Wild and Wooly

For those of you who may be wondering how the Buddy situation is going. Not well. Last night he was a superstar. Well, he was a superstar until I began the get on - get off routine. I was on my 3rd get on. I was on and sitting on the horse, when he decided to take a step, putting his head down as if going to scratch his nose on his knee. Except he suddenly leaped into the air and began to honk like a rodeo horse. Normally when a horse is going to stat bucking you have some warning. For example their back may tense up or they'll swish their tale. Not with this guy, up until the point when we were airborne his body language remained the same. Relaxed but alert.

Needless to say I was slightly ticked off. So there I am pulling with all my might to try and get him turned and his head up. I actually know better. I should have cracked him with the reins and tried to get him to run. A horse can't buck well when running or when turning in a circle. Usually. Back to the story. I was pulling with all my might until we neared the fence, at which point he raised his head just enough to set me off balance and changed direction. Realizing I was going to bite it I began to try and find a safe spot to land. With the fence ominously close and the horse not slackening I hit the ground hard. Literally skidding into the fence. Sitting and watching the jerk buck away, only to turn and buck towards me. Flapping my hands and clapping I managed to get him to swerve. I sat and collected my breath and thoughts.

One thought was extremely clear. I really hate this horse. It's not even the fact that he bucked me off (this is not the first nor I'm sure the last time this I've hit the dirt), I think it's his erratic behavior. His poor attitude. There is something about this animal that just grates on my nerves. To put it politely when I managed to heave myself up from the ground I was furious. Catching him I thought - you want to buck you bugger, let's buck - and I tightened the back cinch as tight as it would go. Slapping him on the butt I stepped back. Did he buck? Nope, not even a little. So I take the neck slinky and hook it on to the horn, sling shooting it into him. Did he buck? No! I grab the whip and I tie it to the saddle, and then chase him around forcing him to drag it. Did he buck, shy or spook? You guessed it - not even a glimmer.

I'm pretty sure steam was pouring out of my ears by this point. Frustrated and livid I made him work until he was covered in a lather. And no inkling of any more bucking sprees. Quitting, and grinding my teeth I gave up. I realize my suppressed rage at the horse is not conducive to developing a positive working relationship but I've hit the point where I don't care anymore. I don't like him. I don't want to invest anymore time or money into him. I think he may have something wrong with him and I want him gone. I want him gone and I don't want my name associated with him. I have an excellent reputation in my little corner of the horse world and don't want him to sully it. I have this fear of getting him going, selling him and then having him do something bizarre and hurting someone. I'm not okay with that.

Buddy is slated to go to the local horse auction. This will be the first horse I've ever sold at an auction. While I'm not proud I just can't in good faith sell him as a started horse. At least at an auction anyone buying should have some caution or suspicion around the horse. In the meantime, a cowboy friend will take him and try to get him settled enough to ride through the ring, although to be honest, at this point I don't even care if he goes for meat. Horrible I know but the reality of it is he's not only been a jerk but unsafe too. And he's become a liability I'm not willing to tolerate anymore.