Poor Ranger flipped out--I've never seen him so terrified. He didn't know which way to bolt, because we were inside the building, so he stood and trembled in sheer panic. Once the dust devil passed, the wind died down to just "breezy," but it still caused the fabric to move, and Ranger was having none of it. Horses are prey animals, and no matter how much time we spend with them, they are always convinced that something is going to chase, catch and eat them. Ranger was certain that the big white monster in the corner was going to pounce.
The judge was kind enough to let us work in the corner for a few minutes before starting our test. Often, you can work with a horse near a scary object, and by asking him to do things that are a little harder than normal, get his mind off of the scary object and back onto you. Not this time, not even after several leg-yields, half-passes, haunches in...this monster was just too big. Ranger was actually shaking from fear.
We began Test 1, and as long as we were on the near side of the arena, Ranger was OK. He had a lot of trouble accepting the canter going towards the scary corner, and when I asked him for the canter out of the corner, he wanted to bolt. We had to attempt canter departures several times before he accomplished them. His trot was uneven, circles weren't quite circular...but my little horse still tried his best, despite his fear, and we finished the test. We got a 59, which is a low score, but it was a 100 to me because Ranger trusted me enough to continue to try. He was still trembling when we departed the arena. The scary corner is in the photo below--you can see that his ears are on the corner, even as he is trying to collect and be soft for me. What an amazing horse! What amazing trust!
We are about halfway down the arena, going away from the scary corner. Notice that Ranger's ears are now forward and his mouth is much more relaxed.
Ranger began shaking again when we neared the corner while warming up for our second ride, Training Level Test 4. Given his level of fear, I asked to be excused. I was disappointed, because we were ready for it--we'd practiced hard, and I was looking forward to comments that might reflect our improvement. The same judge has judged the entire series, so she's seen his progression over the past few months. However, it's not worth injury, or a ride that becomes a fight, or a ride that is stressful and unpleasant for Ranger. We have nothing to prove. This is supposed to be fun. He'd already given me his trust once by finishing the first test, and I didn't see a reason to abuse that gift, not when he was truly terrified.
The judge allowed us to use our Test time to work in that corner. I asked Ranger to trot in a circle in the corner, but kept getting an "egg" shape; he kept whirling around in order to keep his eyes on it. We finally got a round circle as he began to realize that nothing was chasing him. My last goal was to ask for a nice, easy, soft canter departure going towards the corner, so I took him to the middle of the arena, and as we neared the wall, I asked. Ranger gave me a lovely departure, so I stopped him after 3 strides and called it good. Sometimes winning isn't about the score.
Wild horses are hard-wired to survive, so much more so than domestic horses. That was very evident in this event. The domestic horses were certainly as terrified as Ranger, but they forgot about it within a few minutes. Wild horses actually remember things that affect them, be it a frightening place or sound, or the last place they found food or water. In fact, Ranger remembers where I put apples and carrots days later, and goes to each spot, even though I've only put something there once! Ranger will probably always remember that corner as being scary, so later this week, we're going back over there. Once he approaches that corner, he'll find some goodies hidden there...that should go a long way towards helping him overcome the trauma of horse-eating fabric!
The day was not without success...after our class, Annette and Nichole informed me that Ranger and I had won the High Point award for Training Level for the series! We won a lovely dressage pad, with Desert Skye High Point embroidered in the corner! This photo was taken as Nichole told us...can't you tell by my smile?
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