Mad Max Goes Mental (that Arab Mist)

My boy needs to go to reform school. He is a delinquent. Sigh.

The Norwegian Fjord horse is laudably sensible. All four feet on the ground, opinionated, yes, but steady and sure. That should be Max. He looks Fjord, he acts Fjord, but he is not a purebred Fjord. No, he is a cross-breed, and his sire was an Arab racer.

Unlike Fjords, Arabs are hot-bloods. Excitable, sometimes flighty, sometimes a bit loopy.

Hence the Arab Mist. For all that Max is affable, comical and totally sensible, in times of stress, his Arab heritage kicks in, and that is a force to be reckoned with.

Took him out for a wee hack at about quarter to nine this morning, in the middle of the yard work. Figured it would be a good time to go, because nobody's really about then, so lanes are quiet. Then as I was getting ready, YO said it was good to go early because the farm next door was having a pheasant shoot, meeting at about 10.00 so proper start at 11.00. Good to get Max out and back before all that commotion happened.

We were fine. Not one nap, not any hint of trouble. I went past the neighbouring far and then turned left down a slippy bridleway and let Max pick his way. On we went, he stopped and tensed, and then a jogger and dog came into view. We watched them approach, let them pass and Max moved on easily.

We kept on, getting to the point where we'd turn into a field and make our way home but Max froze. I couldn't see anything. He twitched, nodded his head but wouldn't move forward. We were like that for a while and I could feel the tension building in him, but could really see nothing. At times like this, I can feel his heart beating.

For all I know it was some beaters preparing for the shoot to come, who knows, but although I could see nothing, Max was definitely not happy. I didn't want an issue when we were doing so well, so I turned him and we headed back the way we'd come. He did a scoot, like he was being chased, but settled down pretty quickly.

Then we were fine again. Perfectly content, detoured into a field, decided it wasn't a good place to be because it looked like a crop field, so back out again. Max was completely obliging and relaxed.

Approaching the lane to turn for home, I heard sing-song shouting. Max heard it too and pricked his ears, but kept moving forward with no hint of reluctance.

"Just kids" I thought, "They'll pass. We'll be fine."

It wasn't kids. It was people from the dairy farm across the lane chasing the cows into the barn with yelling and "Gee ups". Then the cows started to run (little flashes of black and white through hedge and thundering hooves -- well, cows, so not exactly thundering).

STAMPEDE!

Max lost his sh*t.

He turned and lurched forward; I tried to re-direct. He scrambled up a muddy bank to our left. I thought I'd come off then but stuck on somehow. Max couldn't get through the hedge at the top of the bank, so we half turned and slid back down. Thought we'd both tumble and fall but we didn't.

I tried to turn him back towards the lane (the cow stampede was still happening) and he stood up twice. Not straight up, proper rear, but lifted, hovering front legs with powerful surge building in the hinds like he was going to launch. Thankfully he didn't launch. Whether that was down to me saying, "No Max, not this!" or whether it was me realising that my legs were instinctively coming up and my knees were gripping, so then forcing myself to relax my legs back down long and loose stopped him from launching, or whether he just thought better of it, I don't know.

Then he spun and ran back into the crop field. I got him to stop but he was twitching. The noise was still going on behind us and I just kept thinking if the b*stards would get the flippin' cows in and shut up I could deal with Max.

I sat and thought "I can't go forward, because I already know there's something ahead he doesn't like, and I can't go back because of the stampeding cows, and I can't just stand here because he's going to do a Catherine Wheel in a minute. What do I do? Think! Think!"

I tried to calm him so I could figure out what to do, and that's when he started going backwards in tight circles. Proper cow pony stuff.

All very impressive, the moves he was making. That is, I would have been well impressed if I had asked for any of it, but I hadn't.

Kept my ear on the farm and when Max was standing still again, I decided to get off... half slid, half got launched, but landed on my feet still holding the reins.

Clearly staying on board was not helping and my only hope was that he would feel more confident if I was on the ground beside him.

Then I walked him home, very carefully, while he pranced about like a tit. A really strong, really wired and unfocused tit, all arched neck and straining, barely contained power.

It wasn't easy. We got to the lane and had to let a couple of cars pass, another jogger with dog, and then a car which stopped ahead of us with driver's side door open, and remained open while occupant went to look in a field.

Max was not happy with that at all and wouldn't go forward. Then we had another car come up behind us and the bugger drove right up our arse with impatient motor revving. Max pranced and snorted like a stallion.

I had to ask the driver to please keep his distance and be patient while I sorted my horse. Driver rolled his eyes at me and drummed his fingers on his steering wheel, but at least he stopped creeping up on us.

Car ahead finally moved on, so Max moved on and I got him into a lay-by to let arse behind me drive past, and then Max and I jogged home. He was my Max again, nudging my shoulder, looking straight at me instead of where he was going, eyes completely calm. I relaxed then, knowing I could get us both home safe.

He doesn't even look like m Max when this Arab Mist drops over him. His whole body changes, the way he holds himself, the way he feels. Even his eyes look different, like he morphs into some psycho pony.

Can't have this, it's not safe for either of us. Don't blame him at all for spooking at mystery yelling and running cows, but not being able to bring him back to me and focus is no good.

I can't control our environment, so we need to be able to deal with the unexpected and get through to that Arab brain. It's not like he hasn't been spook-busted.

Max is mostly sensible, affable, kind and well mannered... But when he truly loses it, he's scary.

Haven't lost my nerve yet, but feel I'm teetering on the edge of it.

A friend has suggested doing some work on inside rein to re-gain focus, vibrating until ear cocks and then stopping. She said I could try that with clicker as an exercise.

This problem with Max seems to have been creeping up on us for a few months now, and needs to be nipped in the bud before it turns into a proper issue.

The Ent doesn't want Max and me to go out alone again until this is sorted. He thinks one or both of us will get hurt. He might be right about that. So far I've managed to keep things together and get us home, but it's been luck and grim determination.

If Max is just badly wired though, how is anybody going to help us?

I know I have to make it work and make Max trust me enough to feel it is safe to listen to me even when he is scared or excited.

It's overwhelming to think about it all now, so I'm going to have to just do it a bit at a time.

But for all that, he's still my best boy.