Round 1 - Eagle by a landslide!!

Yep, we had a fight last night.  Big time.  And the winner is...Eagle.  Not a mark on him, not so much as a hair out of place...he sure is one scrappy little sucker.  I'd call him "street wise", you know, like those kids who run the streets at all hours of the day or night.  Ah-huh, like that - savvy?

Poor, poor, poor Shad.  :(  I could have cried for him, he was so traumatized by it all.  You see, Shad's not a fighter.  He's never had to be.  Shad's a leader because he's got the right moves.  All the bravado, but he's never had to back it up.  Until now.  I have no idea what took place.  I hadn't even made it home from work yet, when my hubby called...pe'od that "my horse" had beat the crap out of his horse...um, ok.  Anyway, whatever transpired must have just happened because the wounds were fresh.  There's a perfect bloody hoof print on the side of Shad's side rump (few inches below the hip bone), a rather nasty 8-9" long scrape down the side of his ribcage (same side) and a brutal bite on his back on his other side.  The bite is the one that's the most painful.  The bite indicates that it was upfront and personal...not the rump to rump kicking match like the first time.  Shad was so bewildered that he didn't even want to leave the safety of the shelter.  He was trembling and nickering for his herdmates to come to him.  But, Ladde was near Eagle across the pasture.  Kadie was off by herself grazing.  And Harley, well...clueless Harley was sniffing the bucket of the neighbor's tractor who was trying to move our manure pile for us.  Good grief...I've said it before, but I'll say it again...it's a darn good thing that we know very little of what actually happens around there when we're gone.  Thank God, because He apparently watches over our little herd for us while we're away.  I'm very thankful for that.  :)

Maybe the tractor being there somehow instigated something, however unlikely, but something happened.  Guess we'll never know, but it sure would make things easier to understand if we knew.  They've been together in the pasture everyday, all day long for over a week now.  No apparent problems.  And, now today Eagle is in the front pasture all by his lonesome.  Having a little time-out.  A time to ponder ones' thoughts, if you will.  Maybe it was Shad's fault.  But, my money's on Eagle.  I'm thinking that's a pretty safe bet.

This weekend we're planning a camp-out with some friends.  The first of the summer for us, even if the calendar says it's technically the first weekend of fall.  We're not taking any horses.  We have a friend who'll becoming over doing the feeding and the watering for us in our absence.  I'm thinking we'll leave the horses separated while we're gone.  I'd rather not have any surprises in store for us upon our return home.  *sigh*

This same friend will use the opportunity to evaluate Eagle for us.  The wife of this couple caretaking for us is a full-time horse trainer.  She's been doing it for a number of years and is quite accomplished herself.  I'm thinking that if I want to (hopefully) be riding Eagle next summer as my trail mount, it would be a good idea to have someone work with him for a couple of months, then throughout this coming winter, I'll be able to ride him a couple of times a week in the inside arena in preparation for next summer.  If I don't get help, it will take me far too long to accomplish my goals of having a solid riding horse.  And...truth told, I'm not nearly as brave a rider as I once was.  I don't bounce quite as well as I used to.  It's been many, many moons since I can recall a fall from a horse, and I'd rather not experience anything of the sort in my future.  Get my drift? 

That said - I'm going to be considering a few different trainers in the upcoming weeks and make my decision as to which one I feel the most comfortable with schooling my new boy.  He's very, very sensitive.  Even if he is scrappy.  I want his trust to be handled with kid gloves.  I want his schooling to be gentle, but with firm hands.  Like Ray always said..."the slower you go, the quicker you'll get there".  Amongst so many other sayings that I remember equally well; those are words of wisdom.  And, I've taken them to heart. 

Let's hope there is no Round 2...pretty, pretty please?

Blessings everyone,
Lorie @ Cingspots