Note Checks Out the Bit of Honey Circus

The time has come, as it does for all the retired racehorses here, for Note (Jockey Club OneForNothing) to be introduced to the Bit of Honey Training circus. It's not dignified, it's not traditional, but it sure is fun!

This morning Note and I went to the arena to putter around and play with some of the Bit of Honey Circus paraphernalia.  I lunged him a little both directions at the walk and trot and found him to be very quiet and tractable.  He lunged over the poles and the tires with no trouble, clearly he remembered from last week what was to be done with that stuff.

Next I took him into the covered portion of the arena, where I keep the extra toys.  Today we worked with hula hoops, pool noodles, and pinwheels.  Note is a very reasonable horse, and as I find with many of the track horses who have significant racing records, nothing much bothers him.  When a horse spends years at the race track, they get used to all kinds of things.  Machinery, other horses, commotion, strange noises, they are exposed to all kinds of things and learn that it's no big deal.  Note is definitely of this variety, because he didn't have any reaction to the orange pool noodle, even when I flopped it all over his body and even between his front and back legs.  Next I took out the hula hoops, which have beads or something inside them to make a little noise when they turn.  Note was interested, but had no concern about them.

So I hung them around his neck and lunged him a bit more.  No reaction other than putting his head down, which then made the hoops tumble off over his head.  He would then stop and look at me as if to ask, "Are you going to replace those?  Or should we move on to something else?"  We next went to hand walking over jumps while wearing the hula hoops.  He paused briefly to investigate the pinwheels on the ground, but then calmly walked over all the obstacles. 

The most interesting part of today's session for Note was the neighbor's llamas.  This was his first opportunity to get a good look at them from the arena, since he can't see them from where he lives in his paddock.  He was interested, but not at all concerned or stressed about them.  This horse has a great head on his shoulders.