# Romeo and Bause: The Knuckle Head an Trouble Maker



## Pidge (Sep 5, 2009)

*Such an interesting day....*

Well yesterday was fun. It was about 35 to 40 degrees which is warm compared to the last few weeks. I was at danielles while my boyfriend was doing to some work and so I decided it was a good time to mess with Bause. Everything was going nicely...I was just in the padock scratching on her. She let me pick up her feet without being haltered or tied or anything. I decided (since she was a muddy mess) To brush her down...and here is where the trouble began! (of coarse)

The moment Bause saw the halter she decided she didnt want to be caught that day...and she ran...darn girl has her mood swings. Most of the time she is easy to catch...but today she decides it will be fun to run. Plus I think she thought she was going to get either rode or round penned. doesnt help the padock gate was open so she was able to run into the pasture. so I am usually a calm person...I learned a long time ago it doesnt do much good to sprint off full force after one...so i walked. this confused her lol. and she turned it into a game of keep away...joy... eventually she ran back to the barn where i shut the padock gate. she pranced around the padock and continued to play keep away until she realized i wasnt even fallowing her anymore. That was no fun so she just stood there an stared at me. then she realized i had shut the gate...she was a smidge unhappy about that and pranced some more before stopping again. I walked over and she turned to walk off (obviously still thinking she was in for a work out) but i said whoa and not being dumb horse figured that with the gate shut she couldnt really run so on went the halter.

I decided I was going to confuse her worse. I litterally walked her two laps around the padock (its really small...like REALLY small) then took the halter off. She got the dumbest look on her face like she had realized she had run around for nothing. (arab or not Bause is lazy) so i went and sat down an chatted with my BF for about 15 min then decided to see if Bause had learned anything. I had two lessons I wanted her to learn... 1, it does no good to run...I will eventually get you...2, You ran for no reason so why run at all?

When I walked out with the halter she took a few steps I said whoa and she just stopped an let me catch her...yay! so i gave her a treat for not running and then brushed her down real good and let her go. All an all...i think it was an ok day. Maybe she wont run next time if I keep it up...

So then later on that night I went out to feed my other horse...he had banged his head on something (its currently a mystery) and had cut his forhead...it was a superficial wound...and its healling nicely...this is like the third time he has banged his forhead up...once he was kicked by another horse...it barely knicked him...then we think he hit his head on a tree in the pasture...now this one, the mystery cut...joy oh joy lol im just glad thats all he has ever done to himself lol 

Anyway I decided to jump on and lay on him while he ate his grain...its warmer that way. Plus its a nice way to end the night...esspecially after messing with Bause...she may be my new horse but there is nothing like relaxing with a familier buddy.


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## Pidge (Sep 5, 2009)

*Why?*

I havent gotten to type in a while but I think why? is a wonderful title for this next update because why is it that your supposidly good horse has to turn around an act a fool while your problem horse does exactly what you want? Its just ridiculously backwards.

I had been lunging Bause just getting familier with her for about a week. Two of my friends decided they wanted to ride so we got three horses together. Romeo, Bause, and my neighbors horse beauty. It should have been a super quiet ride. Beauty is old an bomb proof, romeo is solid on the road, Bause an beauty have been pastured an rode together for years so with beauty around Bause is a thousand times calmer. No worries! we made it about a mile down the road an went to take a different one...there had o be three horses in a pasture right around the turn...i knew they were there but i hadnt thought about it. Bause had a spazz attack...she pranced an side stepped an crow hopped...she never bucked or reared though which i was proud of. At this point i decided going home would be best...once Bause spazzes she just doesnt come back down unless you can work her hard an get her attention...not something to do on the road.

Unable to get her attention long enough to actually ride i dismounted an led her home...simon an aleah walked with me on romeo an beauty. Once home i told them to go ahead an keep riding...i was going to round pen Bause again and i knew there wasnt going to be any issue with those two on beauty an romeo...i will never "know" anything again...

It had been about ten min an they came back...beautys saddle hadnt been tightened right an had slipped...neither of them could get it tight so that was my job...leaving Bause for a min i redid beauty's saddle and sent them off again.

Well for the good news i round pened Bause and had a big success! Join-up! she actually did it! an it was amazing! After that i took her down an we goofed off. I let her hand graze and i rode her around the pasture bitless. I even was able to sit an lay down on the ground while she grazed right next to me. Danielle would have called me insane for even sitting down while holding Bause's lead...i think it helped that Bause was exhausted from lunging but eh ill take a success wherever i see it.

About the time me an Bause were just chilling out though i desided to find out where aleah an simon were...i texted them an the reply i got made me wanna shoot myself in the foot. They were at home because romeo had run aleahs bad knee into a pipe fence...apparently my easy going gelding had decided to take off full speed and well...slam...anywho they had taken romeo home an untacked him leaving beauty tied. Simon got aleah comfy on the couch then brought beauty home where i was with Bause. we untacked the girls then drove back. Aleah got a good dose of advil, some muscle rub, an a knee brace for the rest of the day.

I had to go out an set my gelding strait. Round pen an a short ride. He was hyper, acted a fool, but finally straitened out. Looks like im going to be the only one riding him until he straitens out.


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## Pidge (Sep 5, 2009)

*A Mild Success*

So today was the first day in two weeks that it hasnt been pooring down rain or below freezing, and thus i decided i needed to mess with both my horses before the weather turned to crap again.

I started with Bause as usual. that way if she irritates me to high heaven i can relax with romeo though with his current attitude i expected both of them to be a pain but o well it would be fun. I was pleasently surprised when both of them behaved.

I round penned Bause for a bit. The first 5 min were her running spinning bucking an kicking an playing but she settled down. Half the round pen was flooded so i had to let her get away with doing little half circles an cutting through the middle since the flooded half was like a sink hole. But she behaved and we even got out of the round pen and experimented with just lunging on a line. she was highly confused as to why she had to do it and it was obvious she had never just been lunged on a line but she did good. we ended the day with me sitting down on a dry spot with her grazing and a good grooming sesion. Ill be back with more on Bause tomorrow...she gets to see jason, my farrier, for the first time so it should be lots of fun...not...

After putting Bause up i went an tacked up romeo. He was fresh but he behaved to. we rode a few miles down the road at a walk an trot. He decided that a stump was going to eat him at one point and it took a few minutes to convince him he could trot by it really really fast. My gelding can walk past the road graded when its digging up the road an not even look at it but hand him a stump or rock and suddenly hes going to get eaten...go figure...anywho we got a few miles out from the house and got bored so we decided to see if we could run the entire way back. and so we loped...i was pleasently surprised he listened to all my cues and never made a dash for the ditch.

and so for once in my life both of my babies behaved. YAY!


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## Pidge (Sep 5, 2009)

*An Jason Survives!*

Well Bause doesnt like men to much...most of them anyway...and she is picky over the ones she does an doesnt like. So I was prepared for fireworks when Jason came to trim Bause for the first time. 

Intead she stood still an gave up her fronts easy enough without biting him and behaved pretty well. She tried pulling her backs out of his hand an jerking them around but they got done an she didnt try to kick.

Considering the fact that she has bit an kicked many, many farriers an other assorted people the fact that she didnt hurt Jason means she likes him better then some LOL

So her feet look good an everyone lives! a good day in my book.


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## Pidge (Sep 5, 2009)

*Bridle work*

So now that Bause is mine im cementing the idea by purchasing all my own tack for her...or well atleast getting my own tack. I bought Romeo a new flashier headstall since im confident he wont brake one now, and thus Bause gets his old plain one. Romeo got a pretty new pad...Bause gets the old one. Bause is getting a breast collar and saddle that were not romeos but that is mostly because im a bargin shopper and they are both used an were cheaper then the stuff im using now on Romeo. So the point is Bause gets the older used items that wont be a huge loss if she breaks them.

Well today was my first time to ride Romeo in his new stuff. The pad fit nice and the headstall looks great. It snowed so that made the ride fun. He wanted to lope an gallop an dash through it all which was fun. He behaved real well so i was happy.

Later i took the old headstall to fit on Bause. It fits well but the chin strap wont buckle with the halter on. There was an issue. Bause has always been hard to bridle and you almost have to use the halter to hold her head while putting the bridle on...so her halter was always worn under her bridle. Cant anymore. haha! So we took today to a. fit the bridle...b. learn to put it on without the halter.

I found a way to do it easily! food is truely the way to a horses heart...plus ive had good results with the reward system in the past. lol. So everytime she took the bit easy she got a small handful of grain. started with the halter on then after a few times of her taking the bit easy an letting me bridle her without a fuss a unhooked the halter an just put it around her neck. She wiggled her head around the first time but she stopped fidgetting when she realised that if she took the bridle easy a treat was to be had! looks like im going to need to buy a bag of horse cookies to go at danie's for Bause. I just cant wait for the next time we go ride! Between her roundpen work and all the little things ive been teaching She should really impress Danie.

I can also tell a bond is starting to form. She doesnt try to run from me anymore. On a good day she neighs an nickers at me when i walk down to the barn. Today after our bridle lesson i let her loose an she fallowed me around the padock. I just scratched on her some. she started licking my face lol which is a Bause sign of affection. (she is a bit weird but Bause means kisses in arabic and she gives people she likes kisses by licking them) I think we have the chance of become a real good team.


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## Pidge (Sep 5, 2009)

*Lets Play!*

Well im realizing that this journal is becoming more an more about Bause but with the weather in such a mess its easier to just go mess with her then actually ride. And since we havent been going to the trails all i have to ride on is the road. Thats fine with Romeo but not Bause, and i would be riding Romeo all over the place if it wasnt so blaster cold! A good ride for him is three hours out an moving fast...im sorry but i want to spend maybe a hour outside going slow an the rest in a closed off barn lol So my point is i didnt ride romeo yesterday but I did play with Bause...litterally.

I wont go through all the boring details but I will tell you the fun part. The wind was blowing an she was frisky and the roundpen is 3/4 mud 1/2 deep mud. Combine this with a horse who doesnt really like mud and a good pair of mud boots and you have a great game. We litterally ran around the round pen playing tag an keep away. She would buck an half rear and kick around but i never felt like she was aiming at me for a change. she was actually watching to make sure i wasnt it the way when she was frisking. I was so happy...it just showed me that my hard work in just playing an bonding with her is starting to pay off.

It got even funnier because i would run to the overly muddy side and she would stop snort and throw her head as if to say I was cheating cause she wasnt gonna go in the mud. Then i would step to the other side and she would come up nudging me then trot off an buck before coming back for a scratch again lol

Once i got off in the mud an pulled out a horse cookie and started snapping my fingers an calling her. She would take a step into the mud then stretch out to see if she could get me. Take a few more steps the stretch again. I ended up with her all stretched out and her nose in my face! then i gave her the cookie and she just stood there looking at the mud like she couldnt believe i had made her walk in it. It was probably the most fun i have had in the round pen with her to date. and best of all when i told her it was time to settle down and called her up again she just walked up an stuck her nose in the halter!

After that i spent like an hour brushing her and i am sad to say my letter jacket is covered in white hairs but she looks better to say the least lol but that was our fun day.

As a side note for this entry: Feel free to leave comments on this journal if you read it. I am always up to hear what others think of my somewhat relaxed adventures. Hopefully they get wilder when riding season comes around!!!


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## Pidge (Sep 5, 2009)

*I Need to Catch Up....*

Well lots has happened...I took Romeo on a trail ride at Lake Texoma. Tons of fun. And Bause went and got her coggins...No vets injured and even if she danced around she kept her feet on the ground.

Yester day was fun. The round pen was finally dry enough to lunge even if it was still a tad muddy. Bause finally got a good work out in other words though by the time she was done she was covered in sweat an mud...she was listening to all the voice cues though so that was amazing! first time she has really listened to them with me!

Anywho back to the aweat an mud issue. Lucky me im in texas so its already warm enough to hose a horse down if the weather is nice which it was yesterday...So bause got her first bath in 3 years. I was able to hold her lead (nothing to tie too...gonna fix that) and hose her down with minimal issues if any. She looked so pretty too! and thats without and shampoo! So I happy. We ended our day with a photo shoot.

I have also recently decided on a new path for Romeo and I. I am going to work hard and see if i can get him sesetive enough to ride bareback and without a bridle. So far i got the bare back but only with some form of direction. Be it a bridle halter rope w/e. I want to teach him to be more sensetive to my legs and seat. I figure A place to start will be with just a halter and lead rope and working on leg cues. From there i can go down to just a rope and legs cues then down to maybe a string and legs then just legs. Ill prob be putting voice cues to this as well. I know alot of people wouldnt call it true bridleless work since the voice and leg cues may be considered micro managing BUT I dont really care. I would be super happy to just have him sensetive enough to listen only to legs and voice.

So there is my new goal!


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