I worked with both Kachina and Griffin yesterday. I don't have much time to write up a detailed post, so I'll quickly do my best! I'm leaving in the morning for WY, and will be gone all week.
Griffin:
I've been thinking about the differences between Griffin and Kachina and what I need to do to get him to be a little more willing to work with me, like she is. Kachina will follow me and stand in the middle with me, whereas I have to approach Griffin, and I often feel like I'm pinning him against the panels to be able to touch him. So with Griffin, I spent more time driving him around the pen, and asking him to turn in off the fence to me. I then decided to try the rope with him, and test him out how he would handle if I threw it at him. I started by approaching him with it, and he was very cool about it. He bravely sniffed the coil, so I backed off and tossed it to the ground in front of his feet. He snorted, but did not move, and reached down to sniff it. I did that a few times, and then went ahead and tossed it over his back. I got it on him within 3 tosses! He did run, but he was not super panicked, so I felt okay about tossing it at him. Once the rope stayed on over his back, he stopped running and sniffed at it. He's a brave boy, just not so trusting of me. I eventually got it around his neck, then did more mini-roundpenning with him, asking him to turn into me when I stepped in front and pulled on the rope. I got him to turn in and face me, and not in a corner! Then I spent time approaching and rubbing his neck, then I progressed to his face. He needs to let me rub his face if I am to halter him, and he's not so comfortable yet. He tries to evade my hand to move away. By the end of the lesson, he was pretty good about letting me approach and rub his forehead from the front. A good first step toward haltering! He's not so afraid of the rope either, so I hope this goes well! He is feeling so much better. When I was mini-roundpenning him, he was trotting out really well, and confidently. He has a huge stride! No more catwalking! By the end of our session, he was not snorting anymore when I asked him to trot out. He was snorting every breath when I first started.
Kachina:
Kachina had a good lesson, except that I had to throw the rope at her again in order for her to let me halter her today. I think that was because my parents were watching, so she was nervous. Plus she obviously just needed to move. In addition, my halter also had a leadrope attached this time, so she was leery of that new thing. Once I had the rope on her, it didn't take too long, and then she was haltered, with a long lead rope! I spend time mini-roundpenning and asking her to stop and face me with a step in front and a pull on the halter. She did freak out a few times with the new feeling, but she got it. I also "led" her around in circles and she follows the feel of the rope really well. I also gave a steady pull from the front, and it took a while, but she eventually figured out that she should take a few steps foward when she feels that pressure. I didn't do too much of that because she wasn't quite ready for that. Then, I decided to see how she's take fly spray from a spray bottle. She was very nervous at first, but let be get her good side (even her belly and down her back legs!). Her bad side took her a little longer to settle down, but I solved the problem by adjusting the nozzle so I could stand back farther and spray her. It was the noise of the spray bottle that bothered her the most. So, I sprayed my wild mustang with fly spray!
I've been dying to get the tangles out of her mane for a long time. Yesterday, I accomplished it! I had to cut them out with scissors, but it didn't shorten it too much. Her mane is very brittle, so then, I put hair lotion on it (called Pink - get it in the African American hair section at the store - it works great at moisturizing!), and brushed it out with a brush. I was even able to brush her forelock, AND trim her a short bridle path for her halter! I'd say she's a tame horse! I just need to get her more comfortable with letting me halter her, and then get this leading thing down, then I'm ready to begin some more hard core stuff...possibly taking her out of her pen for a walk soon!
Showing posts with label insects. Show all posts
Showing posts with label insects. Show all posts
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Friday, July 17, 2009
Kachina is a tame horse
Things have been crazy for me the last few days. I have a job interview in Wyoming next week for a really exciting position! WY State Wildlife Disease Biologist. If I do not get this job, I am heading to vet school this fall, with the goal that I'll be focusing on wildlife so that I can do the job that oversees the position I would have had in WY. That's my life goal right now. Funny how they change, or stay the same, rather. I've decided that as a vet, I don't want to treat other people's animals. I want to simply enjoy my own, and still make a difference in the wildlife conservation world, which has been my specialty previously.
I have been working with Kachina the last few days. I've ignored Griffin a little but that only started out because I had to spend so much time on Kachina after her day off, but it's also because he's more challenging and I was having more fun with Kachina, so he got ignored. I will work with him today! I promise.
Anyway, back to Kachina. Sorry, I have no pictured because I was the only one there, which I prefer, by the way. When I work them alone, I focus much better on their responses and reactions, and I talk to them constantly. When I have an audience, I don't talk as much and we all suffer for it. The connection is not the same.
So, I had decided that I wanted to get a rope on her because I want to start getting closer, haltering her, and I wanted a way to tell her that she needs to stick with me rather than leaving when she's a little nervous. I've watched a lot of clinicians work horses with ropes by throwing them at them repeatedly until they finally get the rope over the horse and in the right position. They say that doing that will show the horse that they aren't going to be killed by things coming at them, so it is a good way to also desensitive them while you work to catching them. Now, Kachina is very reactive, so I was cautious about doing this, but I just went ahead and did it anyway.
My rope is a very long coil of cotton rope (maybe close to 50 ft?). I always start working Kachina by throwing whatever I'm doing to use that day (rope, halter, brush) over the panels into her pen so that she can check them out. She did and she was relatively calm as I entered the pen, until I picked up the rope and started coiling it so that I could handle it. She snorted, ran around, then stopped and watched me (head high, nostrils flared) as I finished coiling it.
Then I just started walking around with it. I wanted to give her a chance to sniff it, but she was having none of that. She just ran from me and the rope. So I started swinging it and tossing it at her. She ran and ran and searched corners to get out. I would toss it at her, and sometimes I'd get it over her butt, but she was spurting forward so fast, that it would come right off. This went on for a long time. I was starting to worry that I was sending the wrong message...spurt forward when the rope comes at you and the rope will not touch you! But I just kept at it. I'd never done this before, so I had some doubts about what I was doing, but I just kept at it. I was very nonchalant as I stood in the middle. Kachina became very sweaty and was breathing hard. A couple of times, the rope was over her back and stayed on her for a lap around the pen. Finally I managed to get it over the neck (it had been over her back, but then she turned into the fence and it went right into position!). I let her trail it out so that I could pick up both ends of the rope, then I had the rope around her neck. Once the rope was on her, she really wasn't so freaked out. She was nervous, but stood and looked at me. I could wiggle the ropes and swing them, and she might jump, but she didn't take off. I asked her to move around a couple of times and then stop and face up. When I asked her to face up, I stepped in front and pulled on the rope, releasing the pull as soon as she made to turn in and look at me. She did this pretty well, but was still a little panicky, and at one point, I lost on end of the rope. It slowly fell off as she moved around, but that was fine. Then I coiled it back up, and approached her with it so that she could check it out. It had been touching her already. She was very tense as she stretched out her neck to sniff at the rope, but I just kept taking it away, walking away from her whenever she reached to check it out, and pretty soon, she was following me just a bit, then sniffing it a little more confidently. So then I reached out with the coil to touch her on the shoulder with it. She made to move away, so I retreated and did that a few times till she was standing well, then finally did touch her shoulder with it. Then I scratched her with the rope and she thought that was okay. At that point, she was a little more secure with it. I did that on both sides, then thought I'd see if I could get it around her neck without throwing it at her again, but as soon as I put it over her neck, she was off. And it stayed on for a little bit, but then fell off.
So, I went back to throwing it at her and she ran and searched corners. She still reacted to the tossing of the rope. Finally, I got it over her neck again (which took a while - I have bad aim). Then I just got to work on her rubbing her all over and moving that rope (which I had hold of both ends around her neck). She LOVES to be rubbed, especially her belly. She has some very thin skin and the gnats have really irritated her under there. Her skin is so thin that it lookes like they held the freeze brand on too long, but probably they didn't hold it on any longer than any other horse. Most of her freeze brand is bare skin. No hair grew back. There is only white hair on the first character.
Prior to this session, she'd only allowed me to touch her with one hand - two hands was just too much and she'd move away, then I'd have to ask her to come back. This time, I had used the rope to pull her back when she left - well, I used a combination of the rope and stepping out in front of her with always gets her to turn into me. Pretty soon, I could put a little pressure on that rope, when she'd lean out to start leaving, and she was choosing to stay with me. I kept rubbing her, and eventually, I was using both hand, rubbing in all her good spots, and I progressed to rubbing her up on her neck and head as well. I've been staying away from the back end until I get a rope on her. I don't think she's a kicker, but I've seen her panic response to an unknown object and that was to kick, so I'll stay away from that until I have control of her head. I was even able to rub down her front legs to the hoof and she stood very well!
Once I'd gotten to where she was letting me rub her head with both hands and touch her nose and put my hand on the bridge of her nose without her trying to pull her head away, I picked up the halter and repeated all the rubbing with it. I progressed to all over her face. Then I slipped it on over her nose and continued to rub her and move it around as I tied it. Kachina is haltered!!!! She was unfazed by the halter. I just continued to rub and rub her body. She loves to be rubbed, which I knew she would. I still had the rope around her neck. Now, Kachina did still every once in a while become bothered by something I was doing, and move away, but I just used the rope to bring her back.
This whole process probably took 2 hours. I could have had her haltered sooner, but I didn't want to rush and make a bad experience, so I was really slow with it all. When I was finished rubbing her, I took the halter back off and continued to rub her as I slowly pulled the rope off her neck. She stood, I gave her one last rub, then walked away. At the end of that lesson, she was very relaxed and had completely dried off - no more sweat.
The next day (which was yesterday), I started by throwing the rope, halter, and a lead rope into her pen. I meant to use the rope again, but I approached her with the halter first and just started rubbing her. She stayed with me really well. I could still use both hands to rub her and rub all over her face. So I didn't end up using the rope at all. I still got the halter on her and then just spent a lot of time rubbing her all over. The flies were bad again, so then I went to get a rag and my bottle of fly spray. She was uncerain about the rag at first (it is bright blue), but I just let her check it out, walked away from her with it, got her to follow me, then I went ahead and started touching her with it. She was quite nervous about it, but she stood and let me do it. So then I sprayed fly spray on it (while standing next to her!), and then proceeded to rub her down with fly spray! I got her whole body except down her back legs and her butt...those are still off limits for me until I get a leadrope on her. I'll do that soon, but I don't anticipate a problem with her back legs. Now, I didn't have a lead rope on her at all yet. Just the halter, and she did leave a few times when that blue rag became to much, but for the most part, she stayed right with me! After the fly spray, I took hold of the halter loop (I use a rope halter), and gently pulled it toward me as I stood at her side. She turned her head toward me instead of pulling away, so I rubbed and rubbed her. I did that a few times on each side, just asking her to give just a little. I think we are now well prepared to me to get a halter on her with a lead rope. That basically means that she's a tame horse! Yay!
Today, I'll work Griffin. He needs to get to this point too, but I know it will take a little more work because it is me he is leery of. Kachina likes me, just not "things", but she's becoming so brave about things now. Griffin is feeling much much better these days. He is walking around his pen again, instead of just standing in a corner (when I'm not in there with), and the other day, when I asked him to let me scratch his neck when I was feeding him, his ran into the barn, then back out, and he was REALLY fast! He's feeling good. But he did calm down and then let me scratch his neck. I think I'll use the pole to get a rope around him, instead of throwing it at him. I don't want to push him into the panels again!
I have been working with Kachina the last few days. I've ignored Griffin a little but that only started out because I had to spend so much time on Kachina after her day off, but it's also because he's more challenging and I was having more fun with Kachina, so he got ignored. I will work with him today! I promise.
Anyway, back to Kachina. Sorry, I have no pictured because I was the only one there, which I prefer, by the way. When I work them alone, I focus much better on their responses and reactions, and I talk to them constantly. When I have an audience, I don't talk as much and we all suffer for it. The connection is not the same.
So, I had decided that I wanted to get a rope on her because I want to start getting closer, haltering her, and I wanted a way to tell her that she needs to stick with me rather than leaving when she's a little nervous. I've watched a lot of clinicians work horses with ropes by throwing them at them repeatedly until they finally get the rope over the horse and in the right position. They say that doing that will show the horse that they aren't going to be killed by things coming at them, so it is a good way to also desensitive them while you work to catching them. Now, Kachina is very reactive, so I was cautious about doing this, but I just went ahead and did it anyway.
My rope is a very long coil of cotton rope (maybe close to 50 ft?). I always start working Kachina by throwing whatever I'm doing to use that day (rope, halter, brush) over the panels into her pen so that she can check them out. She did and she was relatively calm as I entered the pen, until I picked up the rope and started coiling it so that I could handle it. She snorted, ran around, then stopped and watched me (head high, nostrils flared) as I finished coiling it.
Then I just started walking around with it. I wanted to give her a chance to sniff it, but she was having none of that. She just ran from me and the rope. So I started swinging it and tossing it at her. She ran and ran and searched corners to get out. I would toss it at her, and sometimes I'd get it over her butt, but she was spurting forward so fast, that it would come right off. This went on for a long time. I was starting to worry that I was sending the wrong message...spurt forward when the rope comes at you and the rope will not touch you! But I just kept at it. I'd never done this before, so I had some doubts about what I was doing, but I just kept at it. I was very nonchalant as I stood in the middle. Kachina became very sweaty and was breathing hard. A couple of times, the rope was over her back and stayed on her for a lap around the pen. Finally I managed to get it over the neck (it had been over her back, but then she turned into the fence and it went right into position!). I let her trail it out so that I could pick up both ends of the rope, then I had the rope around her neck. Once the rope was on her, she really wasn't so freaked out. She was nervous, but stood and looked at me. I could wiggle the ropes and swing them, and she might jump, but she didn't take off. I asked her to move around a couple of times and then stop and face up. When I asked her to face up, I stepped in front and pulled on the rope, releasing the pull as soon as she made to turn in and look at me. She did this pretty well, but was still a little panicky, and at one point, I lost on end of the rope. It slowly fell off as she moved around, but that was fine. Then I coiled it back up, and approached her with it so that she could check it out. It had been touching her already. She was very tense as she stretched out her neck to sniff at the rope, but I just kept taking it away, walking away from her whenever she reached to check it out, and pretty soon, she was following me just a bit, then sniffing it a little more confidently. So then I reached out with the coil to touch her on the shoulder with it. She made to move away, so I retreated and did that a few times till she was standing well, then finally did touch her shoulder with it. Then I scratched her with the rope and she thought that was okay. At that point, she was a little more secure with it. I did that on both sides, then thought I'd see if I could get it around her neck without throwing it at her again, but as soon as I put it over her neck, she was off. And it stayed on for a little bit, but then fell off.
So, I went back to throwing it at her and she ran and searched corners. She still reacted to the tossing of the rope. Finally, I got it over her neck again (which took a while - I have bad aim). Then I just got to work on her rubbing her all over and moving that rope (which I had hold of both ends around her neck). She LOVES to be rubbed, especially her belly. She has some very thin skin and the gnats have really irritated her under there. Her skin is so thin that it lookes like they held the freeze brand on too long, but probably they didn't hold it on any longer than any other horse. Most of her freeze brand is bare skin. No hair grew back. There is only white hair on the first character.
Prior to this session, she'd only allowed me to touch her with one hand - two hands was just too much and she'd move away, then I'd have to ask her to come back. This time, I had used the rope to pull her back when she left - well, I used a combination of the rope and stepping out in front of her with always gets her to turn into me. Pretty soon, I could put a little pressure on that rope, when she'd lean out to start leaving, and she was choosing to stay with me. I kept rubbing her, and eventually, I was using both hand, rubbing in all her good spots, and I progressed to rubbing her up on her neck and head as well. I've been staying away from the back end until I get a rope on her. I don't think she's a kicker, but I've seen her panic response to an unknown object and that was to kick, so I'll stay away from that until I have control of her head. I was even able to rub down her front legs to the hoof and she stood very well!
Once I'd gotten to where she was letting me rub her head with both hands and touch her nose and put my hand on the bridge of her nose without her trying to pull her head away, I picked up the halter and repeated all the rubbing with it. I progressed to all over her face. Then I slipped it on over her nose and continued to rub her and move it around as I tied it. Kachina is haltered!!!! She was unfazed by the halter. I just continued to rub and rub her body. She loves to be rubbed, which I knew she would. I still had the rope around her neck. Now, Kachina did still every once in a while become bothered by something I was doing, and move away, but I just used the rope to bring her back.
This whole process probably took 2 hours. I could have had her haltered sooner, but I didn't want to rush and make a bad experience, so I was really slow with it all. When I was finished rubbing her, I took the halter back off and continued to rub her as I slowly pulled the rope off her neck. She stood, I gave her one last rub, then walked away. At the end of that lesson, she was very relaxed and had completely dried off - no more sweat.
The next day (which was yesterday), I started by throwing the rope, halter, and a lead rope into her pen. I meant to use the rope again, but I approached her with the halter first and just started rubbing her. She stayed with me really well. I could still use both hands to rub her and rub all over her face. So I didn't end up using the rope at all. I still got the halter on her and then just spent a lot of time rubbing her all over. The flies were bad again, so then I went to get a rag and my bottle of fly spray. She was uncerain about the rag at first (it is bright blue), but I just let her check it out, walked away from her with it, got her to follow me, then I went ahead and started touching her with it. She was quite nervous about it, but she stood and let me do it. So then I sprayed fly spray on it (while standing next to her!), and then proceeded to rub her down with fly spray! I got her whole body except down her back legs and her butt...those are still off limits for me until I get a leadrope on her. I'll do that soon, but I don't anticipate a problem with her back legs. Now, I didn't have a lead rope on her at all yet. Just the halter, and she did leave a few times when that blue rag became to much, but for the most part, she stayed right with me! After the fly spray, I took hold of the halter loop (I use a rope halter), and gently pulled it toward me as I stood at her side. She turned her head toward me instead of pulling away, so I rubbed and rubbed her. I did that a few times on each side, just asking her to give just a little. I think we are now well prepared to me to get a halter on her with a lead rope. That basically means that she's a tame horse! Yay!
Today, I'll work Griffin. He needs to get to this point too, but I know it will take a little more work because it is me he is leery of. Kachina likes me, just not "things", but she's becoming so brave about things now. Griffin is feeling much much better these days. He is walking around his pen again, instead of just standing in a corner (when I'm not in there with), and the other day, when I asked him to let me scratch his neck when I was feeding him, his ran into the barn, then back out, and he was REALLY fast! He's feeling good. But he did calm down and then let me scratch his neck. I think I'll use the pole to get a rope around him, instead of throwing it at him. I don't want to push him into the panels again!
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Griffin explores our relationship
I gave the horses the day off today. But I did work with Griffin yesterday and didn't talk about it.
First off, we had a huge audience and I thought this picture would show it just right. He did pretty well for having that audience, but it did take him longer to calm down and relax and quit trying to evade me. He never really did truly give in and let himself enjoy me scratching his neck until after the audience left.
I had started off by wiping him with fly spray with the pole, then I progressed to asking him to let me touch his neck.
I forgot to mention that in the last session, twice he had contemplated biting me while I was scratching his neck. I think it was a combination of being investigative (he seems to investigate with his lips, like most male horses I know), but I also could tell he was testing my authority...thinking that he was uncomfortable with me that close and thought he'd see if telling me that by biting at me might make me go away. While I was scratching his neck, he turned his head and was sniffing my arm, then he put his lips on it, then he started to get ready to lip harder...he never did use his teeth because as soon as it turned a little more forceful, I walloped him in the side of the face with my arm. I was amazed that he didn't overreact to that! He just turned his head back straight and I continued to scratch him. He tried it one more time later, with the same result. I think he accepted that because he knew it was deserved...he was just seeing what he could get away with. Was he high enough in our relationship to tell me to go away by biting/lipping at me? It definitely started investigative, but I could tell by the change in his eyes when he'd decided to try it in a more authoritative way. I'm writing so much about this that it seems like it was a big deal, but it really wasn't! I am, however, amazed at the little ways we communicate to one another.
Yesterday, when I was scratching him, he turned to sniff my shoulder while I stood next to him. I don't want to discourage him from investigating me, so I stood still and relaxed, but I was ready if he decided to try to nip at me again!
He didn't. I think he's learned, and it's good that he's becoming comfortable enough to check me out and explore our "partnership".
After our audience left us, he really let down and was happy that I was scratching his neck. I want to start working them both with a rope very soon. I think the sooner I can get them haltered, the more I can do with them because I'll feel safer about rubbing them in other places as long as I have some control of their heads. And I think it's time to progress there...
First off, we had a huge audience and I thought this picture would show it just right. He did pretty well for having that audience, but it did take him longer to calm down and relax and quit trying to evade me. He never really did truly give in and let himself enjoy me scratching his neck until after the audience left.
I had started off by wiping him with fly spray with the pole, then I progressed to asking him to let me touch his neck.
I forgot to mention that in the last session, twice he had contemplated biting me while I was scratching his neck. I think it was a combination of being investigative (he seems to investigate with his lips, like most male horses I know), but I also could tell he was testing my authority...thinking that he was uncomfortable with me that close and thought he'd see if telling me that by biting at me might make me go away. While I was scratching his neck, he turned his head and was sniffing my arm, then he put his lips on it, then he started to get ready to lip harder...he never did use his teeth because as soon as it turned a little more forceful, I walloped him in the side of the face with my arm. I was amazed that he didn't overreact to that! He just turned his head back straight and I continued to scratch him. He tried it one more time later, with the same result. I think he accepted that because he knew it was deserved...he was just seeing what he could get away with. Was he high enough in our relationship to tell me to go away by biting/lipping at me? It definitely started investigative, but I could tell by the change in his eyes when he'd decided to try it in a more authoritative way. I'm writing so much about this that it seems like it was a big deal, but it really wasn't! I am, however, amazed at the little ways we communicate to one another.
Yesterday, when I was scratching him, he turned to sniff my shoulder while I stood next to him. I don't want to discourage him from investigating me, so I stood still and relaxed, but I was ready if he decided to try to nip at me again!
He didn't. I think he's learned, and it's good that he's becoming comfortable enough to check me out and explore our "partnership".
After our audience left us, he really let down and was happy that I was scratching his neck. I want to start working them both with a rope very soon. I think the sooner I can get them haltered, the more I can do with them because I'll feel safer about rubbing them in other places as long as I have some control of their heads. And I think it's time to progress there...
Monday, July 13, 2009
Kachina has figured out this pole thing!
Kachina is doing so well! Now she's better than Griffin! All along, she's been pretty comfortable with me, but really scared of the pole. The next session after I got her to stop running around when I was touching her with the pole, I started off by approaching her without the pole (I had planned to use it) and she allowed me to touch her face! I had to do a lot of movement over her face with my hand, and she wanted to move away at first, but she did let me rub her!
Then I progressed to rubbing her neck under her mane (she's very itchy there) and her chest. She was quite relaxed with me, and she let me touch her for real for the first time!
The next day, I started by rubbing her face and neck with just my hand, then I introduced her to the halter. I rubbed her face, neck and chest with it. She became pretty comfortable with the strings swinging all over. I didn't try to put it on her because she's done so well with this new thing and I didn't want to end on a bad note.
Instead, I introduced her to the curry comb. She kind of liked it, but it makes a funny noise when you brush her with it, so that made her nervous. I only brushed her a little bit before I called it good for that session! Awesome!
Today, I had a larger audience. My sister, mom, dad, great aunt and great uncle all watched and I think it made both Kachina and I nervous. Plus the flies were really bad today, so after she kept trying to evade me when I was rubbing her face (she was stomping her feet and really irritated by the flies), I decided it wasn't going to work this way, so I decided to try to apply fly spray to her. Previously she had not let me touch her anywhere other than her topline with the pole. This time, the pole was also wrapped in a smelly dripping rag.
She was nervous at first, and not so happy that the pole was back, but she did stand, and I slowly worked down her legs. Then, she seemed to almost understand that the pole was keeping flies away (or maybe I somehow communicated effectively to her that the pole wasn't going to break her legs off), because she stood perfectly still and let me wipe every inch of her body!!! No kicking this time either! She thought about it on one side, but I just stopped moving the pole and waited for her to put her foot back on the ground before I continued. She did so great!
Then I left her to work with Griffin. When I came back, my audience was gone, and I was able to rub her with my hand all over her neck, face, chest, and a little under her belly and behind her elbows.
Now, she wants to be with me. I can "mini-roundpen" her and it is a punishment for not wanting to stay with me when I am touching her. She definitely wants to come in to me and if I keep her out moving around, she does try to stay with me a little better.
Then I progressed to rubbing her neck under her mane (she's very itchy there) and her chest. She was quite relaxed with me, and she let me touch her for real for the first time!
The next day, I started by rubbing her face and neck with just my hand, then I introduced her to the halter. I rubbed her face, neck and chest with it. She became pretty comfortable with the strings swinging all over. I didn't try to put it on her because she's done so well with this new thing and I didn't want to end on a bad note.
Instead, I introduced her to the curry comb. She kind of liked it, but it makes a funny noise when you brush her with it, so that made her nervous. I only brushed her a little bit before I called it good for that session! Awesome!
Today, I had a larger audience. My sister, mom, dad, great aunt and great uncle all watched and I think it made both Kachina and I nervous. Plus the flies were really bad today, so after she kept trying to evade me when I was rubbing her face (she was stomping her feet and really irritated by the flies), I decided it wasn't going to work this way, so I decided to try to apply fly spray to her. Previously she had not let me touch her anywhere other than her topline with the pole. This time, the pole was also wrapped in a smelly dripping rag.
She was nervous at first, and not so happy that the pole was back, but she did stand, and I slowly worked down her legs. Then, she seemed to almost understand that the pole was keeping flies away (or maybe I somehow communicated effectively to her that the pole wasn't going to break her legs off), because she stood perfectly still and let me wipe every inch of her body!!! No kicking this time either! She thought about it on one side, but I just stopped moving the pole and waited for her to put her foot back on the ground before I continued. She did so great!
Then I left her to work with Griffin. When I came back, my audience was gone, and I was able to rub her with my hand all over her neck, face, chest, and a little under her belly and behind her elbows.
Now, she wants to be with me. I can "mini-roundpen" her and it is a punishment for not wanting to stay with me when I am touching her. She definitely wants to come in to me and if I keep her out moving around, she does try to stay with me a little better.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Poor Griffin
Unfortunately Griffin's chest looks even puffier today with a larger swelling between his front legs. It's so large at this point, that it almost looks like his chest was supposed to be that way, and it's really not as jiggly. I suppose that means it might start draining soon. The vets have not called me back yet about it. Kachina is looking pretty good. She's definitely gained weight since we've had her, but unfortunately, now she looks a little flea-bitten. She so sensitive to the flies, and I think she has rather thin skin, so the itching that she does wears the hair off her hide. 
I've been doing mini-roundpenning with her daily, and she's getting pretty good at reading me, not over-reacting, and even on both sides. I can ask her to go out, come in and face me, and change directions. She'll also stand still as I walk around her, although she sometimes gets confused about this, and makes to move off when I just want her to stand still and chill out. I can also walk around toward her hip and she will pivot and continue facing me. I'd like her to relax a little more though, and make more of a move to sniff my hand when offered, but she is really standoffish. It takes many offers, and then she will sort of sniff in the general direction of my hand, but no closer than 6inches to a foot. She used to sniff me closer, and I'm not sure if it's worse now just because she feels better, or maybe it's because I "poled" her, or perhaps it's just because I'm working with her in general. It might help if I did the round penning for longer. I need to step up what I'm doing if I want to be able to touch her. I really really wish I had a rope on her right now, and next, I may try work her with a rope. I'm just worried about freaking her out more and losing that little bit of trust.
I've been doing mini-roundpenning with her daily, and she's getting pretty good at reading me, not over-reacting, and even on both sides. I can ask her to go out, come in and face me, and change directions. She'll also stand still as I walk around her, although she sometimes gets confused about this, and makes to move off when I just want her to stand still and chill out. I can also walk around toward her hip and she will pivot and continue facing me. I'd like her to relax a little more though, and make more of a move to sniff my hand when offered, but she is really standoffish. It takes many offers, and then she will sort of sniff in the general direction of my hand, but no closer than 6inches to a foot. She used to sniff me closer, and I'm not sure if it's worse now just because she feels better, or maybe it's because I "poled" her, or perhaps it's just because I'm working with her in general. It might help if I did the round penning for longer. I need to step up what I'm doing if I want to be able to touch her. I really really wish I had a rope on her right now, and next, I may try work her with a rope. I'm just worried about freaking her out more and losing that little bit of trust.Sunday, June 21, 2009
Back to the horses
Things at the farm have really grown while I was gone to Isle Royale (which was really really awesome BTW, if you wanna hear about it, check out this link)
After I got back, I discovered that in 1 week, the grass around my flowers had totally shaded them out (because I wasn't picking it every day to give to Griffin). The garden, likewise, has really taken off. We even have radishes that are big enough to eat already! And the flies have also really taken off. I've never seen them so bad on horses eyes before. All three of my horses have red inflamed areas on the skin around their eyes. I got two fly masks today (two different brands), to see which fits better. I'll be returning the one and getting two more of the others tomorrow. I think they'll really appreciate that. It's been so hot and humid, and add the flies onto that and my horses are miserable. Even when we are out riding, the horse and deer flies are starting to get thick. I'm going to have to douse them in fly spray before I ride too. In Idaho, I very rarely used fly spray and they didn't need fly masks. Wisconsin might have lots of grass to make inexpensive hay, but it definitely has its downsides for horse ownership. Not only are there LOTS of bugs, but the grass is generally too rich and they all get fat, and it's pretty darn humid.
I have plans to ride with my distant cousin and my dad this weekend, so I'm trying to get my horses somewhat tuned up and in shape. I've been riding one and leading another to get two workouts in one. It's going well. Today, I lost my cell phone in the grass somewhere along my ride, so I had to take my third fresh horse out to backtrack and find my phone. Amazingly, I found it! Good thing it is red. It makes it more visible when I lose it.
So, Kachina and Griffin are doing great. They are both really settling down and neither is showing signs of being sick anymore. I think they've finally gotten over it! The quarantine thing still holds though, since she'll be shedding the bacteria for several more weeks yet. AND my horses never did get sick. Yay!
Today, I decided to try to work with Kachina. She will let me walk up and extend my hand for a sniff, but she won't let me touch her anywhere else. She'll jump if she accidentally touches my hand with her nose. So, I wanted to try the bamboo pole method with her, since I don't have a full size round pen to use. When I brought the pole into her pen, she immediately started racing around and around me. Finally, she slowed and then stopped and looked at me, but it took a while. All this time I was just standing in the center holding the pole straight up in the air. If I moved, then she'd start running all over again. She is absolutely scared to death of the pole. So finally, I tried to set it on her back. She crashed around almost going into the panels at first, but after a couple laps, she came off the fence, but was still racing crazily around the little pen area that she has, with me holding the pole on her back. She just kept running and running and running. She did eventually start to slow her trot (not really enough room in this pen to canter), but I think it was only because she was really becoming winded. She attempted to almost slow to a walk a few times, but she couldn't. She just kept going. Finally, I decided she'd had enough. I tried to step in front of her drive line and see if she'd stop, but all that really ended up happening is that she'd speed up to squirt by me. She'd been racing around for at least 20 minutes straight, was dripping sweat, and was not really showing any signs that she was going to stop, just that she was becoming fatigued, so I pulled the pole off her and just stood in the middle. She did a couple more laps, but then slammed on the breaks and stared at me. I let her puff for a while, then I put the pole away and just tried to approach her. She'll let me approach her and almost sniff my hand, but by this time, she was all nerved up, so she was quite jumpy if I did anything funny. So after she'd aired up, I just did some mini-round penning with her. I asked her to move off, then stop and look at me, let me approach and sniff my hand. But that was as far as she'd let me go. I want to touch her so bad, but she won't stand for it!
I'm not really sure exactly what to do next. Should I continue with the pole and hope that she'll get over her deathly fear of it? In Kitty Lauman's videos, the mustangs she worked with did not run nearly so much! They ran a little at first, but then they stopped! I don't think that Kachina was going to stop until her lungs gave out! Maybe I should do it a couple days in a row and see if she can handle it better.
Or maybe I should continue with the roundpenning techniques and just not scare her with the pole beforehand and then maybe she'll let me touch her? I know she's gonna love it when she finally realized that I can scratch all her itches (poor thing is still getting eaten by bugs).
It would be so nice to have a halter and lead rope on her right now, but I'm glad that we didn't have one put on her in the beginning. It just would have gotten so nasty with all the pus and mud it would have been dragging through.
I've also been thinking about the "squeeze chute" that Arlene is using with Echo. If all else fails, I'll see if I can't get my hands on her that way.
After I got back, I discovered that in 1 week, the grass around my flowers had totally shaded them out (because I wasn't picking it every day to give to Griffin). The garden, likewise, has really taken off. We even have radishes that are big enough to eat already! And the flies have also really taken off. I've never seen them so bad on horses eyes before. All three of my horses have red inflamed areas on the skin around their eyes. I got two fly masks today (two different brands), to see which fits better. I'll be returning the one and getting two more of the others tomorrow. I think they'll really appreciate that. It's been so hot and humid, and add the flies onto that and my horses are miserable. Even when we are out riding, the horse and deer flies are starting to get thick. I'm going to have to douse them in fly spray before I ride too. In Idaho, I very rarely used fly spray and they didn't need fly masks. Wisconsin might have lots of grass to make inexpensive hay, but it definitely has its downsides for horse ownership. Not only are there LOTS of bugs, but the grass is generally too rich and they all get fat, and it's pretty darn humid.
I have plans to ride with my distant cousin and my dad this weekend, so I'm trying to get my horses somewhat tuned up and in shape. I've been riding one and leading another to get two workouts in one. It's going well. Today, I lost my cell phone in the grass somewhere along my ride, so I had to take my third fresh horse out to backtrack and find my phone. Amazingly, I found it! Good thing it is red. It makes it more visible when I lose it.
So, Kachina and Griffin are doing great. They are both really settling down and neither is showing signs of being sick anymore. I think they've finally gotten over it! The quarantine thing still holds though, since she'll be shedding the bacteria for several more weeks yet. AND my horses never did get sick. Yay!
Today, I decided to try to work with Kachina. She will let me walk up and extend my hand for a sniff, but she won't let me touch her anywhere else. She'll jump if she accidentally touches my hand with her nose. So, I wanted to try the bamboo pole method with her, since I don't have a full size round pen to use. When I brought the pole into her pen, she immediately started racing around and around me. Finally, she slowed and then stopped and looked at me, but it took a while. All this time I was just standing in the center holding the pole straight up in the air. If I moved, then she'd start running all over again. She is absolutely scared to death of the pole. So finally, I tried to set it on her back. She crashed around almost going into the panels at first, but after a couple laps, she came off the fence, but was still racing crazily around the little pen area that she has, with me holding the pole on her back. She just kept running and running and running. She did eventually start to slow her trot (not really enough room in this pen to canter), but I think it was only because she was really becoming winded. She attempted to almost slow to a walk a few times, but she couldn't. She just kept going. Finally, I decided she'd had enough. I tried to step in front of her drive line and see if she'd stop, but all that really ended up happening is that she'd speed up to squirt by me. She'd been racing around for at least 20 minutes straight, was dripping sweat, and was not really showing any signs that she was going to stop, just that she was becoming fatigued, so I pulled the pole off her and just stood in the middle. She did a couple more laps, but then slammed on the breaks and stared at me. I let her puff for a while, then I put the pole away and just tried to approach her. She'll let me approach her and almost sniff my hand, but by this time, she was all nerved up, so she was quite jumpy if I did anything funny. So after she'd aired up, I just did some mini-round penning with her. I asked her to move off, then stop and look at me, let me approach and sniff my hand. But that was as far as she'd let me go. I want to touch her so bad, but she won't stand for it!
I'm not really sure exactly what to do next. Should I continue with the pole and hope that she'll get over her deathly fear of it? In Kitty Lauman's videos, the mustangs she worked with did not run nearly so much! They ran a little at first, but then they stopped! I don't think that Kachina was going to stop until her lungs gave out! Maybe I should do it a couple days in a row and see if she can handle it better.
Or maybe I should continue with the roundpenning techniques and just not scare her with the pole beforehand and then maybe she'll let me touch her? I know she's gonna love it when she finally realized that I can scratch all her itches (poor thing is still getting eaten by bugs).
It would be so nice to have a halter and lead rope on her right now, but I'm glad that we didn't have one put on her in the beginning. It just would have gotten so nasty with all the pus and mud it would have been dragging through.
I've also been thinking about the "squeeze chute" that Arlene is using with Echo. If all else fails, I'll see if I can't get my hands on her that way.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Guess who is not draining anymore!
Kachina!
Here, Kachina waits for some oats. She thinks she should be given oats at all times of the day, but I only give her pelleted feed mixed with some oats in the morning.
But who can resist that sweet face? I gave her a little tiny scoop.
Look ma! No snot!
And no more pus! Only a few sores in the midst of bare skin that just need to heal up.
Such a sweet face and eyes that say "Hey! I'm ready to be worked with!"
It has been raining the last 3 days straight. It finally let up a little today. I think that Kachina thinks her desert horse self has died and gone to hell. She wasn't liking the fabric pieces I had tacked in the barn hoping to get her accustomed to it so that I could dip them in fly spray and give her some relief from the evil gnats (even though I had most of the fabric wrapped up and hidden - only a tiny piece was visible to get her used to it in stages). Instead she's been too scared to go in the barn. On the first day of rain (and cold weather), I found her soaking wet, shivering outside refusing to go in. I tore the stuff down and tried to convince her it was okay to go in the barn now, but she was still scared to. Later that evening, I checked on her, and she did finally go in. Oops. Poor cold mustang. Griffin was of course fine. He's got some fat and wasn't bothered by the cold wet weather, plus was not scared to go in his half of the barn.
Now we should be getting some dry weather, so their pens will dry out and I can start working with them. I can't WAIT to get in there and seriously get some stuff done with her. First, I want to scoop out old trampled hay and poop.
I'll be gone hiking on Isle Royale in Lake Superior for a week, so I won't be able to work with the horses until after I return. I need to get some nice pictures of Kachina now too. She's filling out ever so slowly. Her chest already looks wider and her backbone is not nearly so prominent.
Here, Kachina waits for some oats. She thinks she should be given oats at all times of the day, but I only give her pelleted feed mixed with some oats in the morning.
But who can resist that sweet face? I gave her a little tiny scoop.
Look ma! No snot!
And no more pus! Only a few sores in the midst of bare skin that just need to heal up.
Such a sweet face and eyes that say "Hey! I'm ready to be worked with!"
It has been raining the last 3 days straight. It finally let up a little today. I think that Kachina thinks her desert horse self has died and gone to hell. She wasn't liking the fabric pieces I had tacked in the barn hoping to get her accustomed to it so that I could dip them in fly spray and give her some relief from the evil gnats (even though I had most of the fabric wrapped up and hidden - only a tiny piece was visible to get her used to it in stages). Instead she's been too scared to go in the barn. On the first day of rain (and cold weather), I found her soaking wet, shivering outside refusing to go in. I tore the stuff down and tried to convince her it was okay to go in the barn now, but she was still scared to. Later that evening, I checked on her, and she did finally go in. Oops. Poor cold mustang. Griffin was of course fine. He's got some fat and wasn't bothered by the cold wet weather, plus was not scared to go in his half of the barn.
Now we should be getting some dry weather, so their pens will dry out and I can start working with them. I can't WAIT to get in there and seriously get some stuff done with her. First, I want to scoop out old trampled hay and poop.
I'll be gone hiking on Isle Royale in Lake Superior for a week, so I won't be able to work with the horses until after I return. I need to get some nice pictures of Kachina now too. She's filling out ever so slowly. Her chest already looks wider and her backbone is not nearly so prominent.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Meet Kachina
Apparently it is pronounced "Katsina" and can also be spelled this way as well, but I think I like the "ch" spelling...now I get to correct everyone on the proper pronunciation of her name!
Kachina lets me come pretty close to her and she never acts threatened. Today she stood in the barn and I walked back and forth in front of it, actually hoping that she'd come out so I could go in and get her hay. She decided that she would rather stand and watch me and sniff my camera offered to her than leave the barn. Eventually she did. I didn't want to get trapped in a small space with her in case she got nervous and panicky.
She has sores in her flanks with bare skin. It's hard to see them close up, but I think that these are spots being attacked by gnats. I'm going to look into hanging some strips of cloth soaked in fly repellent from the doorway to see if that might help keep the gnats away. I'm afraid they'll continue to eat her raw if I don't do something. She must have very thin skin because none of the others seem to be having a problem with them (aside from a few gnat bites on their bellies).
The swollen gland nearest her throatlatch started draining today while the other glands have slowed their drainage I hope that means that she's going to heal up soon. I don't want to see any more lumps! To take this picture, I actually stood pretty close to her rump (definitely within kicking range if she felt so inclined, but I wasn't worried because she wasn't worried and I wasn't pushing her at all - just trying to get a picture, but of course I was very alert). She doesn't seem like a kicker though. Or a striker, but I guess we'll see when I start working with her. I think that her personality is actually quite passive and not defensive or offensive.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
