A quiet walk...not.....run for your life!!

A quiet walk down our road was in order this afternoon or so I thought! Played with Star..all 7 games pre flight check and then off we set down the road that runs the length of our property. Well we slowly worked through our thresholds and then just when everything was going along fine this RBE came out to play! We went from doodling along nibbling at grass to OMG what was that...and that.......oh dear....it was lightening fast the LBE to RBE transformation...he grew about 4 hands and then the snorting started.... So I yo-yoed him...and yo-yoed some more.....up a bank......waited...yup he licked and chewed and chilled and we continued on...then we flipped again onto adrenaline.....thar he blows.....wow.....we had striking.....rearing and the whole shebang......at what...I don't know but he seemed to think going for a herb with the 3 mares was more fun than being with me....so more yo yo.....big yo yo and then sideways and then more yo yo....stopped in for a check with me....nice.....got the adrenaline rush again and it was on for young and old. Meanwhile Bruce was with me standing there watching with two bewildered little terriers who looked terrified! Bruce went back to the house while I dealt with the horse that showed up who was off his rocker by now. I was challenged within an inch of all my savvy...but then I remembered what Linda/Christine said.....when they get on adrenaline make them "want" to come off it...so I got him moving....up a steep bank, round and round in circles and then after what seemed like an age he stopped and looked at me with both ears and both eyes as if to say...now why was I doing that again?? He is such a complex horse and boy was I glad I did all this on line!!! On the way home we spent 70% of the trip.....500metres yo-yoing...then amazingly we got to a spot....and he was calm as a cucumber...no fizzy horse to be seen.....we did have to contend with a neighbour with a float...a narrow road and no courtesy from neighbour who bore down on us...at this stage Star was rearing and striking and I was trying to sort that....as well as stop the neighbour! Some horse people just don't get it hey! I asked him to stop his big 4WD and allow me to walk past him rather than vice versa....we did ok but there was a stallion in the float I think intent on getting out....that low rasping whinny noise stallions make eminated from the float along with a hefty boot at the tail gate! I was so proud of Star...he shied at the float but not on me!! Such a huge progression....I had my carrot stick ready...but didn't need it....needless to say my normal neighbours looked strangely on but hey like I care! We got home through the gate and did some more games....then we mosied and I told Jazz all about what had happened......I intend to do this walk often to start to desensitise him to the road...work on that and then build on it...he's so inherently fearful of change and my mistake was to probably go over a threshold without realising it....I will take Scout for the same walk tomorrow and see what happens......he is more LB than Star most of the time...... If anything tonight made me confident in myself that when every arrow Star has gets thrown at me I am ok. I am in control, I am calm and I am consistent and when he's like that I am all he has! I can tell you the day I can lie down in the paddock with him and he trusts me and lets go of all the angst he has with humans will be a beautiful day. We are getting glimpses of the calm LB Star and more of them than the RB one so we are moving forwards! A challenge is to be had here I can tell you.