Biscuit
Update 11/08/2013: Biscuit has been started under saddle and his new owner is enjoying him.
Update 01/13/2013: Biscuit has found an adopter and will be moving to Norco, CA
January 9, 2013 – Day 7
Biscuit had two days off due to my work schedule. Tonight it was way past dark when I got home but I haltered him. I had to convince him I wasn’t a horse eating monster…I guess I don’t look the same at night! Once I was able to walk up to him I walked away and re-approached him a few more times without haltering him. This was his first time being haltered in the dark so I wasn’t expecting much and was pleased at how nice he was. I led him around the property a bit. He was snorty but didn’t challenge the line. I finished by moving him to a different pen for the night. He was worried about crossing the stall thresholds both coming out of his regular pen and going into the new pen. He really thinks about though and then comes on forward on his own. I never had to ask him to come through the gate. I walked through in a normal leading position and when he didn’t immediately follow I waited, he came through on his own. Although it took a minute or two for him to leave his pen, he never stopped trying he just had to work up the courage. Quite amusing to watch actually. Such a smart guy!
The photo is some Burro mamma’s and their babies that were up at BLM Ridgecrest Facility when I visited for their Halloween open house. It was too dark to take a picture of Biscuit so I thought you might all appreciate the cutest little fuzzy pink burro baby ever!!
January 6, 2013 – Day 4
Today was another excellent day for Biscuit. We did some more saddling. He needs more practice with this. He’ll accept the saddle pretty easy but you need to be careful about how you put it on or he’ll try to leave. Mostly he doesn’t like for the off stirrup and cinch to be swung over. If you place them over the horn and set the saddle down then drop them he is fine. I, however, don’t like to baby my horses when saddling them. I don’t believe there should be a “trick” to saddling a horse. So we’ll have to work on it. I’ll say that man I need to be on the lookout for an inexpensive synthetic saddle. Lifting my leather saddle over and over again gets tiresome. On a good note I’ll be building some biceps!
We did ground driving. I don’t think he’s worn a bit much if at all. He gapes and plays with it like a young horse. Really needs more time bited he fusses with it so much he’s constantly putting his tongue over the bit. He’s grasping the concept of giving left and right and is very light and responsive to backup. We also reinforced the tarp and fly spray and loaded him into the stock trailer with absolutely no problems. It’s gonna be cold tonight so we put a blanket on him. Was able to blanket him without a halter. It took a few tries but once he realized the blanket and straps weren’t going to hurt him I was able to get him all buckled up. Did get a cute photo of him looking at it, trying to figure out what it was. He even nipped at it to check it out see if it was edible. Then went right back to eating dinner.
January 5, 2013 – Day 3
Great lesson for Biscuit. He got to wear a snaffle bit around. He didn’t like it at first and played with it quite a bit. He had his tongue over and under it trying to figure out what to do with it. I tightened the bridle more so he couldn’t get his tongue under it and he got bored playing with it after a while. I think he may know how to tie, he sure stands at the fence like a pro. I didn’t tie him hard and fast but he never tested the line so it is hard to say. He was wary of the fly spray at first. Backed away snorting at it. He soon calmed down and no longer cares about it being anywhere near him. I was able to fly spray his tail and his mane.
I worked on getting that big mat out of his mane. I used some coconut oil, conditioner water and patience and it came out with very little hair loss. We worked on the tarp. Again he was a little standoffish at first but soon went right over it. Had no problem with it over his back / wearing it like a blanket. He is SUCH a good boy. At the end of the session I decided to braid his mane. Stood like a champion didn’t move a muscle. Just fell asleep. Such a nice horse! I plan on taking video tomorrow…if it is not raining!
01/04/2013 – Day 2
Another excellent session. Worked on the Parelli Squeeze game, yielding the forequarters and hindquarters. Had him crossing plywood. I was able to get some video, then my video camera died. Also able to saddle him today. He is SUCH a good boy. Has not yet had any major reaction to anything I have introduced him to.
Training Plan
Next step is to continue to get Biscuit familiar with the saddle, bridle him and ground drive him in preparation for saddle training.
Info Update
After yesterday’s excellent training session I had called BLM back to verify Biscuit had never been adopted. He was just too light, too gentle, and too good. I received a call today. Turns out he was out but BLM got him back due to non-compliance. I can tell he hasn’t been abused. He’s not headshy or scared of people. So at this stage I just need to find out what he knows and take it from there!
01/03/2013 – Day 1
WOW pretty much sums up this horse. I have never met a horse so calm, quiet, and easy. He has a better temperament than a lot of domestic horses I know. Talk about bomb-proof. Aside from being a little wary of new things (um…he is wild right!) he was an absolute angel. Day 1 and he is leading, picking up all four feet, I can touch him all over and sack him out with a wide variety of objects. Absolutely unbelievable to me that he would accept so much on the first day! I can’t honestly take any credit. Sure I presented him with the objects but he allowed the timeline. I would have never dreamed to have a mustang fresh off the trailer from the facility accept so many new things without any difficulty at all. My first Mustang, Tabasco, was good…this guy is great!
Training Plan
Tomorrow I’ll reinforce familiarity with the objects I introduced today. I also plan on asking him to cross over a piece of plywood on the ground. We need to establish some ground control. Even though he is good he needs to learn how to yield his hindquarters and especially his forequarters. He’s very resistant to me being on his right side so I’ll try to stay aware of that to focus more on that side. I’ll also continue to reinforce a head lowering command. I’d also like to untangle his mane.
