And the future holds....

I got a call yesterday from our horse trainer/neighbors Eric and Cheri, she said they might have a great deal for us, well, you might say that if you like horses. :-)

They have a friend that lives down by Eugene that has been hit by extremely hard times and has to get rid of 13 out of his 15 horses. Some of the horses were given or sold to him by Cheri and a few were pregnant and bred by Cheri's stallion a few months ago.  So, one of the mares is a 6 year old paint (all black with a small blaze) that stands just over 15 hands high, is pregnant and has won many halter competitions.  Beauty was originally trained by Cheri and she then bred her and traded for another horse and has now received her back into her herd.

There is a high probability that we will acquire Beauty within the next few days (Merry Christmas Tammy) but Beauty will stay at Cheri and Eric's until she has foaled in the early summer and will come here only after her offspring has been weaned.

What did we get? Well, Beauty is a big horse (over 15 hands) and has bloodlines from Champion, Grand Champion, Supreme Champion Quarter Horse bloodlines (King, King Fritz, Poco Bueno, Little Joe and Traveler) 

What did I do?  I saw Beauty in her (temporary) stall and was amazed at her disposition and size. I will be able to ride her without a doubt and I can't wait.  I started working with her, this was the first time in close to two years she had been worked under the halter and she was very well behaved and remembered what she was supposed to do very quickly.  I worked desensitizing her with the rope and she really had a hard time at first then was able to stand without flinching, we quickly moved to the saddle blanket where it took some time but finally stood still allowing me to put the blanket all over her body.


So what does this mean for Megan and Fiona?  I will continue to work with Megan and Fiona until we are ready to receive Beauty and then we will be finding a new home for Megan.  I hope to have her broke and riding by then but there are no guarantees about what she will or will not do.  The reason I want to continue with her is I truly think she is a smart horse and will make an awesome horse for someone. She is young  and willing to learn but has some trust issues and I am willing to work with her as long as I can.  This is not to say Megan's fate is sealed at this point but It has a high probability of moving her to a new home and hopefully an educated horse owner.

Fiona does the bunny hop

The horses have been a challenge lately due to the abscessed hoof on Megan and right at the end of the abscess we get hit with a deep freeze for a few days. Hopefully this cold weather will kill off flies, fleas and other bugs that have been hanging out in the valley just a little too long.  

Fiona has showed that she is feeling good and wants to show what she can do when I let her out of her stall. She has started playing and showing off a bit, she jumps, kicks, runs, bucks, bunny hops and snorts all in a playing manner.   I found that I can get her to interact with me this way most days but only after I watched part of  "dancing with horses" with Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling.   I started playing and running with Fiona and got some great responses but now she will actually play and have fun for about 10 or 15 minutes.  


Fiona is a funny little girl, she does learn quick and is very lovable. She is always wanting someone to scratch her neck or give her hugs but then will do what you ask of her.  The funniest thing she does is a Bunny Hop when she plays.  She will run flat out from one end of the pasture to the other, stretching her head out and making full strides leaving Megan in her dust. When she gets almost to the end of the pasture she starts putting on the brakes, stiffens all four legs and hops to a stop. This is something that will need to be trained out of her when she is under saddle because that hopping ride is bone jarring and not something you want to experience if you do not have to. 

Horse hoof template and Duct tape pad

As you may well know, we have been nursing an abscessed hoof on Megan for a few weeks now.  Each time we go out and have to put on a new absorbent pad or insert into the soaking boot so her foot will dry out and heal correctly.

A couple days ago I wanted to try an experiment and see if I could make a template of Megan's hoof so I could make some hoof pads up ahead of time.

It took some time but I found a block of wood and started cutting on it with my cutoff saw which was not even close enough to start and barely a rough cut.  I got out a coping saw and the wood was too hard (black walnut)... My sawzall came to the rescue and I was then able to create a hoof replica so I could mold hoof pads for Megan's hoof.

 

  Hoof Template

 

 Hoof Template and used Duct Tape pad

 

 used Duct Tape pad bottom

  

 used Duct Tape pad top

 

 Hoof template in used Duct Tape pad top view

 

  Hoof template in used Duct Tape pad side view

Eureka, we struck brain matter!

 We got Megan in July and have been working with her since then.  We started with essentially a wild horse that had basically no human interaction for over two years. I thought from the start that we had something special that we were getting and today, I think I finally found out what exactly that "Something Special"  was.

Megan has challenged me every step of the way since day one, she has ultimately been the top dog, alpha horse and lead mare up until today.  Something happened today that I will try to explain but may take some time.

We went through the regular catching routine, desensitizing and sensitizing working the feet and trying to break through that thick skull and into the brain.  Once I see Megan drops her head, I know I can safely proceed with cleaning hooves, more advanced movements and  training techniques.  Today I did just that and got the same as usual results, which compared to two months ago is amazing but still not getting into the horse's brain.

I finished cleaning her hoof taking dead tissue from around the abscess area, making sure nothing will be getting into the hoof, I then went on to fitting and securing the Duct Tape pads to her front left hoof to keep the remaining abscess hole clean and mostly dry for the day. I started to work with her a little more and found that after 10 minutes of working with her, I saw something that I would consider a breakthrough.  She let down all guards, trusting my judgment and followed my every movement and direction from one end of the corral to the other, around and over obstacles all while moving her feet in every direction possible without reaction of flight or fight.  

The moment I noticed what was happening I got a little curious as to what I was seeing and was it true. I stepped in front and faced her, she stopped, I moved a step to the left, then to the right (sorry, not Rocky Horror) and she tracked me in her every move and would not let me get more than a half step around to her side or away without her making adjustments to her feet and keeping me in her total vision and focus where nothing else mattered.  I found what makes her tick, FINALLY!

Do not drive her, do not whip her, do not push her... but Direct her and Allow her to follow and do what comes naturally for her. Be Megan the Horse!

She took my direction, did everything I asked her to do, all while Megan gave me total control and respect.  Don't get me wrong, tomorrow could be back to the same beating my head against the stall door and using pressure to get her to do what I ask, but as far as today goes.... It was amazing!