Speaking of- here is the Rosie update. Rosie is a 6 yo mare who has never been started. She was a halter futurity baby, then sold. She is getting over all that lovely White line she had. Her biggest issue was her stall aggressive behavior and stressing in the stall. The Ignorant owner who had her kept her locked up for about 5 yrs of her life, very limited turn out, didnt have her feet done but maybe 2 times a year and only when a local farrier took pity on the horses and did them, never had her teeth done or dewormed her. But she was fed & fat. She was afraid of her, so to go in & clean her stall she just beat her into a corner to clean around her. Then she got poked from the outside of the stall when she would show aggression. Yes, game on... fast-forward to now- She has a nice stall with a paddock and regular turn out. She has to wear her cribbing collar when in, but not for turn out. But- she has learned the stall is not a bad place, people arent the enemy, we play the happy face gets you positive attention and we ignore the cranky face - which confuses her and immediately gets a happy face. She was saged by my Shaman and we had a long talk with her about the trying to bite us thru the bars by just standing and letting her realize we werent afraid of her, werent the enemy, but werent going to attack back. This really confused her - As she was waiting for the attack back. Now she comes when called, eagerly puts her head in a halter to come out for grooming, loves to be bathed, lets me wash her face. In the round pen she has decided it is nice to follow me everywhere, as not going my way gets one quick jerk on the line and we move on. No aggressive moves, just letting her know who is in charge. She has learned a basic showmanship pattern and is learning to move off my hand signals. Giving in to pressure has been interesting. Doing the rope work I do with babies - rope around the neck and give, around the legs and give and around the heart girth and give to all these pressures has helped her to open up and learn I am not going to hurt her. The bag on the end of the crop was marvelous. She spooked in place one time, then curiosity got the best of her. After a couple minutes she let me put that bag all over her. She still has small moments of mis trust, but they are fewer and less reactive. I had someone come look at her and when they told me who they would send her to for training I said I wouldnt sell her. They were shocked. I told them I do not save horses, then put them in worse hands to completely ruin them. I would put her down first. She is so Smart. So onward into this journey I go. She has a lot of try and is eager to learn. That is everything needed for success and taking the time it is going to take.
Posted on: Thu, 24 Oct 2013 03:06:24 +0000
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