Billy's Time at Summer Kamp Kim

This spring we had a clinic here at Bit of Honey during which Billy the quarter horse was a bit unruly, unceremoniously dumping his rider in the arena.  After assessing the circumstances we determined that he was upset because his buddy was out front in a paddock while Billy was having to work in the arena.  Billy is rarely separated from his friends due to how their place is laid out, even when riding.  Unfortunately this has resulted in some naughtiness from Billy falling under the label of Herd Sour.

To combat this and remind Billy that he still has the responsibility to work even if his friends aren't nearby, he came to stay at Bit of Honey for two weeks of Kim's Boot Kamp this summer while his humans were out of town on vacation.

I initially put Billy out in the large paddock with a group of horses.  He rushed over to the fence to talk to Highboy (they are the same age and have been friends for five years).  After that Billy determined that Sara the 28 year old arabian mare was his new best friend, and they could not be separated.  Billy wouldn't let me catch him, always keeping Sara between us.  The first time I took Billy out to ride it was a rodeo complete with screaming from both him and Sara in angst at being separated.

Realizing that Billy's misbehavior was entirely related to being herd sour, I determined that he could not live in the paddock with the herd for his time here.  I put him in a paddock by himself, sharing a fence line with other horses but alone in his paddock without any roommates.  Initially he and Sara acted inseparable, pacing the fence together for hours, but after a few days they gave it up and returned to polite indifference.

His rides began more exciting than I'd like, with lots of whinnying and bolting and spinning in protest of riding alone.  He was in full training for his two weeks, and that means he had a LOT of work to do.  I took him out most mornings, rode him hard, and praised him for good behavior.  We did a lot of dressage, worked on lead changes over small fences, and jumped through the gymnastic grids I had set up for the week's riding lessons.  By the end of his two weeks here he was moving forwards with good contact in the bridle, and I even got a nice walk out in the front fields with him on his last ride.

It's a testament to the simplicity of a quarter horse brain that simply going to work in a structured program with firm directions can turn a horse around in just two weeks.  Hopefully Billy will continue to behave himself at home, and the herd sour business will abate as he continues to be worked hard and mentally stimulated. 

These photos are of one of our training sessions in the round pen, free lunging over a crossrail.  Even  the quarter horses like to jump here at Bit of Honey!