Not a bad idea. I took Rascal to some fun shows just to "go to town". And I did put a green ribbon in his tail. This fall will be his debut at either a CTR or Endurance ride. I'm a bit scared of what may happen. He has trail ridden with strange horses and he does get sort of hyper alert. He wants to make friends with everyone. But he gets scared and wants to 'get out of dodge" if another horse gets aggressive or starts rearing ,etc. We had One horse on a ride get bannnas and it scared Rascal and I had a time getting him to remember to listen to me. But that was 2 yr. ago and I ride better now and we have worked together more. He likes to tail other horses too close and got kicked for it by a horse we were caring for . He is a plug with a horse he knows. But a lot of strange horses. . . We went to a CTR clinic and were supposed to go in a group. He had to be up front . . . But when two of the participants decided they wanted to "do their own thing" and gallop madly away for the group. (we had a leader, they ignored what she said). I got to go too. So I got "taken along for the ride"(It was that or ride a jigging , bucking horse.)
Needless to say I have been working on basics and stuff since then. But It makes me wonder what a ride will be like. I hope to hook up with someone for my first couple of rides till he gets "settled". "Sometimes it's not the greenies, but the jerkies". Laurie
----- Original Message -----
From: Lisa Redmond
Sent: Sunday, May 26, 2002 9:04 AM
To: ridecamp
Subject: Re: [RC] Green Horses
No, and most people don't. From all the stories we've seen regarding this question, I think the best conclusion we can draw is that the only thing predictable about a horse is that it is unpredictable. Just one of the little joys of riding the darlings. I'm as guilty as everyone else that's ever taken a horse's sweet temperament for granted. And maybe that's part of the problem here--we tend to forget that what might be exciting for us is nerve-wracking for them. I wonder if we can draw the parallel of putting an animal into a new herd--the green horses have no idea what to expect and so some of their responses are motivated by a certain degree of fear--simple jostling becomes grounds for a fight, etc. Things that wouldn't bother them at home with horses they know well become major insults when they're surrounded by animals they don't know. I exhibited a horse in college that had never been in an indoor arena or around a lot of people (not more than 4, I think, at any given time). I'm not sure he ever recovered from the experience mentally. It was like riding a spring-loaded jackrabbit. I've also been injured by a mare that was jostled by animals she lived with 24/7 and was normally cool as a cucumber...until the horse behind her on the trail bumped into her from behind and she reared--her best buddy was the guilty party.
I was joking when I suggested the lime-green bumpers to Howard, ala NASCAR...but perhaps it's not such a bad idea to have a designated tail ribbon color or rider armband that says "green horse". Something that says "Ack!!!!! I'm a new horse --give me a little space, I have no clue what I'm going to do next and neither does my rider--potential explosion imminent!!!" Sort of like the shirt I want to have made to wear to hay auctions that says "I'm NOT buying horse hay!" when I go looking for sheep hay....but that's another story (moving to a new agricultural culture is SO fun....*rolls eyes*).
>In my case....I don't have the opportunity to have him around other horses...much less a group of a hundred or so all truying to go the same place now...gees....Cora
