She’s a Squealer

 

Not long ago, I did the Horse Personality Quiz over at Is Your Horse A Rock Star at Horse Personalities, Inc. and wasn’t surprised to learn that my Apache is considered a Wallflower.

SLAF The Wall Flower
(Submissive Lazy Afraid Friendly)

Wrap these sweet, kind, gentle horses up and keep them safe.
They are not very brave and tend to internalize their worries.
They want to please and will try very hard for you, but they
can be pushed too fast very easily. They make few demands of
you and are quite content to perform the same tasks repeatedly as long as you are pleased with them and the jobs are not to strenuous. Quiet enough for the beginner once they understand what is expected of them.

Do :

Be their leader
Keep them safe
Build trust slowly
Keep tasks simple and repetitive
Cuddle them lots
Spend the time it takes
Appreciate them

Don't :

Expect them to go solo
Scare them
Over face them
Be overly demanding
Ignore them
Hurry them
Take them for granted

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Quite honestly, Apache is the perfect horse for me. Being that I am rather soft-hearted, quiet, gentle and intuitive, she appeals to my nurturing and protective side. So far, she has never said “No” to me when I ask her to complete a task or try something new. Even if she is scared, she doesn’t put her hoof down and completely refuse. She might say, “Maybe”, or “Give me a little time and I’ll try”, but she has never given me a temper tantrum.

I’ve discovered that I don’t have to argue and fight with Apache. In fact that sort of energy only upsets her and makes her worried and nervous. She’s a low energy horse and likes her life orderly and balanced. Apache only needs to know that I really want to do something and I’d like for her to give it her full effort. I find that if I give her lots of positive encouragement, both verbally and with petting and maybe some treats, along with patience, she will do anything I ask of her.

Which reminded me of the first day of June’s ACTHA CTR and the frenetic energy and fast pace caused by the goal-oriented riders and green horses in our group.

After keeping after her to maintain a trotting and cantering pace in a field full of prairie dog holes, she finally had had enough and after realizing I wasn’t paying attention to her, she spoke out in the only way she knew how to get me to listen. She bucked. It wasn’t a buck to throw me to the ground, it was just a buck to say, “Hey, I’m still down here carrying you, and you stopped listening to me a while back. Will you listen now?”

And I did.

And it was an epiphany for me, while using the Amazon.com ‘Look Inside’ feature of this book and reading this Introduction section that the author had written, “So, that is why sweetie bucks me off. She is a Wallflower (SLAF). She is very, very, very sweet, but I pushed her when I needed to listen to her.” Now, that was such an ‘Aha’ moment for me! Totally made sense. Wish I would have read this book before that ride.

It also makes me realize why Apache was such a handful for her previous owner, who was assertive and aggressive and didn’t seek out a bond or relationship with a horse. She just got on and rode a horse and expected them to do whatever she asked……even if the horse had 2” long dental hooks that were banging against the Tom Thumb bit she was using. Poor Apache. No wonder she continually reared up on that lady. She had nowhere else to go, and the lady refused to listen to her. 

I’ve learned, and am still learning, so much about my sweet Apache mare on this journey we’re on together.   

If you were to walk into Apache’s paddock, you might think she is a little stand-offish, especially if she doesn’t know you. She’s not like overly-friendly Bella, running up to the gate when she sees you, nickering loudly, and then trying to stick her nose underneath your armpit and rub her face on your butt.

Apache is reserved and shy, and very respectful, but she still loves attention and being petted and adored. She’s not pushy, though, and when Bella, who is, moves in and cuts her off, Apache will back away quietly. She tends to be laid-back and meek and truly doesn’t have a mean bone in her body.

Except one thing.

Apache is a Squealer.

When a horse gets in her space, she’ll sometimes squeal, and loudly. Sometimes, when I’m riding her, if I let her get close to another horse and rub noses, I can expect that she’ll squeal at them.

She doesn’t typically care if a horse and rider follow us too closely or has their nose up her butt, unless she just doesn’t like the horse at all. Which she’s only had two instances of (the high spirited Tennessee Walker at our first ACTHA ride in April, and the mule during our trail ride in the Carson National Forest).

Mostly Apache is an easy-going, get-along-with-everyone kind of horse.

But she’s a squealer. Even when she enjoys what another horse is doing, like when a gelding whispers sweet nothings in her ear or another mare nibbles on her withers.

Apache and Bella from Lisa Westfall on Vimeo.

 

 

Does anyone else have a squealer?