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! ;-)

Marvellous Mojo & Wonderful Whorl!

What a GREAT afternoon! The sun has been shining all day & the boys were quite 'up' in their mood & VERY relaxed while I was mucking out. I literally had to muck out around them! The rake had been even closer to Whorl's feet, prior to me picking up the camera. Even Mojo was able to confidently hold his ground today. Amazing!

I touched Whorl's shoulder (gave it a good rub) 3 x times! Yay Whorl! :-D I didn't manage to get a photo though sorry! :-( And no, this isn't like 'the one that got away'. Ha! Ha! Whorl is suspicious of the camera. When I take my attention off him to look through the camera, I lose focus & he loses confidence in what I'm doing. These ponies are fantastic at demonstrating how committed you need to be to each task. If you're not 'in the zone', they get a bit confused & worried. Everything you see in the photos, I have done at least once before I've picked up the camera & I don't pick up the camera until the horse is completely comfortable with what I want to photograph. They need to be up to that additional pressure & although Whorl managed to let me in there 3 x times, I knew he wouldn't quite be up to having the camera there as well. Maybe tomorrow? Maybe next week? Who knows...? Right now, he's an absolute wee GEM, yet again!! I'm SO proud of him! Here's what got him to that point today...

Touching him ALL over the offside again today.

And look! We finally gained an understanding about the nearside too. :-)

Although Mojo was wary, he managed to hold his ground & allowed me to stroke him with the stick a few times too.

Thankfully, not all of his stroking involved him jamming himself in the corner & trying to ignore me. This is what he resorted to when I got out the camera but he was still pretty relaxed for Mojo. Oh, & look; no Whorl between me & him! ;-)

Wet, Cold & Mud!

Ok, so it's been DAYS since my last update but the weather up here has been foul! After needing several changes of clothes just to muck out the yards each day, I couldn't deal with standing out there in the horizontal rain, working with the boys too. I don't want to spend all the fine days catching up on mountains of washing when I could be playing with horses! LOL

It's still been really good for them both just having me wandering around the yard behind them, in & out with the wheel barrow, throwing the rake & shovel over the rails, etc. They've also had a couple of visitors which has given them new challenges. Dealing with one person in the yard is one thing but dealing with two is just downright scary!

Whorl is starting to get quite bold & even took the initiative to have a wee taste of my hand yesterday without grass in it. I'm loving this boy more & more each day! He's going to be a FANTASTIC little horse! He's so sensible, confident  & curious; everything I adore in a horse.

The jury is still out on Mojo...he's coming ahead in leaps & bounds considering he's had almost no pressure at all put upon him. He still eyes me suspiciously from the other side of the yard but he's a LOT more relaxed & walks away from me rather than scooting past with his tail clamped to his backside. I've still been trying hard to get glimpses of his teeth so I can get a better idea of his age. What I thought looked like 4 yo corners, didn't look like that when I was having a better look last night. As a 4yo, he would have been very lucky to keep any mares in the wild & it's pretty obvious this boy has been successful in that area, so I'm now guessing his age somewhere between 4 & 7. Only time (& a good equine dentist) will tell but feel free to start the sweepstake. Hehehe. Whorl will need to see a dentist as soon as possible too as he seems to have a lot of difficulty eating. He looks to me like he has sharp edges that are causing him to bite his cheeks, poor little man!

I've managed to separate them briefly a couple of times now too. Whorl thinks that's GREAT as he has food to himself & doesn't have Mojo bullying & bossing him around the yards. Mojo on the other hand, thinks it's a BAD, BAD idea!!!! Lone horse = certain & most imminent death!! He's survived twice now so hopefully, he'll soon realise that the predictable outcome is quite different from his initial instinct! LOL

We managed a brief session last night before dark & I was really pleased with how the boys handled it. My husband was in the yard with us all, taking the photos which was a HUGE deal for Mojo & made Whorl more than a little uneasy too. It's something they really need to get used to though as it's far too easy for these horses to bond with just one person. Mojo & Whorl will need to be well socialised to cope with new homes at some stage, so they need to be comfortable with lots of different people. I've learned this the hard way in the past, when I've handled horses for other people. What is a quiet 'donkey' for me, reverts to a snorting, eye rolling wild horse when they meet their owner & it then takes a week of work to transition them off me & onto the new person. It's all VERY confusing & upsetting for the horse & demoralising for the owner so I don't want to have to go through that with these boys. I'm making sure that they get to meet LOTS of different people throughout the entire process so the only basket case when they leave will be ME!

Whorl is quite ok about being touched with the stick but we still have to work on that nearside. He's been an absolute STAR at 'protecting' big, brave (*cough*) Mojo & giving him confidence when I sneak in the odd stroke of the stick across his back too. I can get in two strokes & he's able to hold himself together, if I back off quickly straight after. Every day is progress in the right direction & I already know that Mojo will take some time & that's fine by me! I'm fortunate that I don't have to rush him & we can do everything in 'Mojo-time' which will get us to where we need to be with a much better result, I feel. His expression in the photos says it all! Just doing what he's doing & coping daily is about all he can manage right now!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rH0QJdVc9TY

Give it a Whorl!

Absolutely AWFUL weather today! The ponies had finished all of their hay & were looking rather pleased to see me this morning. I gave them a slice each while I mucked out & I noticed that they'd had a bit of a pick at the hardfeed too. Not a lot but then I shouldn't think it will take them too long once they start experimenting.

Once the yard was clean, very quietly, for the first time, I separated them. Mojo's composure almost left him completely & he had a bit of a snorty panic around the smaller yard when I shut the gate, while young Whorl went into a whirl in the front yard. I quietly stepped out & grabbed another couple of slices of hay. By the time I came back in (all of 30 seconds!), they were standing quietly & Mojo completely forgot what he'd been worried about once he spotted the hay.

Whorl thought it was most unfair that he wasn't getting hay too & he got a bit flustered & confused when I asked him to move around the yard instead. After a full circuit of the yard at a brisk walk, he had the idea & didn't panic when I placed my poplar branch on his back. I mean he REALLY didn't panic, not even a little bit...he might have been a bit concerned initially (clamped his wee tail to his bum a bit) but he didn't quicken his pace & he relaxed as soon as he realised that it wasn't going to hurt him.

I let it just rest on his rump while he walked around me & the second he stopped, I pulled the stick away & backed off a step. Well that was it! Whorl instantly went, "Oh, ok...so all I do is stop? Got it!!"

He then stood like an absolute GEM while I did lots of advance & retreat with my poplar branch & stroked right along his topline, under his chin, down his neck & chest & down the backs of all 4 x legs. BRILLIANT! That was the off-side done in less than 10 minutes & he'd been such a star! I gave him a wee break while I went off to pick him some fresh grass as a reward. Once he'd had some of that, I asked him to move again so we could do the same thing on the nearside.

"Nuh-Uh!" "That's NOT what you taught me! I stand here, you come up THIS side!" No matter how hard I tried to convince Whorl that he can do the same thing on the other side too, as far as he was concerned, ONE lesson at a time & that's a WHOLE new lesson! I managed to get him to stand & was able to get almost all the way around behind him & onto the nearside with my branch but he was determined to turn his head & keep me in his other eye. Hehehe. Fair enough!! He was SO good with everything asked of him, I wasn't going to push the point & he'd already tried SO hard for me!

Mojo actually seemed mildly amused watching Whorl as he munched hay from his ringside seat. In fact, he was quite happy to sleep through most of the action when he'd had his fill of hay. That was until Whorl & I were obviously finished...you should have seen his face! LOL He looked mortified when he saw me walking towards him. "What the?! Don't go getting any funny ideas lady! I am SO not doing that stuff!!" We both agreed that he's not quite ready to be touched like that & then we both agreed that we could stand a little bit closer to each other than we did earlier this morning.

By dinnertime tonight, we'd had some HUGE changes! Whorl isn't scared of me anymore, wary yes, but not scared & he came 'to' me tonight instead of automatically stepping away & doing a big circle. Mojo didn't have to leave the big yard either & was able to let me stand REALLY close without looking worried.

It's hard to believe it's only a week since they were mustered. In that week, they've been chased by helicopters into yards, been drafted by humans & ripped away from their families, put onto trucks with horses they don't know & shipped into more yards to be further drafted, onto more trucks & into homes. Aside from all the travelling, they've had to cope with confinement (something they have NEVER experienced before & had no concept of), people, drenching, a complete change in diet plus all manner of human related things! If they were human, they'd need years of therapy & drugs to cope with their post traumatic stress disorder, yet we expect them to just 'handle' whatever we throw at them & we push to see how much we can get away with before it's too much.

I am SO proud of what Whorl has accomplished today but I'm equally proud of Mojo. It's a difficult thing for a stallion to lose his band as that's all that he lives for. It's very easy for these older boys to get grumpy & depressed once they realise that the horrible dream is reality & this is now 'their lot'. He's tried hard this past week to 'wish me away' (if he doesn't acknowledge me, I'm not really there, right?) but I'm still there & now, very slowly, he's starting to deal with me. I know food will be his saviour! I just need him to get a taste for hardfeed & I'm sure, he'll decide I'm not so bad after all. Hehehe.