Happy F-ing Mother's Day

I find it fitting that I so completely pissed of my pony on Mother's Day she had a tantrum of epic proportions.  She was acting like a total teenager and was in a snit our whole ride but instead of making me upset I was able to laugh it off.

We attempted to canter but it was more flailing and leaping

I haven't done much with McKenna this week.  We were supposed to have a lesson on Tuesday but she was just so slightly off.  The inside of her left front shoe had slipped a little, creating a tiny gap between it and her hoof.  Trainer thought that there were some pebbles/sand stuck in the crack making her sore.  The farrier was already scheduled for Thursday so the mare got a few days off till her shoe could get reset. Just to be safe the farrier took the hoof testers to her, but she didn't react at all and when I lunged her afterwards she looked normal.

Friday she got lunged as I was completely exhausted after a long work week and barely had the energy to clean my stall and feed. We did have a pretty decent ride Saturday considering she hadn't been ridden since Monday.  McKenna was full of energy, but it was controllable.  Lots of transitions, lots of circles, lots of keeping my calm and focus and riding her through it.

 

The dressage bridle I ordered came this week so I decided to test it out today.  I really just wanted to try the flash, as McKenna like to grab anything that comes into range of her mouth and stick her tongue out when she's upset or doesn't like something.  When I first got on I could feel her confusion about the flash; she attempted some head tossing and shaking but seemed ok with it.  During our trot work she would get upset mostly during changes of direction/bend and try to open her mouth, hit the flash, and then fling her head.  She wasn't super bad and it was easy to ride past it so I kept going. 

About five strides into our first canter she gave me the equine middle finger and took off. Her head was as high as my martingale would allow, she had the bit between her teeth, and I had very little brakes.  I pretty much had to run her into the wall to get her to stop.  She's taken off with me before, but it's always been an "I'm so full of energy and baby OTTB" explosion involving some bucks and/or leaps. This was an "I'm pissed off and f-you bitch" type of take off. She had let her inner witchy mare come out to play and she's never done that with me.  I got off and took of the flash and she immediately rubbed her nose on the wall of the arena. 

I got back on but she was having none of it. She would hop up and down in the canter, try to take off in the trot, way over bend and go sideways when I asked for leg yield, and almost ran my leg into the wall multiple times.  We did another 20minutes or so and I just asked for some nice, soft work but she was beyond reason.  We finally quit with some somewhat relaxed walk leg yields.  So note to self: The mare does not like flashes and we'll probably never rock a figure 8 in the jumper ring.