Xena and I were in the sand ring tonight, and I wanted to experiment with a new game I’m calling Mounting Game. Historically Xena is uneasy around a mounting block, or really anything that puts me in an elevated position. So I decided that teaching Xena to accept me being at various heights will be our next challenge.
So, I had the idea that perhaps I could walk on top of the railroad ties that line the permeter of the sand ring, while she walked beside me — I thought this would allow her to drift away from me if she needed to. The railroad ties are about 12 inches high, which is lower than a mounting block, but my hope was that eventually we could walk along, with my hand resting on her back.
My plan fell apart from the moment I saw how wobbly and uneven the railroad ties were; I wouldn’t be able to walk on them. So for tonight I settled for standing in one spot with my back to the railroad ties, as if they were the wall of the arena. I sent Xena on a Falling Leaf pattern, which is a semi-circular pattern in which you ask the horse to turn back when they reach the wall. Xena and I have played this game many times, both along a wall and while walking.
As she began to walk the semi-circle, I was shocked to see her step over the railroad tie, walk through the grass behind me, and step back over the railroad tie and re-enter the sand ring! She thought we were playing the Circling Game! I knew she liked obstacle games, but I never imagined this response.
A year ago she spooked at the sight of a trotting pole!
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