Beauty and the Tramp?

Thursday, February 26, 2009

We turned Takoda out today to begin a new routine with all the horses. He will get turned out with them (the other 3 have had 24/7 turnout except when Takoda is out) after breakfast, and will be put back in his stall for dinner where he will stay overnight. I expected more fireworks as they got reacquainted up close and personal, but it was actually quite quiet. Then something strange happened...

I believe Beauty started her heat cycle last week when she and Takoda accidentally ended up together. For those who are not aware, females (mares) are not "fixed" as that is a procedure that requires general anesthesia which can be very dangerous in horses and is used only when absolutely necessary for surgeries. Instead, the males are gelded so they cannot reproduce. At any rate, I think upon meeting the new (handsome!) kid on the block, it triggered a heat cycle in Beauty, who pranced around tail in the air, acting like she wanted Takoda to breed with her. Well, today she turned it up a few notches and was positively trying to entice Takoda, I guess not realizing he's a gelding, not a stallion! Takoda initially ignored her, not quite knowing how to respond. But eventually he reacted the way any teenage boy would who is being taunted by a cute girl. She kept turning her rump to him and squealing, big time breeding flirtations. Finally he took the hint and actually tried to mount Beauty! Well, I guess to show him he had to try harder (or something?) she wouldn't let him all the way up and kicked out at him. In the end, her hind hoof knicked him just above the knee and caused a pretty significant gash.

MJ came over to help me treat Takoda's leg and Beauty's wounds from yesterday, where we originally thought she had cut her neck on a rough board in the barn. After shaving the area, it turns out we're pretty sure Takoda must have bitten her several times in the neck - probably a result of ongoing flirtations. At any rate, after we fixed up Beauty's neck we took Takoda out and she examined his wound. I knew it had to hurt and I was terrified holding him, but MJ (who works with race horses on the track every day) has so much confidence, that Takoda seemed to really trust her. She even managed to use the clippers, despite his initial fear of them! She clipped around the wound and cleaned it out and we put antibiotic ointment on it and Takoda was SO GOOD! I want so badly to develop that kind of confidence around him! I'd have no trouble doing any of those things with Tonka or Laramie, but Takoda still intimidates me!

I have tried to work with him regularly this week, but he had Tuesday off because Laramie had surgery (she had chemotherapy beads implanted in an attempt to keep her cancer from recurring). He has been so stinking ornery and full of himself on both Wednesday and today that I thought giving him one day off must have been a really bad idea. I've had to resort back to the very beginning getting him to just walk/halt. Even at the walk and halt he is challenging me every step of the way. Finally tonight I put the pieces together and figured out - I bet he is acting up because Beauty's in season! Teenagers!!!! (Takoda is only 6 years old but in horse years that's like a raging teenager lol.) He's also learned how to nip, and I'm wondering if this is a learned behavior from the other horses (namely Beauty) or if it's a reaction to her being in season and he's having a hormonal response. Maybe it's a combination?

So tomorrow I will walk/halt him some more. My goal is to bore him to death with it and try to regain some respect before working on longeing again. I will continue to do it all week if I have to, and the next even. But I feel like we lost some ground in the work we were doing and it's frustrating. Hopefully Cherie can whip him back into shape this weekend :).