Pony Problems

I have taken two good falls off of Harlan Pepper this spring. The first time was understandable; it was the first ride of the spring, we were by ourselves, the ground shifted underneath him.

The second time however, I moved my leg and it sent him into a tizzy that involved a spook, buck, turn to bolt home, and trip which landed me on the pavement with some nice bruises from the saddle collected on the way down.

This isn't like Harlan. He was such a good pony last fall and throughout the winter: I could ride him off by himself, he was calm and trusting, and we had great adventures on farm and off farm.

But now every ride involves a pent up Harlan spooking from side to side, freaking out if I move my legs or put the slightest pressure on his sides. He is amazing to pony alongside Tanner (non horse folks: ponying is when you ride one horse and lead the other one alongside) and still has wonderful and respectful ground manners.

So something has changed. It's now the Great Mystery to figure out what, be it either behavioral or medical.

Behavioral Possibilities
1. Spring jitters: Possible, but I don't think likely. He is so good ponying and on the ground.
2. Lack of trust in me: Also possible and we are taking lots of walks together (me leading him, not riding) as well as ponying alongside Tanner to increase confidence.
3. Assholery: He doesn't have it in him to be this much of a jerk. I keep telling everyone that he has such a good brain and such a sweet personality, which is why this whole thing is so frustrating.

Medical Possibilities
1. Lyme disease: Negative. I really thought he might have Lyme because some of the symptoms include extreme sensitivity to touch and crankiness under saddle. But his tests came back negative. Yay!
2. Vision problem: For a little bit I thought maybe he was having issues with his left eye in particular since he was more reactive on that side to my leg moving. This could still be an issue, but his eyes look fine to my untrained eye and he isn't reactive to me being on the ground on either side of him.
3. Ulcers: This is my new "diagnosis of the day" for him. It wasn't until Saturday's ride that I put together the pieces of the puzzle that he spooked from my leg moving resulting in me falling off, and that any movement from my leg or any pressure on his sides makes him flinch and shoot forward.

I talked to my vet this morning about the possibility of ulcers and she thought it would be a good idea to start him on the treatment. Diagnosing ulcers involves a gastric scope which her practice doesn't do, and I imagine it costs a pretty penny to do it. The treatment for ulcers is just a stronger dose than the prevention for ulcers so it won't do him any harm if he doesn't have ulcers. Fingers crossed that this does the trick.

I don't want him to have a medical issue, but it would also be a much easier explanation of his behavioral changes and if ulcers, it's a straightforward solution. And also I hate the thought that I'm getting frustrated and giving him negative feedback to moving away from my leg if he's uncomfortable because of ulcers or another physical ailment.

But it is entirely possible that I'm looking for excuses that aren't there. If the ulcer treatment doesn't do anything, I'll move forward on the assumption that it's behavioral and we'll do a lot of desensitization. I put up a tiny temporary riding pen in the pasture and I rode for just about 10 minutes last night. Once he stopped reacting to my legs swinging up and down and around and the presence of my legs on his sides, we were done with the lesson.

Either way, I am sad that Harlan is struggling no matter the cause. I am confident that we will work through it; I love that big dino-head.

Side note: I feel so lucky that even though Harlan is confusing and frustrating me right now, I still love working with him and never get tired of rubbing that big dorky face. That wasn't the case with Piper and Cooper - both of them are great horses with great hearts but neither were the right horses for me. My friend and fellow blogger Amanda decided that her pony critter isn't the right one for her. She's getting some flak for "breaking up" with her horse, but horses really are a relationship and if it's not right it is better for everyone to find new partners before everything turns completely sour. Just like with dating, it takes multiple attempts to find the right relationship and that is completely okay.