I've been in correspondence with the rescue since parting with Rain, and they informed me that she and her sister, Star were approved to enter the herd of a mustang sanctuary in the Spring Creek Basin, where the girls came from! They were released just a few days ago and I was greeted with this picture on my facebook wall, of my beloved Rain running free, as she was meant to and will do for th
Well, due to a number of complications Rain is going to be brought back to the rescue, to live out her days as a wild horse. Her heart just isn't in being a human's horse, and we will both be much happier if she can be free and I can find a partner who looks foreword to my daily visits, instead of just tolerating them.
We don't have a date or time scheduled yet for her move, and this will likely be my last post. I had a blast working with her and the experience was a fantastic one, it just wasn't meant to be...but I learned a lot, and I know whoever comes next will greatly benefit from our time together. Well, this morning I met Lori (the manager of our boarding stable) at the barn and she served as my spotter for transporting Rain to a run! It went surprisingly well, actually. She followed me calmly out of her stall, through the barn and out the sliding doors to the driveway. Once we were outside, her head went up and she got alert, but she stayed under control, stepping heavy and nodding her head with each step we took. She stayed next to me and walked calmly into the run, and then tore herself out of my hands and galloped full speed through the snow to the other end, then trotted with beautiful energy up and down the fence line for a bit before stopping to introduce herself to her new neighbors. I was fine with that, I was actually going to just let her go anyway, but she got away from me before I could detach the lead rope. So, I gathered our equipment and moved it from the stall to my car, and moved her beloved mineral block into the run. I gave her maybe ten or fifteen minutes to get used to her new surroundings until I went in to catch her. While this certainly wasn't easy, it went much better than I was expecting, and it was actually quite a bit of fun. I ran through the snow chasing her and moving her feet every time she trotted or moved away, running in front of her to cut her off or getting right close next to her to encourage her to go faster. Can't help but think she enjoyed this little game as well, she'd stop every once in a while to come get a treat and then I'd send her off again--after detaching the lead rope the first time, which was a total non-issue.
After playing for quite a while, I finally went and caught her, and I lead her around the perimeter of her new home a couple times in each direction, stopping once in a while for backing up or doing a circle, and then I released her for the afternoon. It'll be interesting to see how catching her goes tomoro...I have no idea what I want to do tomoro, actually...I may try leading her outside and doing a grooming session at one of the hitching posts. We solely worked on sacking out today. It was snowing a bit, and the footing in the round pen was frozen solid and very slick, not the ideal conditions for doing any exercise....I know Rain's a mustang and pretty sure-footed, but I'm not gonna be the reason for her to slip and hurt herself.
We started off, after I caught her, with our typical leading drills, just as a warm up, then we headed to the center of the roundpen and I used the stick to pet her everywhere. She's already pretty used to it except for on her hips and back legs, but even then, she took a step back or put her ears back and stood still, which is major progress from running off and pulling the rope out of my hand. We did that on each side until she was pretty comfortable standing still, then we took a quick break to lead a few laps in each direction before going back in for me to try with my hand. She stood perfectly still, on each side, so I decided to go and get a brush. I detached the lead rope and left the roundpen to venture to the other side of the ranch, where I keep my equipment. I returned to find her socializing with the newbies who came in to say hi and once again try and assert their dominance while I was gone. Rain bit and kicked out a few times but they still kept at it...stubborn little babies. Went back into the roundpen and caught Rain pretty much right away, and we lead a few laps in each direction and then headed to the middle once again. I did a quick recap of the stick and my hand, and then introduced the brush. A very soft bristle, gentle brush, usually just used to shine up or flatten a coat rather do any cleaning. I first just held it out for her to investigate, and when she realized it wasn't edible and lost interest, I brushed her forehead, cheeks, and nose. Her head shot up and her eyes widened, but eventually she calmed down and even leaned into it a little bit. After her face I moved down her neck, down her front legs(to about her knees), and across/down her back. It was snowing just light enough where all I was doing was brushing away the freshly fallen flakes, and then going back over the same spots--particularly the top of her neck right behind her ears, as that's still a sensitive issue--just to get her used to the new feeling and help her to relax. She was breathing very deep the whole time, but not in a frightened way, so I'm thinking I accomplished what I wanted to. We quit after that today, I was so proud of her I didn't want to push my luck. I walked back into her paddock, gave her her hay, and look very foreword to seeing her again tomoro! Seriously, if I didn't have to write the date in class today I would've sworn it was April! Such gorgeous day, the air smelt like spring and there was a warmness that even the nicer days this past month didn't have. The footing was a bit like fresh brownie batter, since the snow is all melted off, but we managed just fine.
We took advantage of the weather and worked on everything for a little while today. Lunging, leading, catching/coming, standing tied, sacking out, and we played with cavaletti some more. I found one that also converts to a ground pole, so we worked with that while leading as well. We both worked up a decent sweat in today's session, as I was often running right along side of Rain while we were doing free lunging, trying to get our bodies synced up. We actually got pretty close! I was greeted today with a quiet whinny for the first time, and even though I know she was probably just excited to get her grain, but I still felt loved. She's getting much better at greeting me, she'll walk in towards me when I enter her paddock and/or the roundpen, and after I give her a treat allow me to catch her with little or no trouble. We started off with a warmup of lunging and then I went and got the cavaletti. Since it was a different one than we had been using, Rain had to investigate it before she'd go over it, but warmed up to it even easier than the first one. Every few laps we'd switch directions, to make sure we were getting an equal workout on both sides. Then every few switches I'd call her in, catch her, and we'd do some leading exercises. --Just what we've been doing, walk, whoah, back, turn, etc. After doing that for maybe forty five minutes or so, we switched to a stand tied/sacking out alternation, which also went really pretty well! The newbies were especially fiesty today, so that caused a few difficulties, but the more Rain is learning to give to pressure the easier it was for both of us. We eventually got today to where I can touch Rain anywhere with the stick, and even if she tenses up or puts her ears back, she at least stands still. That's major progress. This weekend should bring about a great deal of progress, especially if the weather stays like this! The fresh, undisturbed blanket of snow in the round pen today made me think just doing some leading and lunging would be a good way to spend today's session, to help build up footing and leg muscles in both Rain and myself.
Rain quite enjoyed that, running and kicking out, I could tell I wasn't the only one who excited about the weather. --Though I'm not sure how long it will stick around, it was sonny and felt like 40* today. She's so cute how she's getting more and more social every day, she's to the point now where I can walk right in and catch her, and she'll either walk in with me or and least stand still, usually taking a few steps in towards me. Today was also really good for trust, since, as a mustang, Rain has much better footing than I do in the snow. It was interesting to see how she reacted when I slipped or had a foot go out from under me and fell backwards towards her. Her reactions ranged from running off and pulling the rope out of my hand to simply shaking her head and taking a step backwards. We also picked up lunge lining again today, after not working on it for probably a week and a half. She sent off great and maintained a pretty good speed and level of control, every once in a while tripping or slipping and cantering off for a few strides to catch her balance. We had a relatively short session today, because the level of concentration was greatly increased from usual, both in paying attention to not falling and just in overall attentiveness. We got a pretty good trail of foot/hoof prints going around and throughout the roundpen by the end of today's session, so that will help or hinder footing tomoro...depending on whether it decides to ice over or not. Quite a few outside complications kept me from not only going to see Rain every day this week but also from logging the days we were able to meet. We didn't introduced anything new until today, mostly just working on catching and some trust/bonding exercises. We did some leading and some more sacking out, and she's getting better and better at all of it! She's almost completely used to me touching her front legs and feet with the stick, and it's becoming a complete non-issue. Back legs are still causing some difficulties, but she's still improving!
Now today, I know I didn't feel like doing anything super strenuous, so instead of introducing something important I just brought in a new toy: a cavaletti. I wanted to give Rain a bit of a workout and help improve her concentration...plus, I was just curious as to how she was going to react! Took me about ten minutes to drag the bloody thing from the indoor to the round pen, but once I got it all set up we had a great session. The newbies are getting more and more....courageous...and less and less respectful of both humans and other horses every time we come (since no one is doing anything with them at the moment), so they provided an effective distraction that was a quite interesting test of Rain's concentration. We were lunging, and each time she got to the side of the fence where the newbies were either three of them teamed up to try and attack her as she passed, or she stopped to put them in their place...which didn't happen. Those little babies are fearless! But I was able to get Rain to concentrate pretty well on what I was asking her to do, and was so impressed with her investigation of the cavaletti. The first time she approached it--in both directions--she slowed down, sniffed it, and carefully stepped over it, exaggerating her movements so as to not make contact at all. By the second or third time around, she was confidently trotting over it--at any height--without any hesitation. There were a few times she even launched herself over it, making a full jump and landing in a canter for a few strides. Even though I know I'm probably a total pain in her ass, she's gotta enjoy our sessions at least a little bit...as a mustang you'd think she'd at least somewhat enjoy the exercise, even if not being too thrilled about being asked by a human to do it. I will say she's not a spooky horse. Every time I introduce something new she doesn't freak out like some of the "trained" horses I've worked with...She may shy away or jump to the side, but after once or twice she'll calm down and cooperate. And her reaction to the cavaletti was just perfect. She calmly investigated and proceeded to step over it. Most other horses would refuse to go even within five feet of it the first time they see it, so I'm very impressed! Second semester begins tomoro, and since it was my initial plan to spend yesterday cleaning and doing chores so I could spend all day today with Rain, we took yesterday off....and since I ended up being a lazy bum yesterday instead, we only had an hour or so to spend together today.
But what a great session! We continued everything that we've been working on, and worked especially on catching and coming when called, in preparation for relocation...hopefully next Sunday (I was going to do it today, but I'm nervous...). We also worked on some lunging, which was quite a bit of fun for me since Rain had a lot of spirit today. It was a bit cooler than it has been, so she was feeling great! There was one point I asked her to turn at a trot, she jumped into the air, gave a joyful little buck as she spun and took off into a canter once back on the ground...I wish I could've gotten a video of that! Too cute. We also did some work with "the stick" (a cobalt training stick--NOT A WHIP--that I use for sacking out) to help get her used to being touched everywhere. She has no problem with me petting her up until about her withers, but if I try to go beyond that, because when I get out of her eyesight it psyches her out, she backs up and gets antsy, which doesn't make life any easier for either of us. So instead, today I tried the stick. I stood in front of her, and ran the stick up and down her back, around her belly, over her butt and down her legs. This was a major sign of her progress,how she remained completely in control the whole time. There were a few times where she'd pop her head, ears back and alert (notably when I ran the stick down her hips) or pivoted to try and "escape"..but even then, she remained perfectly calm, just one step at a time thinking then I wouldn't be able to reach her. What really impressed me tho was how she handled her legs. Her front legs were a complete nonissue: she lifted each up the first time as it was something new, but then she accepted the contact perfectly calmy. The back legs were a bit more difficult, and we didn't get all the way down to the hoof today. With both back legs as I ran the stick down she first tried to lift her foot out of the way, and then when that didn't work jumped sideways. The difference is, today she just jumped sideways, and I held on with my one hand not even using all my strength and she came back in, and we tried again. (We stopped when she'd at least stand still for contact on her hocks, which is the spot that sent her off. I decided that was at least something, and we'll try again tomoro. She learned the stick wasn't going to hurt her, and jumping away wasn't going to make me stop, and that standing still would...so that's good progress! A fun little confidence booster today was our audience--typical for a Sunday, but because of the winter holiday I haven't seen anyone since the beginning of December. No one could believe the progress we've made. Everyone was congratulating me on what great work I've been doing, and how she doesn't even seem like a wild horse anymore. And I agree! She is a completely different horse...and I'm so glad I'm not the only one to notice it! One of the moms asked if I've done any video recordings of our sessions, and especially now I really wish I would've been able to. Even if we started now, which I'm not sure how we would, there would still be no way to show just how wild she was when we first started working. Once we start doing saddle work and stuff though I will find a cameraman...I want our first ride recorded! The same mom who asked about video recording is also running a local rescue (the rescue the newbies came from) and pretty much insisted that starting this spring I help work with them, since she's seen what I've done with Rain and knows what I can do. What a great experience! I'm so excited! The weather was so nice today...the sun was shining and the air was clear, I didn't really feel like doing anything that was going to stress either of us out, and I know Rain will never object to a "fun day".
So that's what we did: some round-pen work, worked a bit more on lunging, and a lot of liberty exercises not really to advance our training, just to get closer and run off some steam. Which we both did. I ran next to Rain, and she turned when I did, usually stopped when I did, and was completely focused on me for the majority of the session. It was great, just spending some quality time. The newbies were over by the fence as well, so For probably an hour of today's session I turned Rain loose to socialize and I just laid in the center of the round pen, relaxing and watching. The herd dynamics those little colts have are just too cute...and they all follow Rain around like she's their mom. Rain has already gotten better with her lunging, and trotted off as soon as I asked her today. It still amazes me how incredibly smart she is..I'd love to work with another mustang to see if they're all like that, or if I just got very lucky. We were able to break into a canter, --something Rain is really not a fan of doing-- and keep it for a few laps going counter-clockwise but couldn't get more than a stride going the other direction...she always does seem to move slower going clockwise, so that may be her "bad direction" that we'll need to put some extra work into. I love days like we had today...not necessarily progressive, but just great visits. We don't have to cross a milestone every time we meet up, there needs to be some days to just chill and relax as well. Today was our second session after winter holiday, yesterday we just reviewed what we'd been doing, making sure Rain still remembered, and today we added on some progress.
It was quite obvious Rain had been bored over holiday, and rightfully so, a mustang going from exercise every day to nothing for a week and a half is sure to pent up some aggressions. I had chores to do around the stall and paddock anyway, so it actually worked out great. I turned her out into the round pen and the galloped--and I mean galloped--around the outer rail for a few minutes, and gradually worked her way down to trot, and then walk while I picked out her paddock. It was actually adorable because I was in the round pen for her first couple laps of running, and after three or so she turned in and trotted towards me, as if saying "okay, I feel better! I'm ready to go now!" Today we also started with a little turnout, and then some more review...walk, whoa, back, turn, etc. We worked on grooming prep a little as well, and Rain reacted surprisingly well to my touching her belly...she jerked back at first, but by the third or so time she allowed it just fine. Our big step today was that we introduced lunging. We've done some pretty extensive free lunging but never with a line, so that was quite a challenge. It took us both a few tries to figure out exactly what the best way to do it was, but we figured it out. I originally tried using the same signals I use when working with "trained" horses: extending the arm out that's holding the lunge line and swinging the other end a bit to inspire movement. Rain looked at me with confusion, as we went in dizzying circles of her simply rotating her hindquarters away and continuing to face me. I was actually very impressed by this response, because she really showed a lot of respect and trust, facing me and moving off immediately. We tried a few different variations of that until I decided to just start things up the way I would start free lunging: get behind her drive line, and move her foreword. This worked great until I grabbed a hold of the lunge line, which caused Rain to stop and turn in to me. Again, very impressive, but still not what I looking for. Finally I had a lightbulb go off: If I walk in towards her, as I've been doing while teaching her to back up, she moves away with the energy I do. So I did just that. Walked in towards her with energy, and tapped her in the chest with the end of the line, which got her moving. Calmly moving, however, which I was so excited to see. She simply trotted away and I kept her going by staying behind her drive line. We continued doing that until I could use my usual signal while taking a step towards her and she'd trot off, perfectly calm and willing. Our one little challenge was turning. Rain turns on a dime, and we already have pretty much mastered the turning signal. Our problem today was, because we were using the rope, when she turned to the outside it wrapped around her neck. The wrapping was nothing that could become dangerous, it just caused some conflicting signals. So our task for tomoro will be trying to get her to turn to the inside. |
Kellicartoonist and horesman: it's an odd combination, but I'm an odd person so I guess that's okay. |