Day 34 – 05/20/2013

Training Day 21

Tonights lesson with Lucy covered a lot of different ground. We started off with crossing a new plastic object, a cut open feed bag. That proved to be a non-issue and Lucy stood on it as if she were trained to do so (she’s not). I didn’t expect a big problem because she did so well with the tarp but this plastic makes a louder noise. She’s so brave when it comes to objects she can stand on. The height stick, on the other hand, was not something she wanted anything to do with. With consistent approach and retreat she did finally allow herself to be measured. She stands a solid 15.1 – 15.2 depending on where she is standing. Her pen is not level and I had her loose but she is definitely one big girl! After the measuring stick (which is where the video ends) Lucy and I did some rope work, practiced leading until she was nice and light for a couple of circuits around her pen and worked on touch. We worked until she was comfortable being touched all over her front legs all the way down to the hoof. She did very well and I should be able to start brushing her in the next training session. She seemed to understand that when I reach for her feet it’s not to cut them off…its just to rub on her! We ended with lots of petting on her face and some flexing to left in preparation for eventually needing to be able to halter her. Video is being edited and will be uploaded soon.

Day 33 – 05/19/2013

Training Day 20

I had a busy week this week so Lucy had 3 days off. Today’s video shows our training session less the first five minutes it took for her to settle and focus on me and allow herself to be caught. Today’s session was meant only as a review. Her leading today was subpar…she was too heavy for my liking however, I wanted to continue to focus on touch and desensitization. Eventually I need to be able to touch Lucy all over her body and halter her. In order to do that I need to desensitize her body and face to touch. She is doing very well with her body but still protective of her legs. She’s gaining much more confidence having me on her right side which is a plus. Throwing the rope over her head does 2 things for me: 1. it gets her used to exaggerated movement of my arm and teachers her she doesn’t need to move when I swing my arm in an arc like that and 2. she learns that if she raises her head she gets the rope tangled..some times I do that anyway accidentally..in either case its light enough that she has learned its not really that bad. Overall a good session today. If I had my druthers I would have started earlier in the day and worked with Lucy until she was a lot softer on the line. That will have to wait for another training session.

Video uplaoding

Day 29 – 05/15/2013

Training Day 19

Good session today with Lucy. In the beginning of our session I made the mistake of rushing her for the sake of rushing getting a video (I’m always worried about the failing light). She’s was a lot lighter for me yesterday when first asking her to give to just pressure on the poll and I should have taken more time to get her lighter before I switched to the neck rope. I’m using a neck rope because I haven’t done enough work with her to be able to get the snap under her jaw, well at least not at the beginning of today’s session. I worked a lot on it at the end of today’s session, mostly because I can’t keep leading her by her neck, and feel confident I’ll be able to use her halter from now on. As you can see in the video, today is her first day out of her pen since she arrived. She did fairly well with the threshold. I can’t think of one mustang that DIDN’T worry about coming out of its stall for the first time. I’m pretty happy with how she did that. There are three gates to squeeze through in order for Lucy to get from her pen to the 50×50 pen. She did very well.

I use approach and retreat, pressure and release to help teach her to lead. She understands this very well and was surprisingly not too distracted by the boisterous stud colts in the adjacent pen. We had a nice leading session in the big corral. My worries about her getting scared and pulling off were justified, she got loose 3 times when I would approach to pet her. I was able to work with her to build her confidence in the larger pen and ended the session after I was able to approach and pet her on both sides without her trying to escape. The longer line definitely prevented her from being able to leave a few times. If I would have had her on a 12′ leadline I am certain she would have learned a bad habit that she can get away from me. The 50 x 50 pen worked to my advantage giving her only so much distance she could travel before hitting the end of the line. She’ll still need a few more days of reinforcement and confidence building on the lead line but I am optimistic that we may be able to get her out onto the main property as soon as this weekend.

Today’s training session finished in her stall reinforcing pressure and release. I played the friendly game with her and the end of the rope throwing it over her back from left to right about a hundred times. Throwing the rope around the front canons about 50 times and doing lots of approach and retreat and scratching of both sides. On both sides I worked my way to where she can tolerate my hand just behind her ears, she’s really apprehensive about it, but she tolerates it. Also worked to where she would tolerate me rubbing / scratching on her from her poll to the point of the hip on both sides. Her right side was a real challenge for her to accept contact that far back. I also worked on desensitizing her to touch all the way down to the knee on the left side. She’s still unsure but only lifted her leg and never tried to leave. Using the rope again I played the friendly game flicking the rope so it would cup her belly. A flurry of tail swishing ensued but she never kicked at it. We kept that up until she stopped with her tail. The end of the session for the evening I need to get the rope off her neck. The ring on it is so big it auto loosens so that is never an issue, which is the reason I like it as a neck rope, but sliding it off is too easy. We worked on throwing the end of the line over her head / ears. The motion is very similar to what the horse would see / feel if you were riding in a halter and needed to flip the lead rope from one side of the neck to the other. As with other desensitization exercises Lucy started off really resistant and worried and as I flipped the rope from side to side with rhythm she began to realize that keeping her head still actually results in less chance of the rope hitting her in the eye. Pretty soon she just stood there only bobbing her head a bit when I’d throw the rope over. All in all nice progress today.

Day 28 – 05/14/2013

Training Day 18

This was a good day for Lucy. Things started off a couple steps backwards. She was really flighty and really needed to move. While that in and of itself is normal she wasn’t focusing and was crashing around which she hasn’t done for atleast the past four or five sessions. I let her do what she needed to do just requiring that she change directions when I asked. Once she had settled and started looking for permission to come in we were able to get down to business. I reinforced touch on the left side of her neck all the way up her neck, at her crest and started scratching and rubbing her all the way down her spine (she has lots of loose hair there), over the top half of her barrel and down to her thigh on the front. Also started under her neck some and reinforced touching and rubbing her cheek. She still won’t let me touch her anywhere else on her face. We then moved to the right side, she needed to leave a few times on that side. Started by rubbing her cheek. She needed to leave a few times before she would let me get to her neck. From there I was able to build her confidence with approach and retreat until I could consistently walk up to her and pet her on the neck and shoulder. I did do a couple scratches on her withers but she was clearly uncomfortable with that so I pushed it just enough to where she didn’t need to leave but wasn’t sure she should stay. She’ll gain more confidence with time.

After all the rubbing on both sides I decided to use my 22 foot rope for some desensitization exercises. She did very well. She is not quite sure about the rope wrapping around her cannon but she stood for it. Also worked on throwing the rope over her back in a rhythmic motion from both the left and right sides. We worked until she learned that too was nothing to be worried about. Towards the end of our session I wanted to see where she was on leading but she’s not comfortable with me reaching under her jaw yet to get the leadline back on the halter. Instead I used my ring rope around her neck. I was pleasantly surprised that she was super light and soft on the line, both left and right and was easily leading forward today. Our last leading session was good, don’t get me wrong, but this one was GREAT. If she does that well tomorrow I’ll take her across the alley to the 50 x 50 pen to see how she does in a bigger area while still maintaining a fenced perimeter as a safety net. Even though Lucy is doing well, she needs to “leave” if she gets scared or worried. That’s fine in her pen. My three acres are fenced but not really something I need anybody loose in so we’ll make sure to take the couple extra steps to build her confidence before we take her out into the open. No pictures or video tonight.

Day 26 – 05/12/2013

Training Day 17

I personally LOVE a long mane and also take much pleasure in detangling and braiding them. I was super frustrated at not being able to get to her mane in a couple of days like I did all the others. She seemed to remember yesterdays lesson. Everyday she needs to move her feet for the first 10 minutes or so. She’s gotten to where she is no longer frantic about it though. I think its more self soothing than anything else. I was able to braid up to the point where I’d have to mess with her halter. The mane flips over up at that point and I don’t need to be slipping my fingers under her halter until she is more comfortable with me so that will come later. No video today, here are some pics.

Day 25 – 05/11/2013

Training Day 16

Lots of progress today with Lucy. Took about 15 – 20 minutes this afternoon for her to finally figure out she COULD tolerate me petting the left side of her neck and standing next to her. Lots of approach and retreat. She did so well I decided to introduce the spray bottle. She left the first time I sprayed it and after that it was not really any issue. I am still letting her make her own decision if she needs to leave. If she does we work on changes of direction and yielding her forequarters or hindquarters and then I approach again. She let me mess with her hair for about an hour before I decided she deserved a break. I’m still not all the way done with it but I did put a huge dent in the massive knot she had. It was one of the worst mane knots I’ve seen. Luckily I’ve dealt with a tail that was worse! This was one time I wish I had purchased a new bottle of detangler! On a tame horse I’d do WD-40 in a pinch and wash it with Orvus but can’t do that on a wild one until I’m sure I can wash it out! Oh well, the 50/50 conditioner and water works well enough in the spray bottle, just have to keep applying to keep the hair wet. I am very careful to keep hair loss down to a minimum. There was a lot of detached mane tangled up in the knot. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll be able to get the rest of it out and braid her up. Might even try to wash it. We’ll see what happens. I have more video from today I’ll be editing and putting together at some point this weekend. In the meantime here are some pictures and video I shot myself before my cameraman was available!
These training videos will open Youtube in another tab: Training Video Part 1 – Training Video Part 2

Day 23 – 05/09/2013

I don’t consider today a training day. The video below is 30 seconds or so short of the entirety of our session tonight which totaled under 5 min. With the combination of rain, wind and traffic it was dark and I was tired by the time I got home. I thought there might be just enough light to get a bit of video so used the opportunity to review what we’d worked on yesterday. Her energy level was definitely up but she was able to settle and stop and think. Towards the end of the video I ask her to stop along the rail. She really uses the corners as her “safe spot” which is great when I’m teaching new stuff because she’ll tolerate more in a corner but as soon as possible I like to ask her to stand outside her comfort zone letting me know she’s accepting the lesson not just “dealing” with it. You can see her flip her head towards the end. She was irritated, the plastic bag came too far forward and she didn’t like it!

Day 22 – 05/08/2013

Training Day 15

Worked with Lucy on desensitization with a plastic bag tonight. Attached the white plastic bag to the end of my carrot stick and moved her around with it. I was finally was able to work to scratching her with it (on the end of my carrot stick) on the left side, buttocks and side. She never did get overly worried about it and never broke a sweat it just took her about 10 minutes of approach and retreat before she could stand to have the bag near her.
She was more comfortable with the bag on her butt than near her forequarters. When I would first start putting it on her rump she’d swish her tail in protest. Never offered to kick though. If it got too worrisome she would trot off. She’s pretty much stopped leaving explosively though, when she leaves now she generally does so with grace and at a nice slow trot. It was too dark for video tonight.

Day 20 – 05/06/2013

Training Day 14

GREAT session tonight for Lucy. Started off just by ascertaining where we were after a couple days off. She still needed to move her feet when I first stepped into her pen but was much more relaxed than her previous sessions. After about 10 laps she stopped and looked at me as if to ask “OK, what are we doing today”. I thought I’d start by seeing what she thought of the tarp. As you can see by the video of her crossing it for the first time, she’s not worried about it. She even got it tangled up on her feet a couple of times when I asked her to back over it but never worried. After the tarp we worked on approach and retreat, desensitization and touch. She is getting MUCH more confident in me. She now allows me to be all but straight behind her without moving off. She’s doing great with the carrot stick on both her left and right sides all over her upper body (above the elbow and hock). We worked on yielding the forequarters in and yielding the hindquarters away. The hindquarters were fun today because for the first time she realized she could move JUST her butt to get a release. Her eyes lit up the first time she got that answer right! From there she just “got it”. Now I’m working on teaching her the difference between an approach to her hind end that means “I’m going to pet you” vs. “Would you please step aside”. She’s well on her way. I decided to remove her lead rope today. I’ve been pretty consistently able to pet her head and lead her so I feel confident if I need to I can get it back on her, but right now everything we are doing is liberty work to build her confidence in me so there is really no more reason for her to be constantly pulling on her own face in her pen. I won’t be able to refine her leading and get her out of her pen until I have her confidence so that is our main concern for now. We ended today’s session working on me touching her with my hand. This is much more worrisome for her than me touching her with the stick. Today I was able to work to where I consistently could rub on her left cheek without her darting away. She was concerned, but not enough to leave. All in all a really great session and I don’t feel the couple days off set us back at all!

Day 19 – 05/05/2013

No training at all this weekend but FINALLY Lucy started eating grain (rice bran, soaked beet pulp, with a little four way)! She’s first up for training tomorrow night!

Day 16 – 05/02/2013

Training Day 13

Good session with Lucy this evening. We started with letting her move her feet a few laps then I started asking for changes in direction to the inside which she is already a pro at. Worked with more approach and retreat, leading and desensitization with the carrot stick. Today I was able to consistently and fairly easily rub her on her left side from her poll to the point of her hip. On the right side we got all the way from the poll to the rib cage. Video was taken but didn’t turn out due to poor light.

Day 15 – 05/01/2013

Training Day 12

Great progress today with Lucy. She had yesterday off so was a little more flighty in her pen than I expected. She calmed herself down after a few laps and started thinking instead of running. We repeated all of the rubbing on both the left and right sides of her neck with little effort. I also continued to work getting Lucy comfortable with me in close proximity to her in preparation to be able to start to touch her somewhere other than her nostril. She even accepted her first hand-fed carrots from me this evening. Towards the end of our session we practiced leading and made great strides forward. I had previously only concentrated on getting Lucy to move her front feet in the direction asked in response to pressure on the lead rope. One of the normal things I like to do when teaching these mustangs to lead is to lead them in circles around their pen. Every time in the past I would attempt this with Lucy she’d wind up with her hind end smack in the middle of the pen and, because I was only focused on the front feet moving, she would wind up pivoting on her hind end in a circle as I walked around her pen…essentially lunging me! I decided to change tactics and release only when Lucy moved a back foot forward. That worked out great and pretty soon she was leading around the perimeter of her pen. We completed two laps in each direction without any trouble.

Day 13 – 04/29/2013

Training Day 11

This video starts about 5 minutes into our session. Today I was consistently able to rub the left side of Lucy’s neck. She still has resistance and uncertainty though so she is going to need a lot more desensitization to touch but she is progressing nicely. Lucy was also able to accept, for the first time, the stick on the right side of her neck. Lucy is very protective of that right side so it was a big deal for her to stand there while I rubbed her. I’m not a fan of sneaking around horses but I do believe in numerous slow initial approaches to build a horse’s confidence. Once I start to gain her confidence I can work on a more normal approach.  Lucy is very in tune to my body language and understands pretty well when I want her to move and when I want her to face up. All in all it was a good session for her.

Day 12 – 04/28/2013

Training Day 10

This afternoon’s session was a repeat of yesterday. Lucy had a visitor from San Diego who was able to observe her training session. Lucy was a little concerned about the observer but soon settled right back down. We were able to repeat everything we accomplished yesterday without too much trouble. We are also happy to say that Lucy’s visitor has committed to adopt her once she meets program requirements.

Day 11 – 04/27/2013

Training Day 9

Today was a great training session for Lucy. We made “first contact” when she reached out to touch me with her nose. We’ve been working on proximity and today she bridged the gap. Today was also the first day she allowed the carrot stick to touch somewhere OTHER than her muzzle. She finally felt OK with it touching and scratching the left side of her neck. We did lots of approach and retreat. She needed to leave a few times but overall did very well!

Day 10 – 04/26/2013

Training Day 8

Worked with Lucy today on leading and yielding her hindquarters. She is doing well but not leading light enough forward. I know that is because she is still afraid of people and I am sure her leading will come along much better once she gains confidence and trust in me.

Day 9 – 04/25/2013

Training Day 7

Shorter session with Lucy today. She was getting worried about me working Kiara so Joe went in to play with her. Asked for disengagement of the hindquarters. At first she ignored him, still worried about what Kiara and I were doing. As he asked for changes in directions she quickly remembered the easiest way to get out of work is to face up. Joe was able to grab her leadrope and reinforce leading in response to light pressure. Around this time I finished with Kiara and worked with Lucy on disengaging her hindquarters when asked. We ended our session by working on proximity. Lucy was consistently able to cope with my hand about an inch or two from her nose. I probably could have touched her but I’ll let her decide to close that gap another day. All in all a very productive session for her!

Day 8 – 04/24/2013

Training Day 6

We are continuing to work on increasing Lucy’s comfort with people in proximity. Also asking her to give to pressure on the halter using body language she already knows to help get her to turn in to the handler.

Day 7 – 04/23/2013

Training Day 5

She’s really starting to get the hang of coming in now. We are also gradually able to get closer to her. She’s making positive strides forward everyday but still not quite sure about us!

Day 6 – 04/22/2013

Training Day 4

Lucy is still apprehensive of me being in her pen and trying to decease proximity so today we worked on accepting touch. She’s worried about me so I introduced her to the pole. I wanted her to feel something touch her and move on her and learn to relax. She responded very well, quickly learning that she doesn’t need to move her feet and I am happy with her progress so far. For information on this method be sure to check out this YouTube Channel Kitty Lauman & Ranger.

Day 5 – 04/21/2013

Training Day 3

Today Lucy and I worked through some of her proximity issues. In order to get to where we can touch her and pet her we must first be able to walk up to her. We also worked on leading. She is rewarded for the slightest try. Any attempt to give into the pressure I am putting on the lead rope is rewarded with release. Overall a very good session with her today. Included a picture of Lucy’s super neat ventral mane. Only the second one I’ve ever seen. I’ve been told it will “shed” so we’ll see once I start grooming on her. In any case it sure is neat

Day 4 – 04/20/2013

Training Day 2

Great session with Lucy. Was pleased that she is not as frantic when I am in the stall anymore. I think twice daily visits during feeding / stall cleaning help a lot. We Worked with desensitization to the stick and string and turns to the inside. Was able to grab her lead rope and start her on stepping towards the pressure. All in all a good day.

Day 1 – 04/17/2013

Training Day 1

The video below shows the entirety of Lucys first training session. I just wanted to evaluate where she is now so I can set a plan for her progression towards a gentled, adoptable mustang. My goals for her today were just to get both eyes looking at me and have her turn to the inside if she was going to turn. She is very fearful. I could see her quivering in her stall just because I was in there. She is very good about keeping her eyes on me when she turns. Her next few lessons will be to work on decreasing her personal space bubble so I can get closer to her without her feeling she needs to leave in fear.

Day 33 – 05/19/2013

Training Day 15

Kiara had yesterday off. Disengaging the hindquarters is one of the first things all of my mustangs learn and something I reinforce daily. With these wild horses I want to make sure I can get their kicking end away from me as fast and easily as possible so I try to get hindquarter disengagement at the point where it is second nature for the horse to disengage as soon as I ask. Kiara’s just starting to get the hang of it. The video attached is Kiara’s review session for the day start to finish. At first I am asking her to disengage her hind quarters. When she doesn’t respond with the behavior I want I ask her to leave. Today I wasn’t focused on turns to the inside vs. turns to the outside. Normally I am very adamant about turning toward the inside but you need to pick your battles and I don’t want to be a nag and constantly criticize her. I keep asking for the hindquarter yield and she keeps getting the wrong answer. At one point she does yield one way but then fails to yield the other. Normally I won’t approach them until they have yielded both ways but Kiara seemed to be getting confused and worried because she kept being told she was wrong. She’s gotten good at being approached and pet on both sides so I gave her a chance to be right and stand there while I pet her. That seemed to get her focus redirected because pretty soon thereafter she started giving her hindquarter yields when I asked for them. I quit her on a good note. I would have been happier if this review session took 2 minutes instead of 5. The lesson started off with the two of us seemingly speaking two different languages but by the end we were communicating and that’s what is important.

Day 31 – 05/17/2013

Training Day 14

I had suspected yesterday was a turning point in Kiara’s training. Yesterday was a great session where I actually felt her relaxing while with me instead of running off. She was feeling content to just be with me. Today I watered her pen as normal and was surprised when she trotted off a few steps and just came right up to me. I was able to pet both the left and right side without any issue and without her leaving. Decided to just work on the familiar to maintain her confidence. I started with the spray bottle and brush combing through her mane. That was no problem. Every time I would “retreat” she would follow me. It was super cute so I decided to get video. My cameraman wasn’t available so I shot the following video myself. She’s such a cutie! I was able to finish getting her mane braided. Great evening for her tonight!

Day 30 – 05/16/2013

Training Day 13

Really nice relaxing session with Kiara today. It took her a few minutes to settle down when I first started with her. Once she settled we worked on disengaging her hindquarters in both directions, approach and retreat. We spent the good part of 45 minutes with lots of approach and retreat, petting, rubbing and massaging her left and right sides all the way from her poll to the point of her hip and the forearm on both sides. She did very well. She still starts off very apprehensive on her right side and even though we ended with her still being wary on that side she didn’t “leave” me at all for the last 30 minutes. I also cut the lead rope off of her. She’s not great at leading at all but she doesn’t need a drag line either. The knot on the line was tightened down so much I needed to grab my hay knife to cut it loose. She was so very patient as I carefully sawed away at the lead rope right underneath her chin. She never raised her head or tried to leave. I was really close to taking her halter off. Kiara has a naturally low head carriage and in the course of our rubbing and petting tonight was really letting me move the halter around, reach up and touch her on both sides of the neck simultaneously but I didn’t try putting my arm over her crest so decided to leave the halter for a few more days at least. We ended with some more disengaging of the hind end and a couple times she even decided it was OK to follow me as I backed away from her. All in all a great session!

Day 27 – 05/13/2013

Training Day 12

Worked with Kiara for quite a bit tonight. Our lesson started with review of previous training sessions. She did extremely well with the review for having had 5 days off. She took to the spray bottle very easily as well as allowing me to approach her on the right side today without much issue at all. I was able to start working on her mane. She doesn’t have any really bad tangles so the actual brushing out of her mane will wait until I either have detangler or have been able to wash her hair. After spending at least 45 minutes petting her and working with her hair I worked desensitizing her to my ring rope. She’s got a lead rope on but it is too short to use to actually teach her to lead. If she pulls I need her to not be able to get away from me. My 22′ ring rope came in super handy. I looped it around her neck and used that to start teaching her to give to pressure. If she chose to leave, which she did quite a few times, I continued to hold steady pressure until she gave. Although the ring rope does tighten down some on her when she pulls it releases super easy once she gives to pressure. That helped make the reward easy to find and we made a lot of progress leading lightly to pressure on the left side. Great training session for Kiara tonight.

Day 22 – 05/08/2013

Training Day 11

Repeat of yesterdays session. She did really well at accepting touch.

Day 21 – 05/07/2013

Training Day 10

Worked with Kiara on desensitization to touch. I was able to consistently approach her left shoulder and rub her from just behind her poll all the way to her point of shoulder, shoulder, top of mane. Spent 30 or so minutes just rubbing on her and approach and retreat. Also worked on turns to the inside and rubbing her all over on both sides with the carrot stick.

Day 16 – 05/02/2013

Training Day 9

More work with Kiara on desensitization to touch. We also worked with her today on desensitization to the height stick. Measured on uneven ground in her pen but fairly square she stands 14.3. So once we get her halter broke that may change an inch or so but she’s definately bigger than 14.1 I thought she was! She is a good girl and her training session went well in spite of the two days she had off.

Day 13 – 04/29/2013

Training Day 8

Review session with Kiara. I was able to approach and pet her MUCH more easily. In the video you’ll see me pet her the first time with her parallel to the fence. This is not my preferred position because it limits her escape route and puts me in a dangerous position. Lined up with the fence like that she can either blow forward and potentially kick me  if she gets scared. She could also turn away from the fence and knock into me. Of course I have to use my knowledge of this horse and horses in general to read her body language and walk away before she makes the decision to leave. She’s really got the hang of facing up and the second time I rub on her I get her in a safer position. My camera battery died but we ended the training session on a very good note.

Day 12 – 04/28/2013

Training Day 7

Big advance with Kiara today as she accepted touch from the carrot stick on the left and right sides of her neck. She also accepted touch from me on the left side of her neck and stood quietly while I was able to pet her. She also practiced her turns to the inside. She still feels the need to move her feet quite a bit but that’s ok if that is what she feels she needs to do!

Day 10 – 04/26/2013

Training Day 6

Kiara and I continued to work on desensitization to touch. I also used approach and retreat to continue to work on proximity. She’s skeptical but she’s getting there!

Day 9 – 04/25/2013

Training Day 5

Today was a bit of a difficult session for Kiara. She had a really difficult time with turns to the inside. We worked on it until she was 100% again. Then I worked with her again with the pole. She wasn’t sure about that but we worked through it and got her to a better point with it than we were on day 4. By the end of today’s session with Kiara I could consistently approach with the pole to within 2 feet of her left shoulder and rub her with the pole while she stood relaxed. She figured out that me being next to her wasn’t the end of the world…which is a good thing!

Day 7 – 04/23/2013

Training Day 4

Good session with Kiara today. Worked with her this morning on desensitizing her to touch with the pole. She responded well. We’ll have video uploaded soon.

Day 5 – 04/21/2013

Training Day 3

Kiara’s third day of training. She is getting VERY good at turning to the inside when asked at liberty. Also had her first rinse off. At first she didn’t like the water on her hind legs but when it didn’t go away and didn’t hurt her she got over it!

Day 4 – 04/20/2013

Training Day 2

Today I worked with Kiara on turning toward the inside and gaining her trust to get closer. Also worked with sending her both directions and getting turns to the inside. We had to fight a couple of times about going to the right. By the end of the day Kiara was going left and right, turning to the inside both ways.

Day 1 – 04/17/2013

Training Day 1

The video below shows the entirety of Kiara’s first training session. I just wanted to evaluate where she is now so I can set a plan for her progression towards a gentled, adoptable mustang. My goals for her today were just to get both eyes looking at me and have her turn to the inside when she does turn. I started using hand signals with her. Not because she understands them now, but because with consistency she will learn to understand them.

Day 52 – 05/19/2013

Day 27 of Training

This has been one busy week for us. This is the first followup session with Iroquois in four days. The video shows the first few minutes of his training session unedited where I work with him on his feet again. The first time I approach him he turns his but towards me. That is not acceptable so I encourage him to leave. I then take some time to use approach and retreat. I want to make sure he is listening to me by asking him to disengage his hindquarters. He has two options when I do that, he can take the opening and shoot forward or off to the other side, or he can disengage. Once he disengages both sides I’m ready to start haltering him. Any time I notice any apprehension I’ll use approach and retreat to get him more comfortable. Once I had him haltered I wanted to review picking up his feet. This is the first time I have ever asked him for his feet. It has always been Joe to work with his feet. He knows he’s supposed to pick them up but isn’t really comfortable with me in that position. I stay calm and continue to ask him and he eventually relaxes some to where I can pick up both front feet. You can see how he starts off worried and slowly gains confidence. He has been getting better and better each session and we will start using a hoof pick on his front feet soon.
Iroquois and Joe worked for about another 20 – 30 minutes with the back feet. First starting off by reinforcing desensitization to the rope being flicked around his rear cannons. Then by slipping the rope around the rear fetlock and asking him to pick up the foot. Iroquois got very good at that and never did kick out but became worried when Joe would ask for the foot with his hand. Instead of continuing to concentrate on picking up the rear feet, Joe brushed Iroquois on both sides of his hind end and legs all the way to the fetlock until he relaxed and put him away on a good note. All in all a lot of progress was made.

Day 48 – 05/15/2013

Day 26 of Training

Iroquois is getting much better at being haltered. Today we just reinforced haltering with him as well as picking up his feet and brushing. He has both Joe and I haltering him to help get him desensitized to the way different people will approach haltering with different techniques.

Day 47 – 05/14/2013

Day 25 of Training

Really good reinforcing lesson for Iroquois. We haltered him in the 12 x 16 pen and he did a lot better. There was less room for him to move around. He was worried about the smaller space but didn’t react negatively at all. He stood much more quietly for the halter to be applied. After being haltered Iroquois received another review lesson on grooming and picking up his feet. After a couple of days off he did need a reminder with his front feet. He remembered very quickly and is picking both up and holding them nicely until you are ready to put them down. A very easy session for him today but very good review as well.

Day 44 – 05/11/2013

Day 24 of Training

Iroquois had 2 days off but still did relatively well with haltering. Spent a lot of time with him working on picking up his front feet. Started by reinforcing that he stand still when we rub his leg with our hand. From there we progressed to looping a lead rope around his leg and getting him comfortable with the feel of the rope all up and down his legs. Once he was comfortable with the rope we began using it to pick up his feet. Finally, once he was comfortable with us asking for and standing with his foot up we transitioned him to picking up the foot with just our hand. All in all a great session for him today and a lot of progress was made. We’ll continue to reinforce picking up his front feet and start to work towards being able to pick up his back.

Day 41 – 05/08/2013

Day 23 of Training

More haltering work today. The video shows Joe haltering him after his first night / day with no halter on. They both could have gotten it done a lot more gracefully but it’s a learning process on all sides. I worked with Iroquois some on yielding his head to the rope and accepting our hands on both sides of his neck at the same time.

Day 40 – 05/07/2013

Day 22 of Training

AM Training session focused on reviewing saddling from yesterday as well as his daily grooming routine. This evening we worked with him on haltering and giving to pressure on the side of his neck. He was very willing for both training sessions. He tries really hard to understand what is being asked of him, and that’s all we can really ask for in a horse. It is our job to make the lesson clear and accept the slightest try.

Day 39 – 05/06/2013

Day 21 of Training

Easy day for Iroquois today. He was saddled about 20 times from each side in his stall so that he can continue to get used to the saddle swinging up over his back. He still flinches but he’s getting better! Also worked with him on grooming below the knees which he is getting much better at. We ended today’s lesson with review on disengaging the forequarters and hind end in hand. All in all a good evening session for him.

Day 36 – 05/03/2013

Day 20 of Training

Today Iroquois was saddled for the first time. He’s had a lot of prep work with saddle blankets, slickers, grooming, brushing, cinching, bareback pad etc. and saddling was the next logical step for him today. Quite a bit of time was taken to get him used to the saddle being placed on his back. Repetition, repetition, repetition. He was very wary at first but soon accepted the saddling from the left side (we didn’t do the right side at all today). As with the bareback pad, cinching was no issue. We were, however, surprised with his reaction to being asked to move out.
We don’t mind if a horse get’s to bucking its first time being saddled. That’s normal and its OK with me I just wasn’t expecting him to after how nicely he took the bareback pad. Joe just enforced to him that he needed to move on out and pretty soon he settled into a nice trot and quit worrying about the saddle. We did adjust it a few times, tighten the cinch, etc but he did very well lunging in both directions. He was put away on a good note and we’ll continue to reinforce saddling with him. Iroquois still needs to learn to pick up all of his feet and be haltered before he can go home. He’s getting better and better about being groomed below the hock and knees. We feel that continuing to desensitize him to things like the slicker and introducing something like the tarp, will help to get him more comfortable with having his lower legs touched. Be sure to check back often to see how he progresses.

Day 35 – 05/02/2013

Day 19 of Training

Worked with grooming and then reinforcement with the rain slicker. We hope to build his confidence in us and objects by continuing to sack him out. He was very good!

Day 34 – 05/01/2013

Day 18 of Training

Today Joe continued to work with Iroquois on desensitization to touch and also continued work with the saddle slicker. Also started draping a hand over Iroquois neck in preparation for halter training.

Day 33 – 04/30/2013

Day 17 of Training

Worked on grooming today and more desensitization. Was able to gain his confidence enough to brush all the way down his left front leg without him trying to leave. Also just stood and threw the lead rope back and forth over his back a few hundred times. He’s OK with the saddle blanket, getting used to the slicker, and fine on the obstacle course but any time a human gets close to him, he stands and quivers. We need to keep working with him to gain his confidence in people. He’s never been hurt here so learning routine and that nobody is going to do anything bad to him is going to be our focus!

Day 31 – 04/28/2013

Day 16 of Training

This first video is a compilation of about an hours work of work with Iroquois today. I will be uploading more detailed individual videos as well but this gives a brief overview of each of the steps we took to get him to where he was wearing a bareback pad for the first time. As always we started off by grooming. I’m still working towards gaining his trust to be able to groom his hindquarters whereas Joe already regularly does that. I did start working on his lower front legs today with the brush. He was wary but never panicked and I was sure to use lots of approach and retreat. I also did some more saddle blanket desensitization with him but didn’t get a chance to reinforce the saddle slicker. You will see clips on the video of the rest of his training session where we practiced disengaging the hindquarters and forehand, desensitization to pressure around the girth, desensitization to the bareback pad, cinched up for the first time and lunged with a bareback pad. All in all a great day for Iroquois.

The following link will take you to a YouTube Playlist that goes through, in order, the 5 longer videos that were used to compile the above summary video. (Opens in a new tab)  Iroquois First Cinching Playlist

Day 28 – 04/25/2013

Day 15 of Training

We groom Iroquois every day, he is feeling much more comfortable with having his hindquarters and belly brushed but still needs some work. He’ll get there! This evening we reviewed the morning session and also introduced him to the slicker. Video to come soon!

Day 28 – 04/24/2013

Day 14 of Training

Continued desensitization to the saddle blanket this morning. More progress which is always a good thing! He’s still worried but tries to be very brave!

Day 27 – 04/23/2013

Day 13 of Training

Good session for Iroquois today. Continued yesterdays lesson with desensitization to the saddle blanket. Also asked him to back into his stall for the first time, a difficult task for even domestic horses as they have to get over worrying about what is behind them.

Day 26 – 04/22/2013

Day 12 of Training

Worked with Iroquois some more on grooming. He is getting braver each day. He is still not sure about having his hind end touched but we’ll get there. Also started desensitization to the saddle blanket.

Day 24 – 04/20/2013

Day 10 of Training

2nd Session -Worked very briefly with approach and retreat. Video below. He finally allowed himself to be pet, several times, without trying to leave. We’ve been practicing lots of approach and retreat and he’s getting better and better.
1st Session – Very happy with the progress we made today. Started by teaching Iroquois the basics of lunging in the big 50 x 50 pen. He picked that up very easily and was able to expend some excess energy. Followed up with another rinse off and then let him do what all horses LOVE to do, roll in the sand after a bath. Left him turned out for 30 – 40 minutes and he bucked and played and had a good time. We left the halter on and he was easy to catch. We were able to walk right up to him.

Day 21 – 04/17/2013

Day 8 of Training

Lots of work today with desensitization to the brush on Iroquois right and left side . He’s getting better but is still showing fear with the anticipation of touch. We need to get him over that to make sure he is safe for his adopter. He gets better each session and I’m hoping to find the time to work with him a couple times a day to get him over this little hump. He is a good boy and tries super hard!

Day 18 – 04/14/2013

Day 7 of Training

Continuing to work with Iroquois on desensitization and approach and retreat. Today was super windy so he was more jumpy than normal. We can’t use wind as an excuse for no training or we would never get anything done so we worked on reinforcing yielding hindquarters and forequarters. Today was also Iroquois first time learning to load in the trailer. He did very well! He’s a funny guy and needs to figure out he CAN get in the trailer one foot at a time. The video shows his first time loading and we continued to practice with him.

Day 7 – 04/01/2013

Spent about 10 min with Iroquois just rubbing on his face and feeding him carrots. Worked my way to be able to pet both sides of his face and the right side of his neck. He wasn’t sure but stood for me even when I didn’t have any more carrots!

Day 4 – 03/31/2013

Day 3 of Training

Iroquois has a lot of confidence when it comes to the obstacle course, stepping over objects and leading. He lacks confidence in close proximity to people. Coming up for a carrot is about all he is comfortable with so the next few lessons will focus on keeping him relaxed while being touched with various objects with the end goal to have him relaxed with a human petting and then grooming him. In today’s session we worked with desensitization to the stick and string.

Day 6 – 03/30/2013

Day 3 of Training

Worked on desensitization with the stick and string. Approach and retreat, making turns to the inside and facing up.

Day 3 – 03/30/2013

Day 2 of Training

Great session with Iroquois. Worked on desensitization to the stick. Also introduced him to the obstacle course. Video below of his first time through.

Day 1 – 03/28/2013

Day 1 of Training

Iroquois did very well with training today. He leads, goes over the obstacle course and even got a rinse off. So far he seems to be inquisitive and level headed. Not much has scared him, when he does get scared he doesn’t blow up.

April 2 Update – Houston continues to make steady progress. We have been working on approach and retreat. This evening he walked up to me in his stall for the first time instead of the other way around. He’s been walking up to the gate to get carrots but this was his first time approaching with me in the pen. Usually I have to approach him. Yesterday we worked on grooming and desensitization. He was a little jumpy when I went to halter him so we did some basic sacking out with exaggerated arm movements and lots of hugs and rubs!

03/31/2013 – Day 4

Day 2 of Training

One of the things we always try to remember is that each horse has its own personality. BUT, one shouldn’t skip steps. Jasper is very confident on the obstacle course and seemingly confident around people, happy to be approached and caught but we are always careful to do the same desensitization exercises with a seemingly brave horse than one that is overtly afraid. In this video we are working Jasper with desensitization to the brush. He is not sure about having his hindquarters and legs brushed. In addition, I do some desensitization with the stick and string and some sensitization exercises starting to gain some control of his front and rear end. With a horse like Jasper who is not afraid to come into your space, we certainly want to make sure we can back him out of it if need be. Last thing we need is for the horse to spook at something and jump ON us. All in all he did very well today.

03/28/2013 – Day 1

Day 1 of Training

Jasper is an extremely laid back horse. He likes to be around people and so far the only thing that he even raises an eyebrow at are the Tom turkeys. He learned to lead super fast. He went over the obstacle including the bridge and metal plate. He never spooked or bolted forward. He is easy to catch and to halter. He got a quick rinse off today and did very well for that. Video link will be live around 12 am PST on March 29.

03/23/2013 – Day 46

Foxy went to the BLM Adoption at the California Back Country Horseman’s Rendezvous today. She did exceptionally well and looked as beautiful as ever. She showed her trailer loading skills, haltering skills, feet skills, etc at different times through the day. She had absolutely no problem at the show grounds, never got animated or excited and was very good around all the hustle and bustle. Foxy did find an adopter and moved to Tujunga, CA!

03/16/2013 – Day 39

Foxy’s had a great trail ride. She has always stood for mounting. As this is her second time under saddle she was ponied out. No buck or bolt. She didn’t spook and did exceptionally well. Keep in mind we don’t currently have an arena or round pen so she is trail broke, literally. We are very pleased with how well she did today.

03/09/2013 – Day 32

Today’s session with Foxy started off with saddling and ground driving at home. She was NO problem to bridle. Took the bit for the first time very easy. I worked her on the ground for about 30 min ground driving her. Teaching her to go left, right and stop all at a walk. We did some figure eights and she did well. Not as soft as she could be but that will come with time.

I was chatting with Joe and he figured lets trailer her to a friends house and have him pony her off his good gelding through the trails. She did very well going up and down the streets, around dogs, a little traffic (we kept her on the back dirt roads since its her first time). But she was easily walking, trotting and loping alongside the pony horse. After her trip out she had done so well we thought hey, lets see how she does with some pre-saddle training. Joe stepped up and down in the stirrups both side and it didn’t bother her at all! Did some desensitization above her head and decided to just get on and sit. Once again no problem! Joe felt comfortable enough with her to take it one step further and have the pony horse lead him around at a walk. She jumped one time but otherwise did very well. Keep in mind she’s nowhere near broke nor would I consider her safe to ride but for her first time she did very well.

03/06/2013 – Day 29

Practiced leading in and out of pen, crossing the threshold of different stalls that are not hers. She started lightening up and just following me in instead of stopping at the gate each time.

03/03/2013 – Day 26 – Part Two

Foxy went over the mini-obstacle course for the first time today. She did very well. She figured out the bridge was NOT edible but OK to walk over. Also started to figure out the metal sheet of doom will NOT actually hurt her, its just really loud.

03/03/2013 – Day 26

Today Foxy got her first bath EVER. She was very good and stood relatively well. We were able to soap up her whole body, mane and head. I didn’t want to push her to do her tail today but that will come with time.

03/02/2013 – Day 25

Since our last session Foxy has had minimal handling due to my busy schedule. She saw some visitors one day and was groomed with the metal curry during the week as well. Today I got started late as I was waiting for my videographer to get home. Unfortunately he’s been working on my car at a friends house all day and I wanted to make sure she got some work. I set the video camera up on a tripod and tried to keep the horse in view as much as possible. Foxy was introduced to the tarp for the first time. I am very pleased with how she responded. She’s cautious but I’d rather have cautious than flighty. She got worried a few times and pulled on me but never ran off and always turned and faced like she’s supposed to. Overall I feel it was a very good session for her and I hope to get more done tomorrow!

02/23/2013 – Day 18

This video shows our session today start to finish. Foxy was very good. This was her first saddling and the first time she had ever been cinched. She did way better than I expected. Our session was short today due to 40+ mph winds at times.

02/22/2013 – Day 17

More work on catching tonight. Even though she hasn’t been worked in a few days she was very good and remembered everything we had learned last session. Worked on getting her used to the saddle pad. That was no problem at all. She prefers her left side to her right but only snorted on the right. Introduced the saddle as well. Found an old youth saddle laying around. Its leather and not tiny but not 50 lbs either. I was able to saddle her about 20 times from each side and she never had a problem with it. No cinch tonight, I didn’t have the saddle rigged but she’ll definitely be wearing it tomorrow! Also worked on picking up feet. She wants to move her hindquarters away when I go to pick up the back feet so we’re working on standing still when that happens. She’s still a little worried when I pick up the front feet. She wants to kinda bow down. I just hold her till she relaxes and then let go. She licks and chews every time so I’m sure she’s thinking about it.

02/18/2013 – Day 13

Storm rolling in tonight. It was very blustery and cold. What better time to work on approach and retreat / catching! Worked with Foxy just on walking up to her without her snorting at me. She did very well. She still much prefers her left side but I was able to approach from both by the end of our session. She is also no longer wearing her halter as I can now 100% reliably catch and halter her within 1 minute.

02/17/2013 – Day 12

Today was the first time Foxy actually ventured outside her pen. We walked all around the property. She was very well behaved and didn’t spook. I introduced her to the obstacle course. So far she is not a fan. Doesn’t spook or try to leave, just really wants to avoid the obstacles. I played a lot with her on squeezing between two railroad ties, stepping on plywood and stepping over railroad ties. We finally made some progress but she definitely needs some more work. We also did trailer loading. This video shows her third time loading. She did very well and doesn’t seem to mind the loud trailer noises at all.

02/16/2013 – Day 11

Worked with Foxy for about 20 minutes on crossing over thresholds. Mainly her fear over squeezing through her stall gate. When leading the mustangs out of their pens for the first time I have found almost all of them will not want to step through their gate. To some it may appear that the horse doesn’t want to leave the safety of its pen. I have found that to not be the case at all. Often, once I get them out, they have the same reaction to going back in. It isn’t the inside or outside the pen that bothers them, its the part where they cross through the narrow (4′) gate opening. It took a lot of approach and retreat and give and take but we finally got her to where she was comfortable coming in and out and quit.

02/14/2013 – Day 9

20 min session tonight with Foxy. We worked on leading, grooming and picking up feet. Foxy is getting lighter every day on the lead line but still has a little ways to go. I think taking her outside her pen this weekend will do her good, we can go around bushes and such. I can’t do it during the week due to no light when I get home. She stood very quietly for brushing. They are all shedding right now so I imagine getting all that loose hair off feels good! Foxy was a little hesitant about picking up her back feet but did not try to kick out even once and by the end of our session was comfortable with having them lifted. Very good girl, she is proving to be very easy. Unfortunately no pictures.

02/12/2013 – Day 7

Worked with Foxy for 30 minutes tonight. She was absolutely stellar. We worked on desensitizing her hind legs to the stick and rope. That went well she only kicked out once. Then I simulated a cinch by wrapping my rope around her belly and asking her to move out while I applied pressure. No reaction…so I applied the rope to her flank. Again, no reaction, not even an attempt to buck! Introduced her to the slicker. She never bolted. She was a little worried about it at first but I used approach and retreat and it only took her a few minutes to get over her fear. I’m super proud of how she is turning out. The first couple sessions I thought she’d be a little difficult but she’s turning out to be very easy. Next session we are going to try brushing her all over and putting the bareback pad on / cinching it up.

02/10/2013 – Day 5

AM – Got Foxy’s mane detangled. It took me about an hour but she did very well and only got scared and had to leave twice. It was just a LOT of hair to detangle. She was easy enough to catch though. Big difference catching her today vs. catching her for the first time yesterday. I was also able to get a brush on her all over her neck, shoulder, back and top of her rump. She needs more confidence before I’ll try her legs and bottom of her but. Overall really great session. I’ll be working with her again after lunch and should have a bit of video as well. Overall very happy with her progress!
PM – Introduced Foxy to the saddle pad and bareback pad. She was great! You can see how much more tense she is on the right side with the saddlepad whereas she could care less on the left. I tried a couple times but she just isn’t ready to be cinched yet. It could have put me in a bad position to press her and I felt I was better of quitting on a good note and preparing her more before I cinch her. Also, we practiced some more on brushing. I have a softer brush I usually use to start them on the legs, she was sensitive to the stiffer bristled brush I was using so I didn’t press her. We also measured her today. She is approximately 14 and 1/2 hands tall.

02/09/2013 – Day 4

HUGE difference in Foxy today. Once I was able to grasp her lead rope I could start using pressure and release to teach her the basics of leading. She really quieted down, lots of licking and chewing. Only had a few times where she got worried and pulled away. Did a lot of approach and retreat with her and got her comfortable with me scratching her left shoulder. Did some desensitization to the stick and string. She came along a lot further today than I was expecting that is for sure! Video coming soon.

02/07/2013 – Day 2

Worked with Foxy for about 20 minutes today on changing directions and proximity. Got to within about 6 feet of her and was able to quit on a good note. It may take a few days for me to get close enough to touch her but she’s not out of control, not trying to climb the fence panels or anything silly like that. They can’t all be as easy as Cargo and I’m happy enough to give her the time she needs to figure out I’m not going to hurt her.! I’ve attached another picture from yesterday for you guys!

02/06/2013 – Day 1

Picked up Foxy and her herd mate Echo from the BLM facility today. Released preview newsletter to those on the email list. Can’t wait to get started with the girls tonight. Video coming soon of them at the holding facility.

I only worked with Foxy for a few minutes tonight. Long enough to establish flight distance. She is nervous when I am in the pen with her but doesn’t run. Her flight distance is about 8 feet. At 8 feet she is nervous of your proximity but doesn’t leave. Any closer and she leaves till she gets to the other side of the pen then stops and watches. She was not comfortable enough to eat the entire time I was outside but by morning had cleaned up her dinner. I think Foxy will do well with some “quiet” time spent just hanging out in her pen without anything being asked of her. We’ll see how she does tomorrow night.

Foxy and I will be attending 2013 Back Country Horseman – California Rendezvous on Saturday March 23rd and Sunday March 24th in Norco, CA. The event is sure to be a fun-packed weekend with a BLM adoption, obstacle course classes, contests, demonstrations and wine and beer tasting. There will be over 100 vendors and fun for the whole family. BLM horses, including Foxy, will be available for viewing / adoption. All BLM adoptions are on a first come first serve basis. The event goes Friday – Sunday.

Click Here for Information on Foxy

Admission is FREE

Event Website

http://www.bchcalifornia.org/2013-rendezvous.html

Location

George Ingalls Equestrian Event Center

View Larger Map