We all do it, all us horsewomen bloggers have to talk about our horse’s manure habits from time to time. And after reading quite a few poo posts, I can’t believe I’m giving in and doing one of my own. I never thought that would happen on my blog. But here it is …

I’ve gotten up close and personal with Ace’s poop this week, as Dave and Tracie are on vacation and I’m responsible for animal care while they are gone. Sure I’ve cleaned his stall before, but it hasn’t been day in and day out. And here’s what I’ve discovered:

• He poops like a gelding. Great, big, honkin’ piles. Not like the dainty, neat little ones I’ve been picking up from the girls.
• He poops on the edge of his stall. He’s pretty neat, and keeps his piles on the edges where he we won’t step in it.
• He poops in his water bucket. On purpose. Dave had just finished cleaning his stall once when Ace backed up to his bucket, lifted his tail, and let loose. I discovered that he did it today. So gross.

Doing full care for my horse is fun, because every single time he sees me he nickers. It’s this deep wuffling nicker that melts my heart. And he does it. Every. Time. I thought at first it was just cause he wanted food. But he can have a couple of flakes of hay and still nicker at me with his mouth full every time I come into the barn.

That’s the fun part of taking care of my horse myself. The not fun part is all the other animals, when I’ve had to deal with some health issues. Classic is the 24-year-old thoroughbred mare who has arthritis in her hocks. I’ve had some trouble with her lying down and not having the strength to get back up. We have to provide some extra motivation (a small cattle prod) and pull on her tail to rotate her back end up so she can get her legs underneath her. Once, we almost couldn’t get her up and it was worrying. But she’s been fine since. It’s been a challenge, but one I’ve been able to deal with and work through this week. Fortunately, when Dave and Tracie come back they will also bring back the two young Foxtrotter geldings, who help keep Classic on her feet and whose absence we think is contributing to why she’s going down so often. But the week is almost over, she seems stronger, so I think we’re out of the water.

Because I’ve been spending the last week taking care of 3 horses, 11 cats, and 2 dogs on top of a full-time job and my regular activities, I haven’t had a whole lot of time to work with Ace. I pulled him out to do some groundwork tonight for the first time in a few days, and was amazed at how well he did. So far, he doesn’t usually respond to visual cues well; he needs a little bit of pressure to understand what to do. But tonight, as soon as I wagged my finger at him to ask him to back up … he backed up! Usually, this is the game we fight on the most. He usually needs me to swing the rope with my whole arm before he’ll respond. And a little wagging finger did it! It wasn’t a fluke, because I tried it twice more and he did it every time. Ace is one smart cookie, that’s for sure.

In our Parelli ground work, he does very well with the Friendly, Porcupine, Circle, and Driving games. He’s ok with Yo-Yo. And we still don’t get much Sideways.He’ll do it a few steps moving to the right, but won’t do it at all to the left yet. Still, that’s pretty good for just one month of work!

It sure didn’t take long for me to figure out that when Ace is unsure of something, he goes backwards. What’s that stuff you’re putting on my feet? He backs up. Why are you putting pressure on my throatlatch? He backs up. What is that stuff you’re spraying me with? He backs up.

He definitely has an overdeveloped backing mechanism. (Is there a way to install the “beep” that comes from a large truck when it goes into reverse on a horse? I think Ace needs one of those.)

I’ve also discovered that if you just keep doing what you’re doing until he stands still, and then stop it, he figures out real fast what you want and that you aren’t going to hurt him. The first time I tried the fly spray he was a little concerned. Backed up all over the paddock and I just kept spraying. When he stopped, I stopped. The next day, he stood just fine and let me spray him.

Or when we first tried to put some pressure on his throatlatch to get him to move his forehand away, he went back instead. We just went with him and kept the pressure on until he made the slightest effort to give sideways. The next time he went sideways without going back at all.

Ace is a smart horse. He just wants to know what you’re doing and how he is supposed to respond. When he’s unsure, he goes backwards. Once he figures it out, he’s fine.

These first few days of horse ownership have been riddled with conversation surrounding Ace’s training. More specifically, how quickly he learns and how willing he is to try even when he doesn’t know what you want. I’ve used some of the Parelli basics to direct our groundwork; work on desensitizing, establishing myself as the boss, yielding to pressure, and building blocks for lunging. I’ve been so impressed with how well he has picked up - and remembered - the “games” after just a few sessions. Ace is one smart cookie (incidentally, the only kind of treat he will eat).

Of course, Ace is probably over there talking with his buddies Louie and Midnight about just how well he is training ME.

Saturday was the big purchase day, and we spent a good bit of time hanging in the arena with Ace loose. Dave, Tracie, Cheryl and I were standing together talking general horse talk (you all know how that goes). Ace kept walking up to our little group, pivoting away from us, and then back his big bay butt right into me. Literally. He would back up right into me. And when I didn’t get what he was asking me for, he just kept stepping backwards into me until I figured it out. He wanted me to scratch the top of his tail.

So I’d scratch, and then send him away. Three minutes later, Ace would walk back over, spin around, and back up into me. So I’d scratch. And repeat. And repeat.

It was pretty hilarious. And kind of strange.

And I guarantee he’s been bragging ever since about just how quickly his human learns.