Saturday, January 16, 2016

Glad for Stalls

The weather today was gross. Wind and snow and rain. Blech. So we played in the stalls.

Duncan has a tendency to be a little goofy in cold, wet, windy weather. I don't blame him. He worked through it though. Interestingly, he really prefers if I talk to him when we're working on something worrisome. Which doesn't come naturally to me, and sometimes I forget and get quiet. He did much better with the blanket flying over his back once I started babbling.

We also did some moving of various body parts. At one point he had me wondering if someone had taught him some showmanship or something, he's so sensitive and maneuverable, one tiny step at a time. It's probably just who he is, though.

I also picked up his feet, and worked on stretching one of them forward, but then my mom called and we just stood together for a bit while I talked on the phone.

Then I turned him loose with the saddle blanket on and watched.




No big deal.

Going back several years, I accidentally left all my Blocker tie rings in my trailer when I sold it. We haven't been super flush since then, and they became pretty expensive, so I didn't replace them. It made tying young mustangs for the first time more of a production, with lots of preparation and thought put into how to do things safely.

I decided it was time to get one again, depending on the price. I found a deal on eBay, from Blocker Ranch, the inventor of the ring, that was totally reasonable with free shipping, so I bought one and it got here super quick.

Tonight I tied Duncan for the first time, using the Blocker ring to make me feel better about it. I didn't want him pulling back, scrambling, flipping over or any of that in my barn where the close quarters would make it more dangerous. 

When I brought him home I was told he ties no problem. It turns out to be true. Happy day. :)


3 comments:

Linda said...

I use the blocker tie rings. You never know what could panic them. I started on them because of Beautiful Girl and they've made a big difference. I was happy to see you on the 100 Day challenge! Looks like Duncan has a fan club.

Andrea -Mustang Saga said...

Th challenge is fun! Thanks for adding me to the group. I like it a lot.

T.L. Merrybard said...

It's tricky having a horse you've never seen tied. I've had it happen like that a couple of times and the relief when they do turn out to tie is enormous. :) Once was a rescue and she didn't, but she turned out to have a lot more problems than just that, sadly for her.