Remember the Day Apache Would Not Ride Up to the Trailer?

I’ll never forget the day, myself. It was Easter and Lee’s friend, Matt, was with him. Matt said he’d take some pictures of me riding, which I thought might be useful for identifying things to work on and such. I wish.

Tarrin’s horses thought it was a great show.

Instead of me working on Apache’s inability to jump, me learning to leg yield, or anything remotely calm, I got a series of photos of Apache having one of his stress meltdowns.

I could do better than THAT, says baby horse.

I’ve decided it’s pretty educational, though. You can see my technique issues, my poor posture, Apache’s annoyed disconnection, and more. Matt already posted 51 pictures on Facebook of me and Tarrin working on this, so I’ll make the best of it and turn it into a fun picture story for any readers who are interested in what was going on in the photos.

Nope. Not going to trailer. Stop pulling on me.
No, leaning will not encourage me to back up toward that nice other horse.
I think she has food. I’ll look at her, not you or Tarrin.
Ok. I’ll pay attention. You’re kicking me enough.
Ooh. I’m parallel to the trailer. Danger!
I have no control over myself, but Suna is projecting calm.
I’ll calm down a little.
No! I want to spin and back! No forward for me!
Basically, I’m in a tizzy.
Oh boy. More backing up.
La la la, humans are invisible. I’ll go over to this nice pen with a Paint in it.
I guess I’ll stop since you asked repeatedly.
Going the other way! I think she’s trying to get me closer to the Evil Trailer.
Nope. Gonna go see that nice horse.
I accidentally backed myself closer to the trailer.
I must show my disdain of all that.
Let’s run into the fence now! I’m just a mess.
Boom. Spun around. Oh, someone is riding me? ah yes. Suna is kicking me pretty hard here.
Hey! I zipped way over to the barn in a straight line. It has horses. I like horses.
All right. I’m tired. Guess I’ll head to the trailer. Suna kept asking and Tarrin won’t stop telling her to kick me.
My head tells you I’m not too happy getting this close.
OMG. I’m right by the trailer. Panic.
Ok. I stopped by the trailer. Suna is pulling on the reins. She needs to stop doing that.
Yay. That human got off!
Wait, she is not taking the saddle off. Why is she not taking the saddle off?
Camina enjoyed hanging out with Lee [not shown, Tarrin gets on and schools Apache’s ass and gets him to pay attention. He regrets his behavior, perhaps]
I got right in the trailer and just want Tarrin to go away. The trailer is my friend. Not evil.
Drew: hey, what was all the ruckus? I enjoyed being in a stall eating hay, and I got a new Drew-sized halter! What a nice day! Apache: Now she locked me up. I’m so sweaty. Take me home!

All that took about 20 minutes of our lives, which are seared in my brain. But, by gosh, we did it! Apache made it to the trailer. Now you know why yesterday’s approach was an impoverishment.

Much needed sweaty hug of relief! Lee and the baby horse approved.

I’m proud of myself for being patient and willing enough to move through this and make progress. I have different goals from many of my equestrian friends, but by gosh, I’m getting there.

All photos in this post are by Matthew Hickner.

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Author: Sue Ann (Suna) Kendall

The person behind The Hermits' Rest blog and many others. I'm a certified Texas Master Naturalist and love the nature of Milam County. I manage technical writers in Austin, help with Hearts Homes and Hands, a personal assistance service, in Cameron, and serve on three nonprofit boards. You may know me from La Leche League, knitting, iNaturalist, or Facebook. I'm interested in ALL of you!

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