Things a Bombproof Horse is Afraid of!

#1. Sheep/Great Pyranees dogs.
We took Cotton to a trail ride on a research farm, which has a pasture of sheep. They'll really bizarre. Total hive-mind mentality. "Let's all go left!" and then they do! Trouble didn't care, "Can we stop watching the boooooring critters and GO already?!" Cotton decided they were too weird and took off, dumping poor hubby.

About a week later, our neighbors (the cows) let a Great Pyranees dog into their pasture. He came up (about 100 ft from the fenceline) and sat watching the horses for about an hour. TOTALLY freaked out poor Cotton. At first, Trouble was spooking in sync with Cotton, but then decided it wasn't worth it and went back to eating. Cotton continued to freak until the dog decided it was time to go home.

Which brings us to scary thing number 2:
#2. Trumpets.

Apparently, one of our neighbors is learning to play the trumpet. It's nothing obnoxious, just, neighbors are playing the trumpet. Which is, apparently, cause for alarm in a Bombproof horse's world. As a result, poor Cotton has been subject to some "Big Band" style of music playing in the barn this weekend. She's mellowing back out. But sudden, loud, trumpet calls are still cause for alarm.

I'd planned on taking Cotton for a solo "trail" ride, but given the trumpet music, we decided to change plans and hang out at home, in the arena and mostly out of sight from Trouble. I seldom talk whilst riding (anyone who knows me knows that I have trouble doing two things at once), so, in an effort to desensitize poor Cotton, I started singing while riding. It's hard, singing "Ruler of the Queen's Navy" while posting!