Jimmy and the Hose of Terror

I'm noticing a trend at this new barn. While Jimmy is possibly the happiest I've seen him, (since Doobie died, at least) he's absolutely terrified of JUST about everything he sees when it's dark out. I've always questioned if he has limited vision in one eye, because he always spooks if things come at him from one side. It's his left eye. If something on THAT side comes up and touches him, he always startles. If I brush the left side of his face, he spooks, when i put his blanket on & throw it over from the left, he startles unless I put my hand and talk to him so he knows I'm there.

Because I ride when it's pitch black out and one of the arena lights is out, it makes the arena darker than any that we've ridden in before & he really, really doesn't like it. Thinking back on the Afraid of the Dark post kind of confirms this. He's very uncomfortable when it's dark & he doesn't KNOW what is where.

Last night Cass was watering the arena when we rode. We can all look back and remember how much Jimmy loves baths....so I knew this obstacle would really be a joy to work with. But you know what? He needs to get tougher & get on with his life. I understand that he was abused and neglected and abandoned and Heaven knows what else has traumatized this poor guy, but seriously... IT. IS. A. HOSE. Move on with your life, Jimmy! FORGIVE AND FORGET!

So Cass was misting the arena. There was the "Psssssssssst" noise coming from her end, and the hose was out along the sand. Add to that, the hose leaked a few places, and squirted tiny streams of water almost too thin to see from on top of Jimmy, causing random puddles (which reflect light...AND ARE SCARY!!!) AND made that "Psssssssst" noise also. This was truly terrifying for Jimmy and he did everything he could to barely contain himself.

It took about 20 minutes of trotting transitions to calm him enough to hack normally, and he even got brave enough to trot OVER the hose INTO the puddles and PSSSSST'ing squirters, without leaping into the rafters and exploding out of terror! GREAT JOB, JIM!!! I was actually surprised that accomplishment existed at all, I didn't think we'd be able to track near the hose the whole ride. He grew more and more brave the whole ride and didn't even leap into the rafters once. HOORAY!

He cantered really well, we worked on transitions within the canter just like we did in the trot. These transitions are collect, regular, extend, in varying orders. I ask him to canter at a regular pace, then I bring him in if there's a potential "spook" situation coming on, like the hose or Cass spraying very close to where we're about to canter on the rail, and cluck him up to extend down the long side or through a corner. He was alert and responsive without being at all disrespectful. I actually only had to use the stick on him once throughout the whole ride (minus when we were warming up with lateral movements, but those taps are VERY light and merely to extend the message of "move your butt over") & after that he was wonderfully respectful of the cluck.

When I have been cooling out the last few weeks I've been practicing neck reining, voice commands, and steering only using my legs. I am trying to think of how in the world he learned to neck rein as well as he does. He does it better than the (few) western-broke horses I've ridden...and I broke him out and have trained him myself all along, with a few short months working with a trainer - in which time we never ONCE mentioned neck-reining. I have to believe it was embedded in his blood. Like when I go across the diagonal & he pops a lead change, he was born knowing to do that, I swear.

Last night we hacked for about 45 minutes and he didn't seem warn out. His legs held up beautifully and he was sound the whole ride. I'm very pleased with this progress and I'm still wondering...when can I jump? What do you think?