I cannot explain how psyched I am for spring. Half-way through the second semester of college and I am looking forward to this summer like no other. Once school is out and the weather is nice, there is so much that I want to do. I had planned to find a second job make as much money as possible for school. Now I think I'm going to enjoy the job I have. I could use some free time to spend with God, friends, family, and of course - Gambler!
Gambler is out of solitary confinement and in with the herd of mares. It took him a while to settle in, but now he is (of course) at the top of the food chain. He's a dominant lil bugger.
I have discovered that he likes his new family more than he likes me. He has been hard to catch now and then in the past, but never as much as he is now. Last week I spent thirty minutes chasing him around the pasture and finally drove home in tears. I think the tears had more to do with stress and friend drama than Gambler, but the unexpected struggle tipped it all over the edge. Thankfully, The next time I visited Gambler (on Monday) he was easy to catch: a huge relief.
There was another horse in the arena that day, which Gambler found . . .exciting to say the least. I wasn't sure what to expect, so I asked him to stand quietly and watch the other horse while I brushed him down. To my surprised, he did quite well. He is growing more and more used to the unfamiliar environment everyday.
Today I spent two and a half hours with Gambler. He decided to be hard to catch again, so I cheated, bribing him with a tiny handful of grain. Before anyone feels the need to set me straight - I know that this approach isn't a real solution to the problem. I think that once I spend more time with Gamby and we grow back into a close partnership, he'll want to catch me again.
There wasn't another horse in the arena, which was nice. Since Gambler needs the practice, I don't mind having other horses and people around. At the same time, nothing beats having the entire arena to ourselves.
The Gambster was spooky at first. Once he realized the hay piled in the barn was, indeed, hay, he calmed down significantly. We focused on relaxation, the circling game, the friendly game, and a little bit of jumping. Actually, I was asking him to play squeeze game between a few barrels when Gambler ignored the open space between them and offered to jump all on his own. After that he was much more left-brained. Instead of looking around the arena, wide-eyed, head thrown into the air; he lowered his head, licking, chewing, and keeping one ear on me.
I took a few videos on my phone, but I need to use a different computer to edit them, so they will probably show up later. I'm sure I'll have more to show off by then.
