Rambo Comes Home

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BACKSTORY HERE

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I have this dopey grin on my face and I'm trying to type something profound but I just want to type this:

I love horses. Man, they are so cool! I just LOVE Arabians even more! They're so amazingly intelligent and sensitive and I JUST LOVE HORSES!! WOW HORSES!!

meeting Rambo. Want to come home, buddy?

Okay, 12 year old gushing over. For the moment. I just feel so much for horses because humans can say all sorts of things, they can make up any old thing and say it to your face as the truth and you really won't know otherwise. I really prefer that physical language with animals, though I do talk to all my horses endlessly. The eye and breath and body of the horse tells you, and the people can just stop talking because none of it matters and it's colored with their own BS anyway. Arabians speak to me, right to my soul, in ways that other breeds haven't, as much as I have ridden, owned, and enjoyed, non-Arabs. I don't judge anyone for who or what they love but my flavor of choice is undoubtedly Arabians. You'd think that would be a DUH for me by now since I guess I have, ahem, technically 6--but it hits as a new revelation and appreciation each time I connect with a new Arabian on that level. 

Heading for the ole straight load with my doggie assistants

Rambo took all of 5 minutes to decisively load himself in the straight load. Ideally I'd like to have been gradual, let him be in half in and out, back out, reload, etc, but that is just not the realistic situation sometimes.If you've ever rescued/however you like to call it, you know sometimes you just close the door when the horse is in there and fine tune things later. Rambo was very nervous to start, clattering around in trailer until we drove off, but once moving he just ate and ate and watched out the window and ate some more.

hey bud, you're home, and there are other Arabs saying Hi!

 It took me 20 minutes to unload him. First he was really good, politely yielding back off the halter pressure and a touch on his chest. He got back to the edge of the trailer, then braved the abyss, set down the hoof, and squirted back into the trailer. He tried again, then after squirting back in from that hoof on the ground a few times, he briefly got mulish and tried to be stubborn/checked out for like 10 seconds but I took his head and looked in his eyes and talked to him and he refocused and kept trying. He has a TON of try and brains. He didn't shut down, or fight me, or employ any shitty tactics. He looked a lot, and took deep breaths, and ate whenever possible. But he also rested his head on me and looked at and listened to Desire, who stood at her fence line maybe 15 ft from the trailer and I *swear* nickered encouragingly to him every time she heard him move in the trailer trying to grasp the backing out. 

In the end I sort of reverse ground drove him. He knew exactly what the deal was and kept turning his head to look at the ground back there but after 4 in and outs he wasn't taking that final step out again. Since I could tell he knew to give well to pressure and had a clue, but kept turning his head to one side wondering why he couldn't just turn around, and getting stuck with one rope, I hooked a line to each side of his halter and stood out the back of the trailer off to the side. I gently applied pressure to both ropes, instantly releasing if he gave me any backward movement.That gave me even pressure on his head to keep his head straight, and with pressure and release on the two lines it took him all of 30 seconds to back those hind feet out, pause halfway in and out to establish he was on solid ground, and then back all the way out and step carefully around as if he might be on ice.

Then he started furiously munching everything in sight, and could barely be bothered to greet the others for his enthusiastic sampling of everything ;-)

I'M A BIG HARMLESS BABY LOVE MEEEEE say Sheza

 Rambo likes food. Like, a lot. 

It's crazy to predict what a young horse really is or will be from some videos, photos, and one day loading him in a trailer and unloading him at home, right? Right. I'm still saying, Rambo is something special.  I don't have a clue if he's an endurance horse or a trail horse or an arena horse or what, and it doesn't matter for the moment. He spoke and I listened and he listened right back when I spoke. God I love these animals.