Miss B and Holly are polar opposites. If I do anything to offend Miss B, she will let me know with very subtle challenges, such as pushing her shoulder at me even if her barrel is bent away. She is also lazy and will try every shortcut in the book, but once I earned her trust and respect, I could tell she was there all the way, and she's never rude if I don't deserve it. Holly, however, is super expressive, and if I do anything wrong, she will let me know exactly what with big, bold gestures. She has an incredible work ethic, which unfortunately oftentimes works against me, as she does not tire easily, and never lets down her guard. Just when I think I’ve earned her respect, five seconds later she’ll put up a wall, and act like she never even joined up with me.
I think their oppositeness is what allows me to deal with them, because if it wasn’t for Miss B’s sweet, honest actions, I don’t think I could get through the way Holly rejects me. For the longest time I thought I was actually accomplishing things with Holly; she was so soft and responsive, yawning when I was around, and generally just letting me be the leader so she could take a break. But, now she’s back to stoic defiant wild mare who has to protect Miss B from the world’s dangers while also being the biggest face biting bully. She’s turning her butt to me in the pasture when she thinks I can’t push back, she even pinned her ears at me when I went to her shoulder while she was eating!
What I think happened with Holly is that through me not being there for her over this fall and winter, she has slowly lost all the trust and respect she had in me this summer, and is making me again prove to her that I am worth her time. I have to find some way to show her that I can make her feel better with me than she ever could on her own. The big question is how? I really don’t want her to become round pen sour (not wanting to go into the round pen because all there is, is work) like she was last year. Maybe it’s just an endless cycle of tests I must pass, and every time I grow up a little? The horses are just like a giant puzzle where the pieces kept getting mixed up and lost, and I have to fix and find them. *Sigh*
