Feelin' GROOVY! :-)

Well ok...so it's been a week since I posted & I really didn't think there was much to tell. I confess, I've been SLACK! I've been enjoying the "stop" after the months of dealing with the muster so I've been taking a VERY relaxed approach to the boys' handling. Hehehe. Aside from feeding them & mucking out, there's been very little pressure put on them. I've taken advantage of little opportunities as they've presented themselves. I've learned that that is always the best time rather than forcing things & trying to 'make it happen'. It's making the most of the moments where everyone is relaxed & listening to each other quietly. That's when people are most polite & appreciative & horses are most obliging. :-)  

Even though we've been doing nothing more than move around each other as I muck out the yards, it's given Mojo & Whorl the opportunity to have me pass from eye to eye, through their blind spots. They've done inside & outside turns to move out of my way, some I have instigated to move them & some I have allowed them to make, to move themselves past me. They know the difference between when my focus is on them & when I'm just moving around them & they have learned to watch me & trust that I'll let them know EXACTLY what my intentions are at all times. This is all stuff I could have set up to 'happen' if I'd set my mind to 'handling' them but I've been slack... ;-P

So...Mojo & Whorl went out on the weekend...

This was their first time out of the yards & you'll notice that two gateways only have electric gate tape. This is one of those 'deep breath & just DO IT!' moments where you just have to hope that you've set the horses up well enough to A. not panic when they hit the electric tape & B. run back INTO the yards as their safe haven. You can't put them under lots of stress in the yards & then expect them to 'want' to be in there so I need to be REALLY sure of how they will react before I take the risk. Introducing horses to any sort of fences for the first time is nerve racking but electrics is just torture! I spent all weekend (this is the view from my front deck) watching them to make sure no one got hurt or too upset.

Of course, poor inquisitive wee Whorl was the first (& 2nd & 3rd...) to get zapped which, while scary at the time, was soon forgotten...by Whorl. Mojo decided he really didn't need grass quite THAT much & besides which, there was a bin full of hardfeed conveniently placed in the 'safe' yard, to get through before he could possibly think about going anywhere. Whorl was welcome to be eaten by tigers as far as Mojo was concerned, more food for him!

It wasn't long before they both plucked up the courage to venture out again but Whorl was staying very close to the wooden fences as he knows they don't bite!

Whenever I venture down, they wander back in to stand in the doorway of the yards. This was just before being 'tucked in' with their last hay for the evening.

They're both thoroughly enjoying hardfeed now too. They were a bit slow to get started & Whorl still prefers hay but I noticed he was a little more enthusiastic this evening. I think because Mojo makes such a big deal about it (he LOVES hardfeed & threatens grievous bodily harm when he thinks Whorl might be stealing his share) Whorl has decided it's too much grief to be bothered with the stuff. I gave him his own feedbin tonight though so he's in with a fighting chance. Hehehe.

Mojo gets his 'Superman' undies on for food! Oh yeah, I can get REAL close when there happens to be food at my feet. LOL Often by now, I would be holding the feed bowl & the horses would be having to be brave enough to put their heads between my arms, to eat. If I was to attempt that with Mojo right now, I'd have no arms left! Don't get me wrong, he's shown absolutely no signs of aggression towards me but he's still a VERY scared horse & there's no way I'm going to give him any reason to. He needs to know that he doesn't need to protect himself from me. Little by little, we're increasing Mojo's comfortzone & he's learning to trust that I won't ask anymore of him than I know he can handle. We have yet to agree on how much hardfeed he can handle! He is the first Kaimanawa I've ever had straight off the Range that didn't need feeding & he SO doesn't! Mojo will be changing his name to 'My Jello'. Hehehe.

Whoa Lardy!! Ok...so we can use worms as the gut excuse but that's still some serious 'junk in the trunk'!

And if you think I'm being a bit rude to Mojo, look at the faces he pulls at me when he thinks it's too dark for me to see...

Pulling faces in the dark...

Uh-oh...What? Why are you looking at me?!

Seriously...WHY are you looking?? I wasn't doing anything!

OMG! Stop it! You're freaking me out! All that llooookkkiiinnggg...is it any wonder I'm grey?!?!

Tonight Mojo became King of 'advance & retreat'. I took one of those opportunities I was talking about earlier & closed the gate on him in the smaller, back yard (where he feels safest) & managed to draw him from one end to the other to take hay out of my hand. This is the first time he has voluntarily stepped towards me without either Whorl or a fence between him & I. It's also the first time he's taken hay from my hand without the same. He's a GOOD BOY! :-) It took all the bravery he could muster but just that little bit of time spent getting his head to me was enough for him to click in & go, " Aaaahhh, I get it...you come in peace. Well alrighty then!" He's spent so long trying desperately to avoid me both physically & mentally & tonight he FINALLY acknowledged me & was ready to have a go at interacting with me. He also made a great big stallion pile overnight which greeted me this morning. He's been poohing randomly like Whorl so this was a very noticeable change. I'm SO proud of him! :-D

Oh & as for the wee charmer Whorl, he agreed to a photo of being touched this evening but only with our 'grounding' stick to help him cope with the camera. I'm at the stage now where I need a photographer as my arms just aren't long enough. I'll see if I can recruit the husband when he's home later in the week. Hopefully, he'll get some more video of the boys too. Whorl really is such a wee gem! He's just little 'Mr Cruisey' & has the most delightful temperament. I should probably get stuck in & get a halter on him but I really am just enjoying hanging out with them both & watching them interact with their environment; like the 1/2 dozen peackocks that wander right through their yard most mornings. The horses weren't scared, just surpised & a bit bemused I think. Now they just ignore them completely!

Oh & yes, I have been rubbing the nearside too. Only got photos of the offside though, sorry. ;-)

For those who have contacted me, concerned that you're maybe not progressing quickly enough with your horses, note the title of this post. The lyrics to this well known Simon & Garfunkel hit should be your mantra for working with wild horses. Don't try too hard, let things happen in their own time but look for opportunities which you can turn into something productive. It is NOT a race! Appreciate & celebrate the small stuff. It may seem pretty insignificant to you when you have a bigger goal in mind but whatever it was, you can guarantee it was a HUGE deal for the horse to get to that point & he still has no idea of your lofty goals! If you can consider EVERYTHING from the horse's perspective & completely let go of your own perspective, you'll see that the horse is already working just as fast as it can to adapt to an alien environment. That's a basic survival instinct that as a wild animal, he's VERY in touch with! If you can work (within reason) to the horse's time frame rather than expect them to work to yours, you'll get a lot further, a lot faster. If you haven't handled the horse within 6 months, I'd maybe be a bit concerned...it's two weeks after the muster...you're doing FINE! ;-)