Ida and her boyfriend had gathered them. The horses had wandered down into one of the sets of corrals Sunday to lick a salt lick, which made rounding them up somewhat easier. Ranger got backed into a stall, and realized he was caught. All of the others would just as soon go for a trailer ride, so the spring roundup was something of a non-event. Ida's boyfriend did question Ranger's training ("Are you SURE this guy is broke?") as it took a little while to get him into the trailer...
They took them and transported them to one of the fields they "hay" during the summer. So Monday we got to catch and de-burr and de-tick them.
"GunDiva" and I cut Jesse, Washoe, Estes and Eli from the rest of the herd, had them deburred, tick oiled and released in about fifteen minutes. Ranger took an HOUR and fifteen minutes. Dork. He has never much cared for the smell of the citronella based tick oil, and I think when he smelled it on the others, he made his decision.
"No way, Bill".
The pasture they were on was only about twenty or so acres, but damn. I mean DAMN. That horse had been running free for months with NO human contact, and Ranger was back to "mustang mode". Run away, stop and stare, SNORT, run away again.
Pressure and release does not work very well with Ranger. When you stop advancing he says
"Good, now just leave me alone"
and when you retreat, he says
"Even better. Just keep going. Write if you get work."
The best way to catch this guy is just to keep after him till he gets tired. It can take a heck of a long time to tire out a horse. GunDiva and I spent our time walking to him, halter in hand, and he would run away from us to the other side of the herd. Mostly he ran to the left, around the herd. I commented to GunDiva that he must have some Off Track Thoroughbred in him, as he was "running the race track". Realistically, as a fourteen hand Roman nosed grulla from Nevada, his ancestors were more likely to have played the slots than to have run on a track.
By the time he was done with his run, he was dripping rivers of sweat, and breathing a little harder than he had been when we started. Me too. He stood nicely while I dropped the rope over his neck, and he was caught. We led him back to the fence to the grooming stuff. Tick oiled, deburred and done. Five minutes, tops.
Dork.
Bill
I love the picture you got of Ranger floating in the air. That's amazing.
ReplyDeleteBut he's still a Dork.
I loved that shot too! An your dork is a pisser ;)
ReplyDeleteI wish I could LAUGH OUT LOUD on this blog because I'd be gut rolling during your description of Ranger--been there with my pony. Write when you get work--FUNNY!!!!! The horses look great, you guys!
ReplyDeleteYea, it woulda been nice if God woulda put an ON, OFF switch on them...*snicker*
ReplyDeletejust saying.
LMAO-Great pictures, but yea...Dork!
ReplyDeletePressure and release doesn't work on my dun horse either when he decides he doesn't want to be caught. You just have to keep after him and hope you can get him to look at you. Once you make eye contact, Moon will stop, but he is awesome (and not in a good way) at avoiding meeting your eye.
Maybe it has something to do with the dun factor? LOL
Umm - quiet Mr. Daddy. My horse didn't die on me three times yesterday like your Rhino did either.
ReplyDeleteAnd my horse didn't kick 14 cubic yards of snow under my glasses and into my eyeballs either.
;)
Know what cracks me up? Someone done trained my girl right. No one believed me when I told them, "if she runs from you, just yell STAND, and she'll stop and wait for you".
Until another horse lifted the gate and they ran out on the highway. And they couldn't catch my freaked out arab. Until someone finally yelled, "stand &%$#, STAND!"
Wanna guess what she did? :)
Send Ranger out and we'll have her teach him...
And next time, maybe try catching Ranger before the rest of 'em get doused?
But gosh he looks beautiful running!
LOL. I love it! He's like a little kid and looks like he got lathered up good. Say...if horses are to owners as are dogs...you just called yourself a dork...silly.
ReplyDelete