The biggest concern I had after our vet visit was discovering that Pops was 8 years old, not 2 as I had been originally told. As an adult, he was very much set in his ways, and his ways…..well….they were meant to get along with people. Nor other horses for that matter. The vet asked me what my plans were for him, I shrugged and said “I dunno, train him to do something.” The vet has been shaking his head at me ever since.
Pops was stalled while he was healing, this was not the easiest way to deal with him since he sill had to be brought out and lunged daily to keep the swelling down. Pops hated feeling cornered or trapped in his stall when I approached and in such a small space he felt the need to come at me often. I decided to go with bribery in order to convince him that me coming towards him was a good thing. At this point, Pops was fairly well halter broke, but still uncatchable even in a stall, So he was still wearing both a halter and a catch line when confined. That way I could get his nose in the bowl and quietly pick up the catch line while he was distracted. Placing my hand too close to his face would cause a violent reaction from him so this worked out well.
We would then go to the round pen and lunge circles for a while, and after just a few days, Pops became comfortable with our twice-daily routine. I decided to try something new. We went out to the round pen and I removed his halter, it was literally the first time he had if off since I had spent a week trying to get it on! At first we just stood there looking at each other, and then he shot off like the wild man he is. Running and bucking and feeling free. When I said “whoa” he slowed down a bit until he was finally still. Then I sent him off in the other direction, which is where the problems started. When Pops could see me, he was somewhat in control, but once he went the other way, he couldn’t see me and self-preservation kicked in for him. He bolted like he was being chased by a cougar, with no where to go but circles around me. Any noise from me made him go faster and harder, until at on point he finally turned to attack what he thought was his enemy, Me! I knew from our first sessions together that the best way to stop a Popeye Attack was to wave a plastic bag in his face, which thankfully I had that day. As we stood toe to toe, I was wondering if it was safe to put his halter back on, he finally dropped his head and looked relaxed enough to approach. I slipped his halter on and decided this was a good place to end.
We had the same issue for several days after that, Pops would go into a panic when his blind side was to me. Finally I frustrated and stomped the ground, this got me an ear flick. So I stomped the ground and said his name “Pops..whoa”. I got a hesitation. It took several tries, but eventually, Pops learned to listen for the stomp and his name, and he learned that meant he got to stop and rest. And the faster he stopped, the sooner he could go back to his stall and eat!
Horses are known to have two sides, and Popeye’s blind side still remains his more feral side. He still gets nervous when I am out of his sight line but one of our favorite things to do now is free lunging. I have had to adjust my methods to work for Pops but he really seems to enjoy free lunging in the arena even now. Probably because he knows it’s his choice and he can leave whenever he wants. I know I enjoy the connection I feel with him when he is running loose around me, yet still just ten feet away. He listens for my stomp, and never misses his cue. Though I will admit I still can catch him in the pasture, no amount of stomping and screaming “GET OVER HERE POOPEYE!!!” gets him caught. No big deal, I still have bribery to fall back on, Pops can’t resist his alfalfa pellets. At his age, it’s good to be set in his ways!
