History Repeats

It is an oft misquoted saying of George Santanyans that"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it".  This applies to a whole world of topics, but today, it applies to Bo. 

My dad's Standardbred, Bo, likes to be annoying when he feels he's being left out.  This can mean anything from banging on his grain bucket, pawing at his gate, or trying to pick a fight with those around him.  On one memorable occasion, he started kicking at Samson, our Mustang, who truly couldn't care less, only to get his foot, Bo's not Samson's, stuck in the fence.  Before I could get to him, he had extricated himself, but his leg was sore.   By the next morning, it was more than double its size and he was lame on it for the next six weeks.  Just as he was recovering from that, he put his front leg through in a similar protest.  That particular injury only lasted two weeks. 

Now, I mentioned before that when not ridden regularly, Bo likes to become his naughty alter ego, Buck Bo.  As it was the holidays, I decided to wait for the hoopla to die down before dealing with his darker side.  However, this morning, there he was, his same back leg, swollen to twice its size.

Now, my Standardbred, Tanimara, has her own list of vices very similar to Bo's.  She has, rather memorably, been stuck under her barn wall, tried to climb a cross country bank to get to the grass while waiting to go into a dressage ring, and kicked her leg through a panel, only to get so tangled up that she ended up falling on the panel.  So, it isn't like she is some poster child for good behavior, but the saving grace for Tani, and where she differs so considerably from Bo, is in the fact that Tani, at least, learns from her mistakes.  It is not only the same issue with Bo, it is the same leg.  Which leads us back to my original point.  Bo, it seems, shall forever be condemned to repeat his own mistakes, because, as it stands, it doesn't like he's been learning.

Or, maybe I don't give him enough credit.  I know it sounds like I don't care for him, I do, but he can try a saint's patience, and, let's be honest, I am no saint.  Still, he can have a little sympathy, and, in what just might be his endgame, he won't be getting ridden any time soon.

Off to ride another day...

BlytheLea