A few weeks ago we had a number of pretty annoying rides. It seemed more mental than physical – Talo just didn’t want to do what I asked for, and either leaned heavily on my hands, ran too fast or both at the same time.

I tried many things, but nothing seemed to improve the situation. It just felt like my horse was tired of me and didn’t feel like working anymore. This is very unlike him, but since there wasn’t anything physically wrong with him, I thought that maybe he’s reached the end of the rope and wants to retire. I was also very angry after some of the rides, to the point I really didn’t feel like mounting him again.

But I did. And at one point, decided to lose the whip. Now, it’s not as if I use the whip a lot with him. There’s really no need. Still, just holding the whip seemed to make him more attentive and focused on what’s asked of him. At some point, I think, the whip became redundant and just made Talo anxious. So I started riding without it.

A couple of rides later, things turned around. Talo is connected, sweet and energetic, and we had some great rides in the past weeks. Yay!

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Stormy day ahead, or so it seems. I finished riding early enough, which is great. Tomorrow we might not be able to ride – I expect the arenas to be flooded. I guess it’s going to be another grass day! Talo would love that.

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I started giving Talo his quarterly dose of Psyllium. He hates it and does what he can to avoid eating the stuff. I am actually pretty doubtful as to the usefulness of Psyllium, but I still try to trick Talo into eating it.

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That’s it for now!