Seriously, I’m relieved no one was hurt seriously and glad, sort of, that our 100k is still on!
To address the questions:
The mare faces were certainly your first signs. And yes, in horseworld, mare memories are long. In fact, this could have been brewing from previous interactions. As with most accidents, complacency is often a culprit and you may have missed other indicators such as sideways glares, a tail swish, leg stomps, lifting a hind leg, snorting, curling their noses, etc.

To nip it in the bud, having no opportunity to avoid it in the first place, Donna could have encouraged and rode the back up, offering some direction. Working together you’d both be of the mind to get outta there and Sunny would likely have seen you were on the same page and not bucked. Back back back, rollback and exit stage left. Good arena exercises that we often do in class and I do with every green horse.

Cory, aboard the asserting horse, once the action started is left with one effective correction (and I know you get tired of hearing it…) SHUT IT DOWN!
And, yes, Jades huge and on a mission, she’d need an all you can give it yank to end all yanks, bringing that nose to your knee and booting the hind end one way or the other. This prevents the continued attack and any opportunity to buck you in the process.

I know its frustrating for all of us to be able to calmly monday morning quarterback these things, when we can go blank during the heat of the moment. Practice practice practice your safety and defensive manuevers often enough that they become second nature to YOU. Its usually a factor of the human reaction time being so delayed in comparision to a horses. The more you can develop your skill set to become second nature, just like in martial arts, the better able you are to handle surprise scenarios. Its tedious and God knows repetitious. Thats the whole point. Ive often instructed my students to practice rein handling on a spare bridle while you watch tv or relax.

Again, i’m relieved no one was injured too badly. Going forward, look for any signs there is a fued brewing between them and perhaps switch it up, changing the lead.

This is a fabulous summary of what it means (to me, at least) to have a relationship with a horse. Sunny is the first one I’ve had this experience with, and I’m so proud when she shows that she trusts me, and that she can rise above mistakes I’ve made with her.

I think we got hooked up with Marybeth early enough in our journey so that we’ve always been pretty process-oriented, rather than goal oriented. A piece of fall-out from the process-oriented approach is that, at this point, it doesn’t occur to me to get mad or frustrated with her – I truly believe she’s trying her best and I’m usually mostly curious about what’s going on that is preventing her from obliging me, as she usually does. (Why yes, it *is* usually something I’m doing!)

Thanks, Marybeth – this post is a wonderful example of your ability to synthesize your tons of experiences into useful guidelines, reminders, and inspirations for those of us lost in the forest of detail.

I hope to be able to ride along with you and Sunny one day
BearBear say’s Hello.
Cheers and Happy Trails!
Kim

donna

As for the noise spook, I am NOT convinced noise was the cause. You explored her tolerance well, and describe her as being quite accepting. (remember acceptance vs tolerance.)
She did jump as you brushed your leg across the unfamiliar cantle bag. I would venture that you tried to raise your leg higher to miss the bag, and your balance may have shifted, or for whatever reason, it felt odd to Sunny and she reacted. Perhaps it was a reminder of the saddle slipping incident.
True that you can rehearse these incidents, work on desensitizing and search for a reason. And thats being a thoughtful handler. However, a thought I’d also like you to consider is what you can do as prevention. Not just what you can show her, but what you personally can improve in your horsemanship that would diffuse a situation before it even becomes a situation. We are all guilty of complacency at times. Every trainer will tell you that complacency has gotten us into more trouble than actual blow ups. You and Sunny have logged 5 times the miles many folks with “more” experience than you have. Its miles and hours that make up real experience. But with that comes the risks of too much familiarity! So go forward with a clear view of really creating the habit of bringing her nose in as you dismount, conditioning the half halts, checking your gear etc. One of my pet peeves is headstalls with those little denver screws. They can and will unscrew at the least favorable times and suddenly you are showing off your bridleless skills!