Jimmy has always been the most wonderful, prince charming of a horse on trail rides and in the arena to ride. I always joke that he doesn't know how to spook because whether it's a lawn chair/snow sled/garbage can jump, or a deer jumping through the field, or a wood chuck coming up for air from the creek....Jimmy doesn't spook. He jumps whatever is in front of him and doesn't second guess anything else in the world. Even motorcycles speeding by or bicyclists flying mere inches past us on the road don't cause him to blink.
Bill and I got home much earlier than anticipated from our weekend away & I felt a quick, light bareback ride wouldn't hurt him if we only walked. I hurled myself on from our mounting tree-stump and we walked up the driveway. He hadn't been out really all week, but trails are a piece of cake so I held just the buckle of my reins while he walked up the driveway and crossed the street. Motorcycles rumbled past....Jimmy walked with his head practically on the ground, half asleep. A bicyclist whizzed by so fast I swear if a rock hit her tire she would have flipped end-over-end....Jimmy nearly snored with boredom.
We got onto the trail just across the street and I was really relaxed, enjoying the beautiful weather when he saw them. Political. Promotions. Oh my GOSH it was like the world was coming to and end and the apocalypse was happening before his eyes. Just two red/white/blue posters about 12"x14", stuck into the ground in the middle of "his" trail. Jimmy is a very self-taught trail guide, so he knows (how, I don't know) wherever the grass is mowed down, he can walk there. The fact that those posters were in the smack-dab-middle of his trail offended and terrified him to the maximum degree.
Going past the first time he panicked, but made it and immediately settled back to his low-head-hanging, walk-on-the-buckle self. The way back he knew it was coming (so did I, and I did the best I could to relax and soothe him) and there was nothing in the world that would prevent an explosion. He grew about 2 full hands and had his head up so high I couldn't see over him too look ahead. I cooed and patted and pet and scratched to no avail. He started flying sideways and backwards so quickly there was nowhere I could go but bail. Luckily, I practiced this frequently for JUST this occasion when he was a baby. I flew off to the left and took the reins over his head on my way down. Landed running forward and he knew to keep up and trot forward with me. God Bless this well-trained horse!!! Give him the routine bag of tricks and he goes right into working mode. We trotted straight up to the terrible signs and when I touched them he got brave enough to poke his nose out and touch them too. We walked away and back up to them a few times and by time #2 he forgot why we were there and reached over one of the signs to eat the grass on the other side.
Mission: Accomplished. We successfully overcame our terrible fear of political signs. Personally, I can't blame him. I don't like those things either.
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