This day was all about one thing - regression. It didn't help that it rained all day today so I couldn't sit outside with my work computer as I didn't want it to get waterlogged. Merry would NOT go back into the barn when it started raining. All of the other horses were tucked in nice and dry and she refused to leave the round pen. I guess running wild in Nevada made her used to a little drizzle, but I still felt bad for her. She also did not want me to come near her in the pen today for some reason. Yesterday she was all about being brushed and loved on, and today I could barely get my hands on her for a few seconds/brush swipes before she would walk or trot away. She's also discovered that if she pulls away really quickly that the drag rope will go sliding through my hands, especially when it's caked in mud! I didn't push her too much at lunch today, and just decided to fix everything after I got off work at 4pm.
At 4:30 I went outside and was determined to at least catch up to yesterdays progress, but Merry had other ideas. I wish I could have gotten into her head to hear what she was thinking, but she just wasn't having any of anything to do with me. At 5pm I decided to try to wear her out a bit and longed her on a timer for 30 minutes. When I asked her to whoa, she definitely parked it, but as soon as I would try to catch her to rub or brush on her, she would move away. I then asked her to stop every five minutes (again, timed) for another thirty minutes, and she STILL wouldn't let me mess with her!
By this point I was completely frustrated so decided that I should put her back into her stall to be able to have her in closer quarters where I could catch and hold onto that drag rope. Again though, Merry had other ideas. Even with the gate wide open, she would NOT leave the round pen. I tried shooing her through the gate, shaking bags, hanging a tarp, having my mom hold the other end of a rope and pushing her through the gate... nothing would work. In frustration I finally walked away and was just sitting at the opening to the barn, talking on the phone. Maria and the girls said they would come over and help, even though it's an almost 30 minute drive! They are so sweet!
While I was waiting, I put a big pile of hay in the aisleway of the barn, and then proceeded to ignore Merry and clean stalls. About 10 minutes before Maria and the girls got there, Merry just up and decided to walk on in and eat some hay! My mom was still outside so she snuck behind her and closed the barn door so she couldn't regress into the round pen. Then came challenge number two... getting her into the stall. In the barn aisle, I was able to grab her drag rope and hang on, and even got her head and neck sticking inside the stall. But that was the extent of it. No pulling, pushing, or dragging was going to convince this mustang to go back into her house! Maria and the girls got there and we decided to improvise a new strategy.
Introduce Mr. Tarp. Now - don't feel bad for Merry. I had already determined earlier that this horse is scared of NOTHING. Including tarps. We used it as a wall and then just surrounded her until she ran right in! WAHOO! At this point it was about 8pm, and I was hungry and exhausted!
The frustrating thing is that as soon as Merry was in her stall, she let me walk right up to her and pet, brush, and love on her like usual. I really think she was just having a "mare day" and feeling stubborn. Now I just hope tomorrow is better!
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