Expect More Of The Same...

Well as much as July was a write off, August has been wetter yet. :-(

This is the state of my yards...

and this is the driest spot outside them! The yards themselves aren't quite so bad but OMG! just try getting to them!

So, it's just been the same, the boys have remained turned out in the paddock & get fed every night. They both politely queue at the gate at 5.30pm & they both call out excitedly as soon as they see me coming with their dinner. I stand, holding Whorl's bowl for him while Mojo sidles up to his own bowl & snatches mouthfuls of his feed, the whole time, hoping I'll ignore him.

Mojo has fallen in love with the only females on the property, Chloe, Frankie-Lynn & Moon (my sheep) & spends much of his time kissing them over the fence. Whorl doesn't like to be left out so all five of them do relays up & down the fenceline, taking turns to greet & 'kiss' each other. When they get bored with this, all five of them lay down for a nap. They've become GREAT friends!

Here they are today; the ONLY sunny day we've had in AGES! We only had one shower of rain. Hehehe. It was still wintery cold though in the wind. These five certainly know how to make the most of the sun!

As I got closer, I wondered how long it would be before they got up. I didn't think they'd be comfortable staying on the ground with me approaching with the camera in hand.

Oh...so this close is fine then...

Yes, I AM coming closer...try not to look ssooo scared you two! *cough, cough*

Oh yes of course, I COMPLETELY understand that an itchy fetlock is of WAY more importance than a predator approaching.

Good on you Whorl! Any self respecting 'wild' horse should be on high alert at all times & ready to flee to safety at a moment's notice. Just give him time to rub his eyes & haul his ample caboose out of bed, eh Mojo!

Crikey! All that yawning going on...there's high stress here today!

I'm sure the only real reason they bothered to get up was because Chloe came bounding over, bellowing at me in the hope of cuddles & sheep nuts. (Not necessarily in that order.)

The husband had a wee niggle the other day about me not doing anything with these two. He promptly changed his tune after wading through the quagmire that is the yards, to give Whorl his feed on his way hunting. I wish I'd had the camera then! Picture a guy in camo with a gun slung on his back, feeding a wild pony. Whorl REALLY doesn't care 'who' is attached to his bucket as long as it has food in it!

So meantime, while the weather has been hideous & I've been hibernating, I've had a breakthrough in treating my TB horse, Manny. His symptoms all fit those of a 'grass affected' horse according to Jenny Paterson of Calm, Healthy Horses so we're embarking on her diet regime in an effort to reduce his pain & improve his quality of life.

While going through the Healthy Horse Checklist, I noticed that some of my other horses also display symptoms of being 'grass affected', particularly my Kaimanawas! Everything about them screams 'insulin resistance' going by the symptoms for such on this list. It has certainly given me food for thought anyway! I urge all of you with Kaimanawa horses to have a thorough read of Jenny's website. I have also started another blog for me to document Manny's progress through his lifestyle change. Hopefully, this will help me identify times when he is most affected so I can be proactive in managing his condition. Feel free to peek at Manny's Diary to see how he's doing while you wait for my yards to dry out a little. ;-)

Don't forget too that Mojo & Whorl are both available by tender NOW! If you would like a Tender form for either of them, please email me. We've had a few enquiries already so hopefully, we'll find the PERFECT homes for these boys!

KWHWT Inc. also has these wee lovelies looking for homes...

See the website for more details if you'd like to adopt one of these young mares. They have been handled & are ready to go.

'The Ranger' is another older stallion like Mojo, who will be ready for adoption at a later date. If you're interested in offering 'The Ranger' a home, please either contact me or email Marilyn Jenks via the KWHWT website (link above).

What Happened To July?!

HUGE apologies to those who have been following! July was a bit of a disaster for me with contractors onsite, a death in the family, computer problems & absolutely FOUL weather! Mojo & Whorl have spent the whole month just chilling & relaxing in the paddock which doesn't seem to have done either of them any harm. I've managed to catch the odd photo or two so here's a quick update...

14th of July

Mojo & Whorl are now living permanently in the paddock. They'd previously been coming back into the yards at night. Whorl has filled out nicely & Mojo is really starting to relax & look happy. They're quite respectful of electric tape & have made absolutely no attempts to test it, not even when the post rammer was ramming 3m posts right next to them in the same paddock!

Mojo has 'claimed his territory' with an impressive poo pile or two. I think he likes it here. He's sharing a 3 acre paddock with Whorl & is surrounded by other horses & all sorts of strange animals he's never seen before.

Not many 'strange animal' encounters have been planned. Well...not by ME anyway! Chloe Lamb & her wayward girlfriends had been planning this encounter for weeks I suspect.

The busy body Ballet Lamb! She just can't help herself, she HAS to know everyone & everything! 

Chloe looking rather concerned that there is yet ANOTHER horse eating her much loved grass. And he doesn't even have the decency to give her the time of day! Mojo & Whorl have since moved to the other side of the electric tape in the background & posts are now standing 2 metres high around the roundpen. I thought the boys might be worried by the large tractor, post rammer & strange people but no, not really. They had a bit of a hoon around when everyone first arrived but all the rearing & playing gave it away that they weren't really concerned.

23rd of July

And this is how it's been since, WET!

As you can see, the boys have plenty of grass but they're still either waiting or come running, yelling their heads off, when they hear the bike coming with dinner. Whorl gives me enough space to get in the gate & then he needs no invitation to dive straight into his feed while I hold it. He's learned that he has more feed than Mojo & that as long as I'm there, Mojo won't push in & steal his feed so I'm his best buddy at dinnertime! Well actually...it turns out ANYONE who is attached to the bucket is his best buddy. As long as you stand quietly & use similar posture to me, he's happy to be served dinner by others. Hehehe.

Mojo sidles up & will eat quite close but he's not keen to let me hold the bowl for him in the paddock. He's only getting enough feed now to keep him in a routine as he's rather rotund!

To Date...

Whorl is turning into a handsome little man! He spends a LOT of time flat out, snoring his head off as he's growing. When he's not sleeping, he's harassing Mojo to play with him. The two of them have lengthy play sessions of rearing, sparring, galloping around playing tag & another game which Mojo has recently suggested Whorl plays...Mojo is obviously missing the ladies & will soon need to be separated from Whorl. 

Mojo will need to get used to being on his own a bit anyway as Whorl will be ready to go to a new home as soon as the weather improves. I'll really miss my chocolatey sweet little Whorl. He's just the nicest wee man! He's super inquisitive & is happy to just hang around with me after he's eaten his dinner, unlike Mojo who prefers to wander off to a slightly safer distance, to graze. When Whorl's not sure about something, he wrinkles up one nostril & thinks hard about what he should do before he reacts. He never gets defensive & he's not scared of people, in fact he actually quite likes them! Whorl will make some very lucky child's best friend, he has the potential to be one of those 'one in a million' ponies. He's also very clever!! I recently started turning one of the switches off on the electric fence to climb through the double gate tape. Whorl watched me do this twice before I caught him slyly testing his whiskers on the electric tape in his paddock. So far, he remains convinced that it WILL still bite him, he hasn't felt the need to test the theory fully & is giving it the benefit of the doubt after the whisker test. He still takes great interest in my ability to climb through without getting zapped & with his thinking face on, he does his whisker test on his own fence each evening.

Well there ya go! Mojo & Whorl currently think they're at holiday camp & all they have to do is turn up to the buffet each evening. All is about to change! Just as soon as the weather forecast does!

Whorl's First Proper Lesson

Ok...so I know it's been almost another week since I posted & yes, I've still been slack. There barely seems to be enough hours in these short days to get everybody fed & the boys' mucked out let alone any work done! I'm spending a bit of time just feeding too as this is Mojo's lesson; coming into my space voluntarily & staying there without freaking out. This is ALWAYS easier with food, of course! What other good reason could there possibly be for standing near the scary two legged thing that makes lots of noise?!

-One ear on me & the other on Whorl who is eating in the next yard.-

Sometimes, not even food is a good enough motivator. One thing I have learned with wild horses is that you may not necessarily be able to pick up exactly where you left off yesterday & that's o.k. The horse had to go through a process to get to where you left off yesterday so you may well need to repeat that process to get to the same point today, although not necessarily as thoroughly. Sometimes a quick 'refresher' of what was done yesterday will get you back to that point in minutes but you still couldn't have just gone straight there. The horse has also had some time to digest what it did yesterday; although he may have been quite accepting & coped fine, he may still have decided that it's not one of his 'favourite' things & if you don't suggest doing it again, he's certainly not going to! Don't be trying to work with what you think you 'should' have, you can only work with what you've 'actually' got! Being prepared to start from where the horse is at, will save you endless frustration if you're not exceptionally patient by nature.

So....Mojo is still dealing with being in each other's spaces & "OMG! *gasp!* OTHER PEOPLE!" He managed only a very slight coronary the other day when my darling husband mucked out for me. Having two of us in the yards at the same time was bad enough but "OMG! Do you two HAVE to keep moving too?!?!" It was a BIG deal for Mojo but he coped remarkably well. :-) Some days he's totally relaxed & is happy to come right in close & take hay from my hand at my side & will eat out out of the feed bowl while I'm holding it. Other days, it's all just a bit much & he wants some space. As long as we're moving forward (no matter how slowly it appears), we're getting somewhere! :-)

-Sleeping in the morning sun.-

Two of my naughty lambs got out the other day & went to taunt the wild ponies. They KNOW horses are dangerous (mine like to play "the beautiful game" with sheep) but horses also sometimes have VERY yummy food so they're well worth checking out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxz3AZ80Lc4

Here's Mojo keeping a VERY close eye on the husband...

Oh & Whorl...well yes, we've kept things pretty casual too. I thought I'd better not muck around too long though seeing as these aren't my horses! I'd also REALLY like to get them out in the bigger paddock but I'm reluctant to do that until Whorl has a halter on. I just drenched them again last night too so once they're cleaned out, I'll feel happier about having them in my paddock.

Oh yeah, Whorl...well like I said, I've been pretty casual but have still been careful to cover all of the important stuff like making sure he's happy with me standing on BOTH sides of him, making sure I can move him & turn him easily without him getting worried, making sure I can touch him ALL over with the stick, particularly over & around his head, being able to step in & touch his neck & shoulder on both sides with my hand & at least being able to have the stick cross his wither (if not my hand) so he can see it from both sides. With all of that in place, we were ready start looking at introducing a rope.

This is THE single most crucial step, do NOT stuff it up!

It's all very well getting a rope on a horse but getting a rope on a horse without it panicking &/or getting hurt & being able to get the rope OFF again, can be VERY different things!

Ideally you'll have nice long, soft rope with a large metal ring spliced onto one end. I don't have that, so have to make do with a lunge rein which works exceptionally well BUT it does leave tons of room for error so you'd be better be VERY sure of what you're doing if you're going to follow this option! Your lunge rein MUST reach the full distance of the yard with rein to spare & you MUST NOT allow it to tighten around the horse's neck. I just put the end through the hand loop to make a noose & then weave my 'scratchy stick' into the loop so it stays open, to be placed over the horse's head.

I start by allowing the horse to have a REALLY good look & sniff of the rope...

Some horses will actually quite happily put their heads straight through & you can just drop it on their neck. Make sure the horse is ready before you do though! For others (I've found approx. 50/50) they prefer the rope to come from behind their head & drop forward, down over their nose. You need to make sure you can touch them all along their top line with the rope too (just as you do with the stick)...

Note the rope is actually lying BOTH sides of his wither. If the horse can't cope with seeing the rope both sides, it's not ready to wear it. 

Whorl is happier coming from behind...here we are at that crucial moment...do I? Don't I?

Well yes I did, but I had to put the camera down first, SORRY! ;-) Make sure you don't make a big lunge to get the rope on that last second as you'll scare the bejeezers out of the horse & will undo all of your good work, putting you (in some cases) right back to square one. Keep it all one smooth, fluid motion. If it doesn't go over the horse's head for some reason, don't panic. Take it off & try again quietly.

You also missed him moving around the yard in both directions & me moving his rope back up his neck with my stick.... (Note: we're working in on the near side.)

...like this. Whorl is looking rather apprehensive about that thing coming past so close to his ears...

He's MUCH happier when it's sitting on his neck rather than WAY up in the air above his head. But you REALLY need to make sure you can do that too (at least for a few seconds)...

...so you can take it OFF again without upsetting him. :-)

Please excuse Whorl's expression in some of these photos. As I've explained before, adding the camera into the equation can be a HUGE ask for these guys! In order to take these photos, I had to put everything into my left hand (I would normally have it in my right, working on the nearside like this) & that COMPLETELY changes my balance, how my body is presented to the horse & the horse's perception of that change. And yes, something as seemingly small & insignificant as that, can mean the difference between success & failure with these horses! They are SO fluent in body language that these subtleties are anything but subtle, to them. Sometimes, all you have to do to make something work is change hands! Equally though, this change is all it takes for Whorl to start going, "Hheeyyy.....what's going on here....? I'm not sure I like what you're doing..." when I break out the camera & lose focus.

So yes....about Whorl...he had a pretty eventful 15 minutes today!  Hehehe. I'll have to pick him up a halter later this week. What's Whorl's colour do you think?

Mojo has found his mojo!

Who would have thought that 3 minutes of advance & retreat would be such an epiphany for Mojo!

Breakfast: Mojo called out to me as I came down on the bike. As I approached the yard, rather than quietly retreat to the back yard, he stood resting a back leg in the front yard. Although watching ever intently, he maintained his pose while I did a quick muck out around him (the rake right under his feet just like Whorl) & he waited patiently for breakfast. I put their feeds down & retreated out of the yard, to stand against the rail outside where they come & eat at my feet while I have my hands through the railing (not touching...) & my chin over the top, looking down on them as they eat. This has been a HUGE worry for Mojo & he has only had brief moments of bravery until this morning. Something changed dramatically overnight & all of a sudden, it's not a problem! I could even move my hands (still no touching!) without him showing much concern & several times (at LEAST 3!!!) he reached out to me & sniffed my face while he was munching! How cool is THAT?! No matter how many horses I handle, I don't think these moments will EVER get old! :-D

You know what was even cooler though? When Mojo finished his feed, he picked his feedbowl up & played with it! For the very first time since I met him, he looked content & like he'd gained a bit of his old self confidence back (which I have no doubt he had plenty of, in HIS world!) I was SO excited to see him picking up his feed bowl & nodding his head furiously before dropping it & diving his head in to see if he'd shaken anymore out of it. Ok...so maybe it wasn't the advance & retreat...maybe it's just Mojo's love of food that all of a sudden makes me appealing...

Dinner: Well...I knew it was dinner time because the 'Mojo gong' was being frantically struck! I wondered what the hell the noise was?! I glanced down to the yards to see a green gubba doing somersaults through the air & making quite a racket as it hit the ground & got dragged up for the next throw. MOJO LOVES FOOD!!

Whorl on the other hand, couldn't have cared less that it was dinnertime...

...or that I'd ridden in between him & the closest escape route back to the yards. Hhhmmm...'wild' herd animal separated from it's herdmate by a noisy quad bike after only a few days out of the yards? He REALLY couldn't have cared less!!

Meanwhile, Mojo was pacing up & down the yard expectantly, DEMANDING that I hurry up with dinner! I was beginning to think I almost liked him more when he was ignoring me! LOL With no Whorl to protect him in the front yard, Mojo thought it best to retreat to the safety of his back yard while I beetled in & out with water, hard feeds & hay. I got dinner all set up for them & grabbed a handful of hay to offer to Mojo. He started to skulk off into the corner & then thought better of it. He turned to face me, I invited him & he came straight up & cautiously took some hay out of my hand again. The next mouthful was nowhere as tentative & after that, it was all on! We were both taking great delight in him mouthing my fingers very gently & literally taking the very last, single wisp of hay from them. He even gave little contented snorts & sighs as he munched away & with every mouthful, he made the choice to take one step closer until he was standing right next to me, just hanging out with no hay at all. Teeheehee! He then hooked up & followed me out of the yard through the still open gate. :-)

I had to go & get Whorl to put him to bed & he wandered obediently back into the yard & tried to find some food that hadn't been claimed by Mojo. Hehehe. I left them both munching while I got out the rain. SO COOL!! :-D

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! ;-)