Some days home schooling goes really well. Other days not so well. It’s never gone badly. I remember teaching composition classes – one or two students would give that particular class the label “bad class.” And so it goes with horses. When one throws a fit I call it a bad home schooling day.

Today it was Raudi. I took her out with Tinni, ponied him. Rather than walk up road, I got right on her. She didn’t like that. She started noodling and indicated with half-turns that she wanted to go back to her hay pile. I said no, and told her we were going for a ride. She then started shuffling along like an older woman minus a walker. I will say in her defense that

the footing was terrible, ice under snow. There were also unseen ruts off to the side.

Up around the corner we went. A horse could not have gone slower. She made Tinni appear to look fast. A ways down road and I saw it first, Mr. Moose, hanging out on the far side of the berm. Then Raudi saw it. This was at the same time that a very loud snowmobile and two cars were approaching. The snowmobile went over the berm, the cars went past. Alas, the moose stayed put. I went to turn Raudi around and inadvertently dropped Tinni’s line. Free, he chose to trot off in the direction of home.

I got off Raudi because I thought she was going to bolt. Big mistake. She pushed into me repeatedly, and, yes, she finally pulled away and joined up with Tinni. The pair then galloped home.

We were at the most a quarter mile from home, so it was a short walk. It was not enough time for me to cool down. I came into the yard and tossed my gloves at Raudi, who by now had settled in for a post ride chow down. I next put Tinni away then went back over to Raudi who by now looked genuinely concerned. I grabbed her reins and told her under no uncertain terms that her behavior was unacceptable.

I got back on her. She took off at a brisk pace, and I encouraged this. I rode her past the point that we had gotten to before, and then turned around and rode her up past the turnoff to our place, and all the way around the loop. Once we came to our place, I rode her past it, back up to the turnoff. Then I got off, unhooked the reins. She walked and trotted next to me. Finally, it was back to business as usual. We finished our day’s session with our doing agility and Intrinzen work in the Playground.

I was glad to have come out the victor in this one. Sometimes, having an agenda and sticking with it is the best thing to do.

As an experiment, I took Tyra out and took her downroad. I figured that when we were within sight of the moose that we’d turn back. But no, she was determined to keep going, and so this is what we did. A mile further and we came across another moose. This time I turned her around and we headed back in the direction of home. Of course, we then had to again deal with Moose #1 who was standing in the road. Now if it had come towards us, we would have had to turn around and would have again encountered Moose #2. We would, in essence, be the filling in a moose sandwich.

The moose climbed up over a berm. Poor thing, it was then wallowing up to its belly in snow. This is going to be a rough spring for them. Tyra barely gave Moose #1 a second glance. She moved on like a freight train. I kept her going, up past the turn off to our place, and around the loop.

Neighbors on the far side of a berm, unloading backpacks, did give her reason to pause. However, she just kept going.

I arrived home safely.

I am not sure why Tyra was so much more agreeable than Raudi. I guess she’s just a better student.

I am glad that I get all the horses out for short jaunts, on a daily basis. I think this is far better than riding them seasonally. Good teachers, good students.

Next: 89. 3/30/18: At the end of a long, hard day. . . .