Oh Danny boy!!!

This 4 year old year is gonna be a loooooong one. The good news is that he was a good boy for his ride. :) Maybe because of the beat down before hand though. Sigh. He's sassy!

I think it's because he's so bored! I took him and Fleck to Ashland and braved the misting rain to get some energy out. I wasn't sure if Peri was going to be able to join me or not so I rode Dan with Kelli, as she had to ride early and get out. 

We were grooming and as I walked by, Dan lifted a hind leg. He didn't kick out and he didn't wave it around, but he lifted it like he was thinking about kicking. So I smacked him a few times. Then as I went to get on him, he bit me! It wasn't a bad bite, just a nip. And he only grabbed my jacket, but.... NO SIR! So I let him have it. Unfortunately he backed into Kelli's truck but luckily he didn't dent it. 

So yep... He's getting a little bit of an attitude, so... I'm nipping it in the bud. When I went to catch him today he wanted to play chase. He's just too big to play his games. So... he's in behavior boot camp. I'm not playing his games. He needs to be a respectful horse. We can play my games!! But not his. 

But then we had a most pleasant trail ride. I thought he might go up in the first few minutes because he was definitely light hooved and acting like he was a kite, flying away. BUT... he actually kept his feet on the ground. I asked Kelli if I could just walk him up the big hill once and then trot him up once to get some energy out. So we did that. And then he was good. We went on a hack for about an hour, just walking because of the weather. And there were no antics. Kelli actually said he was better than he has been for the last few rides she remembered. 

Ha! Boot camp is a good thing. :) 

But I think he felt MUCH better after he was able to get out and expend some energy and get a change of scenery. Phew!