Not Getting A Kick Out Of This

(A new girl has started taking lessons at my stable, and she announces one week that she’ll be bringing her dog next week. This isn’t a problem, as the owner has two dogs, and pretty much everyone brings them in. The horses don’t care, and the people don’t, either, as long as they don’t get in the way too much. The next week, she shows up with a medium-sized poodle cross that doesn’t seem like he’s seen a horse before in his life. She puts him in the sink area, which so happens to be right across from the cross tie where I’m grooming my horse. The dog starts barking, pawing, and making all sorts of noise, which freaks my horse out something fierce and makes all the horses in the area nervous. It’s sunny and quite warm out.)

Me: “Hey, do you mind tying your dog up to the outside wash stall? He’s freaking out [My Horse] a bit, and I don’t think [Her Horse] will appreciate it, either.”

Lesson Girl: “No. He’s very well behaved. [My Horse] loves him!”

(She then basically drags her dog over to my horse, who stomps, tosses her head, and tries to back into the wall despite being tied up. While I get control of my animal, she starts to cuddle her dog like my horse has hurt him, and glares at me.)

Lesson Girl: “She kicked my dog!”

Me: “First of all, she isn’t a kicker, she’s a bucker, and second of all, she didn’t even do that. Could you please take your dog outside? He’s really scaring the horses.”

(By now, every horse is paying attention, and the only other girl in the cross ties has taken to distracting her horse with treats, pets, and cuddles to keep him, one of the biggest horses at the stable, from breaking the cross tie.)

Lesson Girl: “The horses are scaring my dog!”

Me: “You brought him to a stable.”

(At least she finally took him outside. She hasn’t given me trouble about it since, either.)