On the day after we arrived back home we went to visit Kai. He has been running wild in the pasture up the road and has been completely abandoned for an entire week.
I called him by the gate and all the other horses looked up and Kai barely flicked an ear in my direction. I called him again and then started walking towards the herd. Everybody started running away so I ran after them.
Kai very quickly realized that I was here for him and then he eagerly came to meet me. I gave him an apple and rubbed him all over. I told him that I was sorry for leaving him like that. We then started the walk all the way to the indoor. Kai was not only wet, he was a complete mud monster! I have never seen him this muddy before! I decided that it would be easier to hose him off than wait for him to dry and then curry the muck off. I started to hose him and found a couple of ticks on his coat. I used to be horribly afraid of ticks but after pulling a good bunch of them off Kai I don't think touching them is that bad.
When Kai was all clean we went to the indoor to play! We did zone 5 driving first and Kai got it immediately because of what Farrah taught me. He wasn't that light but he could easily understand where I wanted him to go.
I then let him loose while I went to get the grooming tote and found him rubbing his tail on the wall. This is very strange because I have not seen Kai rub his tail before. I called him and he was so busy rubbing that he wouldn't come to me. I then went to him and started checking his tail bone for ticks but there weren't any. So I started gently scratching him looking for the spot when he spread his legs showing me that his whole inner thighs and bum were infested with ticks. I got to work removing them and then put fiskes all around his bum and thighs and sheath to sooth the bites and repel more ticks from biting him there.
We did some zone 5 driving working on follow the rail and some figure eights. Since Farrah taught me about the driving rein and the porcupine rein all of our problems and misunderstanding were gone. Anna was teaching a lesson at the same time as I was playing and I took lots of breaks to watch. When the lesson was done I rode Kai bareback for a few laps around the arena.
At the end of our session I let my brother and sister play some stick-to-me with him and I gave them a pony ride each. This is huge for Kai because he used to have an issue with my siblings handling him. He would quickly get very dominant and pushy and be unhappy when they rode him. I was so proud of him for behaving the whole time and being calm when they rode him.
I have him a cookie and put him back in the pasture after that.
I called him by the gate and all the other horses looked up and Kai barely flicked an ear in my direction. I called him again and then started walking towards the herd. Everybody started running away so I ran after them.
Kai very quickly realized that I was here for him and then he eagerly came to meet me. I gave him an apple and rubbed him all over. I told him that I was sorry for leaving him like that. We then started the walk all the way to the indoor. Kai was not only wet, he was a complete mud monster! I have never seen him this muddy before! I decided that it would be easier to hose him off than wait for him to dry and then curry the muck off. I started to hose him and found a couple of ticks on his coat. I used to be horribly afraid of ticks but after pulling a good bunch of them off Kai I don't think touching them is that bad.
When Kai was all clean we went to the indoor to play! We did zone 5 driving first and Kai got it immediately because of what Farrah taught me. He wasn't that light but he could easily understand where I wanted him to go.
I then let him loose while I went to get the grooming tote and found him rubbing his tail on the wall. This is very strange because I have not seen Kai rub his tail before. I called him and he was so busy rubbing that he wouldn't come to me. I then went to him and started checking his tail bone for ticks but there weren't any. So I started gently scratching him looking for the spot when he spread his legs showing me that his whole inner thighs and bum were infested with ticks. I got to work removing them and then put fiskes all around his bum and thighs and sheath to sooth the bites and repel more ticks from biting him there.
We did some zone 5 driving working on follow the rail and some figure eights. Since Farrah taught me about the driving rein and the porcupine rein all of our problems and misunderstanding were gone. Anna was teaching a lesson at the same time as I was playing and I took lots of breaks to watch. When the lesson was done I rode Kai bareback for a few laps around the arena.
At the end of our session I let my brother and sister play some stick-to-me with him and I gave them a pony ride each. This is huge for Kai because he used to have an issue with my siblings handling him. He would quickly get very dominant and pushy and be unhappy when they rode him. I was so proud of him for behaving the whole time and being calm when they rode him.
I have him a cookie and put him back in the pasture after that.
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