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I think that most of you lunge your horses...I wish I could because I know that it is so useful in gaining respect from your equine. I remember my niece PONY GIRL doing her PONY COUSIN equine dance with "her boy" on a lunge line playing the Parelli games with him...it was very entertaining and so cute to see them play together.However...most of you know that I am plagued by SEAHORSE SICKNESS and am unable to lunge my horses. So that means free play in the arena if I need to get them moving. Some people don't like to be in the arena with their horse free...it can be a bit un-nerving and with some horses... dangerous. You really have to know your horse to be out there with them when they are bucking, farting , and kicking, they are NOT focused on you. I have had Jesse since he was a 2 1/2 year old baby and had just come out of his 3 months training. Jesse was an "old soul" from day one. He had never had a person to be his, and had been...neglected both physically and emotionally. So it did not take him long to realize that he wanted ME to be his person and did everything he could to make sure that happened. I always turned him out before a ride when he was a baby...I wanted those bucks, farts and kicks outta the way before we hit the trail. And back then...I was NOT the Desert Rose you read about here. I also was a physical and emotional wreck. It is too long of a story to go into here...but someday I will post about it.
So I have played in the arena with Jesse for years now and a few other horses that I know and trust. One being Cowgirljlynn's Missouri Fox Trotter...The King! Then there is Little Lady...who is one that I am careful with at free play. If I am in her way as she is playing I know I had better be the one to move because she may just knock me over. Where as with Jesse...I know he will go around me...even at the last possible moment sometimes. He loves to run by me fast with his head turned sideways as if to say "nah nah na na nah you can't catch me"! He will run circles around me making the circles smaller and smaller and smaller until after about 10 circles around me...when he stops running, I can reach out and pet him!The King does the same thing and as they go by me I call them a smarty pants which I KNOW they understand!
Since I have had bronchitis now for over 2 weeks and the Bossman was gone for a week the horses have not had much out of stall time. Yesterday was quite windy here in the desert (I was not up to riding anyway)..and the Bossman got blown outta his 1st ride and did not get to Jesse and Lady...I decided to turn them both out.
Jesse was first...The wind stirs them up, so out of 60 pictures here are some of the best! 
Ya... mom was right...I did NEED to run!
Just before this picture...Jesse did a perfect flying lead change!
Big butt Q-horse sliding stop!
Look at how muscled up Jesse is...even after 2 months off!
I call Jesse and he knows it's time to get out now and comes to me!Then Lady's turn...she HATES wind and got very upset if I left the arena and she was all by herself. I am more cautious with her but I think by the time I come back to the desert next season that she and I will have established the rules and we will play more "safely" together! The best of Lady's pictures follow! 
She put her head down into the wind!
She was also not looking at me cause I was making her move!
She put her head down into the wind! She was also not looking at me cause I was making her move! If you look at her hooves angle...she can almost see that she is gaited horse.
Wish I could of gotten the whole shot here...she had a GIANT buck/fart here!
I'm all done now MOM!
Wish I could of gotten the whole shot here...she had a GIANT buck/fart here! I'm all done now MOM!Your Desert Rose!
I find having a loose horse is safer if I have the choice than one thats gonna go bonkers on a line and give me bad rope burn, which I have had my share of. I take my sturdy driving whip rather than a lunge whip because if they get into my space they learn they get beat up. Never had to tell a horse more than a time or two getting into my personal bubble is a really bad idea.
ReplyDeleteThey are so pretty! Jesse does look muscled and good! And Lady, she is just beautiful! Love that flagged tail and flared nostrils. Such an interesting breed, isn't she like mostly Tenn. Walker and some Quarter Horse?
ReplyDeleteMy Boy is always good free, he keeps his distance and moves around me in a circle. I usually have a carrot stick, just in case! A little swing of that and he'll change his mind!
I love free play! I will never forget when Skyler was playing in Spokane, and he did a HUGE rear/buck/jump, and then he slipped and fell down and you could see the embarrassment wash over him when he got back up! He just stood there for a few seconds like, "Whoa. I hope no one saw that." Haha! They are just so pretty when you let them do their own thing!
ReplyDeleteThe joys of playing in the arena!! I can be in the arena with Fritzy and Brandy running loose. Tried that once with Chance, won't do that again until she gets older!!
ReplyDeleteThe horseys look very beautiful with their shiny, sleek coats!! Jealous!!
Wow, it does my heart GOOD to see Jesse running and feeling good there! I'm so glad to see him healed finally. They both just look beautiful! I agree, free lunging is so nice to do if it can be done safely. And I find it fun to watch.
ReplyDeleteI'm also longe-challenged. I do the same thing with mine - take them in the RP and "free-longe". You really do have to be careful!
ReplyDeleteI want to hear that story.
Fabulous pictures! It is so neat that you go out in the arena with them when they are running around like that. I do that also, but I keep my distance. I should do more with the lunge line, too, but I have problems with dizziness and motion sickness. (Plus, Divna just stands there and looks at me, then walks up to me and puts her head on my shoulder) What is it about those windy days that get the horses all jazzed up? This was a really cool post....
ReplyDeleteStar and I go play in the arena loose all the time.I just stand there and she hasa great time running and bucking, when she was a filly HOWEVER she liked to play CHASE, and that wasnt cool.I love Jesses deep red shiny coat!
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures! I love to let Dusty free play. I feel perfectly safe with him in the arena. SOmetimes he will get close and throw kick his butt my way, but I keep my eyes on him at all times. He has never tried to run me down.
ReplyDeleteI love watching horses free play in the arena or field. I haven't done that with Apache yet. I think I will get a lunge whip just to be prepared as she does like to get into my space when I'm near her.
ReplyDeleteJesse looks AMAZING!!!! He's looks even better than I remember him looking. Stall rest does him good.
And Lady is just stunning! Thanks for sharing these photos.
We've still got fuzzy hairy ponies around here, so it's nice to see the light at the end of the tunnel with your sleek shiny ponies.
~Lisa