Another uneventful evening on the yard tonight (just how I like it!). Well I say uneventful, there were no heart-stopping startles, and lots of generally relaxed grooming and hoof-picking-up.
However, I have noticed that Faith is very, very subtly trying to move me around with her shoulders. It is too subtle to say that she is being bargy or pushy, or even getting ‘big’ with her shoulder. It is just a very minute invasion of my space, as if she is just trying to ascertain if she can move me around.
Now Faith is a very sensitive horse, and we are obviously still in the early stages of relationship building, and the last thing I want to do is anything that will frighten her, or anything that she will perceive as punishment. Yet on the other hand, I do not expect to be able to walk into her space without her consent, and I expect the same consideration from her.
So my current solution to the problem is to do a very passable impression of Marcel Marceau, and his ‘glass wall’ mime. I put both hands up in front of me with my elbows bent, as if on a glass wall. I make sure to keep my energy low, and I do not look directly at her. So there is no ‘pushing’ of energy, just the setting up of a barrier, that can be removed as quickly as it goes up.
So far, this has worked really well, and she has stepped back out of my space, or stopped in her tracks, yet still looking relaxed and not at all offended.
Just need to find some greasepaint and white gloves to complete the look!
Wednesday, 26 May 2010
Tuesday, 25 May 2010
Jumping Beans!
Nothing much to report on the Faith front really. We are just following the same routine of grooming and picking up feet on the yard every evening.
Although Faith is definitely more relaxed, and less reactive than she was, one thing still bothers me. She will occasionally have the odd ‘startle’ which will be more or less dramatic depending on her mood. Most of the time I can’t tell what is causing it, although often it’s things like Tommy sneezing all over her (fair enough), or the cat doing something bizarre. I have no problem with this, as it is a natural part of being a flight animal, and I am not looking for some automaton that doesn’t react to it’s surroundings.
My problem is that when she jumps, I jump too! Now I am aware of the importance of being a ‘sea of calm’ around the horse, and I think in general, I manage this most of the time. But sometimes when Faith has a particularly dramatic startle, I end up having one too, and my heart nearly stops. Quite often I see the funny side of this and almost a split second later we are back to what we were doing. But I can’t help feeling that this is a bit crap on my part, and in some way I should train my reactions to be slightly duller. How exactly I would go about this, I have no idea, but all suggestions are most welcome!
Although Faith is definitely more relaxed, and less reactive than she was, one thing still bothers me. She will occasionally have the odd ‘startle’ which will be more or less dramatic depending on her mood. Most of the time I can’t tell what is causing it, although often it’s things like Tommy sneezing all over her (fair enough), or the cat doing something bizarre. I have no problem with this, as it is a natural part of being a flight animal, and I am not looking for some automaton that doesn’t react to it’s surroundings.
My problem is that when she jumps, I jump too! Now I am aware of the importance of being a ‘sea of calm’ around the horse, and I think in general, I manage this most of the time. But sometimes when Faith has a particularly dramatic startle, I end up having one too, and my heart nearly stops. Quite often I see the funny side of this and almost a split second later we are back to what we were doing. But I can’t help feeling that this is a bit crap on my part, and in some way I should train my reactions to be slightly duller. How exactly I would go about this, I have no idea, but all suggestions are most welcome!
Friday, 21 May 2010
Fortune favours the brave!
Well Faith has well and truly said ‘Pah!’ to the ‘drain of doom’. It frightens her no longer!
After the grooming and feet rituals were concluded, Faith showed me that she was in an exploratory mood this evening. Of course the area that gets most of her attention is the area where hubby keeps all his cr@p, oh sorry, I mean ‘tools’. Now I have tried to cordon this off as best I can with some jumps, but Faith seems to have this incredibly telescopic neck which allows her to reach in and sniff and snuffle things I thought were out of her reach.
Actually, she knocked a couple of things over this evening, and although this resulted in a couple of ‘Eeeek!’ moments, I can see that she is clearly less reactive about stuff, and her sense of curiosity is really coming to the surface. This is what I have been waiting for, as to start with her reactions were so quick, as to make clicker training a really daunting task. As she gets more used to stuff, and less reactive, I am becoming more confident that we will reach a point where I have a fighting chance of using the clicker with an acceptable degree of accuracy. Until then, I am happy to just carry on as we are.
Another exciting development is that she is really starting to respond to my body language, and will come to me when I invite her too. She also keeps an eye on where I am, and I feel that she is looking to me for reassurance, in the same sort of way that my little boy likes to be a bit more independent, but still likes to know where I am.
I have to say that she is looking fantastic. I have however purchased a Youngstock supplement from NAF just to make sure she is getting all her vits and mins for growth. Currently she is pretty much on the same diet as my more mature fatties, and although she is clearly a good doer, I want to make sure that her growth is supported, without her getting fat and silly. This is new territory for me, and there is a big gap in my knowledge as far as youngstock feeding goes. All the books say x amount of protein etc. and seem to suggest that I should be shoving buckets of food down her neck. But the horse I have in front of me is not telling me that at all, and her breeder has advised me not to shove lots of specialist food down her, as getting too fat will put a strain on her young joints, and too much protein etc. will make her silly. So I am going to go with my instinct on this one and avoid starchy, high protein diets. However, anyone with experience in this area and advice to give would be most welcome to comment.
After the grooming and feet rituals were concluded, Faith showed me that she was in an exploratory mood this evening. Of course the area that gets most of her attention is the area where hubby keeps all his cr@p, oh sorry, I mean ‘tools’. Now I have tried to cordon this off as best I can with some jumps, but Faith seems to have this incredibly telescopic neck which allows her to reach in and sniff and snuffle things I thought were out of her reach.
Actually, she knocked a couple of things over this evening, and although this resulted in a couple of ‘Eeeek!’ moments, I can see that she is clearly less reactive about stuff, and her sense of curiosity is really coming to the surface. This is what I have been waiting for, as to start with her reactions were so quick, as to make clicker training a really daunting task. As she gets more used to stuff, and less reactive, I am becoming more confident that we will reach a point where I have a fighting chance of using the clicker with an acceptable degree of accuracy. Until then, I am happy to just carry on as we are.
Another exciting development is that she is really starting to respond to my body language, and will come to me when I invite her too. She also keeps an eye on where I am, and I feel that she is looking to me for reassurance, in the same sort of way that my little boy likes to be a bit more independent, but still likes to know where I am.
I have to say that she is looking fantastic. I have however purchased a Youngstock supplement from NAF just to make sure she is getting all her vits and mins for growth. Currently she is pretty much on the same diet as my more mature fatties, and although she is clearly a good doer, I want to make sure that her growth is supported, without her getting fat and silly. This is new territory for me, and there is a big gap in my knowledge as far as youngstock feeding goes. All the books say x amount of protein etc. and seem to suggest that I should be shoving buckets of food down her neck. But the horse I have in front of me is not telling me that at all, and her breeder has advised me not to shove lots of specialist food down her, as getting too fat will put a strain on her young joints, and too much protein etc. will make her silly. So I am going to go with my instinct on this one and avoid starchy, high protein diets. However, anyone with experience in this area and advice to give would be most welcome to comment.
Thursday, 20 May 2010
Anything you can do......
I brought the neds in early this evening in an effort to avoid the flies (just where are the Swallows when you need them?). I gave Faith a lovely groom while she was loose on the yard, and picked up her feet.
I started work on her tail, but she just wasn’t settling and becoming relaxed. I think I am ‘wanting’ it a little too much, and perhaps she is feeling a little too pressured, so I stopped that completely for this evening.
I haven’t been sleeping well recently, and little’un has had me up at night as he has a dose of the lurgey, consequently, I just feel completely knackered. So I went across to the far side of the yard, and plonked myself on a jump block, and satisfied myself with simply admiring my horses.
I could see that Faith wanted to join me on ‘that’ side of the yard. This would of course mean crossing the ‘drain of doom’ to do so. She spent some time chatting with Tilly and Tommy, then went and spied on the neighbours a bit. However, I noticed that she kept looking over at where I was sitting, and would periodically walk up to the drain and paw the ground.
So I got up and crossed the yard and gave her some scratches and a bit of carrot, then went back over to the other side, and invited her over to me with my body language. Faith thought about it for a bit, then calm as you like crossed the ‘drain of doom’ to the other side of the yard. Cue lots of fuss and scratches.
I have a small tarpaulin on the ground inside our open fronted bit. There is a pile of loose bedding on it that spilled out of the bedding bags that the mice destroyed. Now that a lot of the bedding has been used up, a fair bit of tarp is visible. As Faith was clearly of a mind to explore this side of the yard, I encouraged her to stay close to me as I touched it with my toe. Faith looked at me, then decided that the wheelbarrows were more worthy of her attention, and wondered off to peruse those.
After a little while, I asked her to come back into her stable so I could give her her tea. She stood looking at me thoughtfully, walked away from me, touched the corner of the tarpaulin with her nose, crossed the ‘drain of doom’, calm as you like, and put herself to bed. Clever, clever girl!
I started work on her tail, but she just wasn’t settling and becoming relaxed. I think I am ‘wanting’ it a little too much, and perhaps she is feeling a little too pressured, so I stopped that completely for this evening.
I haven’t been sleeping well recently, and little’un has had me up at night as he has a dose of the lurgey, consequently, I just feel completely knackered. So I went across to the far side of the yard, and plonked myself on a jump block, and satisfied myself with simply admiring my horses.
I could see that Faith wanted to join me on ‘that’ side of the yard. This would of course mean crossing the ‘drain of doom’ to do so. She spent some time chatting with Tilly and Tommy, then went and spied on the neighbours a bit. However, I noticed that she kept looking over at where I was sitting, and would periodically walk up to the drain and paw the ground.
So I got up and crossed the yard and gave her some scratches and a bit of carrot, then went back over to the other side, and invited her over to me with my body language. Faith thought about it for a bit, then calm as you like crossed the ‘drain of doom’ to the other side of the yard. Cue lots of fuss and scratches.
I have a small tarpaulin on the ground inside our open fronted bit. There is a pile of loose bedding on it that spilled out of the bedding bags that the mice destroyed. Now that a lot of the bedding has been used up, a fair bit of tarp is visible. As Faith was clearly of a mind to explore this side of the yard, I encouraged her to stay close to me as I touched it with my toe. Faith looked at me, then decided that the wheelbarrows were more worthy of her attention, and wondered off to peruse those.
After a little while, I asked her to come back into her stable so I could give her her tea. She stood looking at me thoughtfully, walked away from me, touched the corner of the tarpaulin with her nose, crossed the ‘drain of doom’, calm as you like, and put herself to bed. Clever, clever girl!
Wednesday, 19 May 2010
You Scratch My Back.....
Poor little Faith came in dripping with sweat tonight. The flies are just awful at the moment. She must have been honing about the field trying to get away from them. I have ordered her a fly mask, but whether she will let me within ten miles of her with it is another question!
So obviously a groom was out of the question. Nor could I let her out on the yard, as the flies were dreadful there too, and the stables are the only place where the neds get any relief from them.
So I just spent half an hour scratching all her itchy spots. It is amazing how well a horse can communicate clearly where the itchiest places were, and she expertly positioned me at just the right places to give her the best scratches.
Apart from the pleasure of being able to give Faith some relief from her itchiness, I was also able to handle her tail a good deal as well. She was itchy all over the top of her rump, so I scratched there, and was able to ‘nibble’ with my fingers all the way down her dock, and lift her tail away from her legs, running my fingers through it a bit before letting it fall back. I managed to do this several times before she cottoned on to what I was doing and side stepped away.
So obviously a groom was out of the question. Nor could I let her out on the yard, as the flies were dreadful there too, and the stables are the only place where the neds get any relief from them.
So I just spent half an hour scratching all her itchy spots. It is amazing how well a horse can communicate clearly where the itchiest places were, and she expertly positioned me at just the right places to give her the best scratches.
Apart from the pleasure of being able to give Faith some relief from her itchiness, I was also able to handle her tail a good deal as well. She was itchy all over the top of her rump, so I scratched there, and was able to ‘nibble’ with my fingers all the way down her dock, and lift her tail away from her legs, running my fingers through it a bit before letting it fall back. I managed to do this several times before she cottoned on to what I was doing and side stepped away.
Tuesday, 18 May 2010
Ain't No Mountain High Enough!
All the biting beasties were out in force tonight! I am now covered in bites, with one particularly bad one on the back of my neck.
Poor old Tommy also came in with a bad bite on his behind, and I have a strong suspicion it was given to him by something considerably larger than a mozzie! Both Tilly and Faith are pleading ‘not guilty’ to that one, so investigations continue. Poor Tommy had to suffer the indignity of having Dermoline rubbed into his bottom. Not very macho at all! The girls just stood sniggering quietly.
I had another lovely session with Faith on the yard, and this time she managed not to brain herself on any stationary objects. I managed to pick up all her feet, and I even managed to give her tail a bit of a brush. She doesn’t seem to mind it if you brush it hanging down, but she gets a little bit worried if you lift her tail away from her to brush it out. However, this is a step in the right direction, and I am thrilled to bits.
Another development which is making me very happy, is that Faith is starting to follow me when I invite her with my body language. This evening was the first time that I genuinely felt that Faith was more interested in me than in chatting to Tilly and Tommy.
Now don’t get me wrong, I have no desire to have her more attached to me than the other neds. It is my dearest wish that she feels strong bonds with my other two. However, it is obviously important for training purposes that she considers me a comfortable presence, and one that she is happy to listen to.
So she will follow me up and down the yard, but one thing she will not do is cross the (to my mind) innocuous drain in the middle of the yard. To her credit, she was really thinking about it, and while watching her wrestle with the problem, I couldn’t help myself but break into (to my mind again) a dulcet version of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”. This at least helped Faith make her mind up – she turned her back on me and walked in the opposite direction.
So, note to self, Faith is obviously not a fan of Motown.
Poor old Tommy also came in with a bad bite on his behind, and I have a strong suspicion it was given to him by something considerably larger than a mozzie! Both Tilly and Faith are pleading ‘not guilty’ to that one, so investigations continue. Poor Tommy had to suffer the indignity of having Dermoline rubbed into his bottom. Not very macho at all! The girls just stood sniggering quietly.
I had another lovely session with Faith on the yard, and this time she managed not to brain herself on any stationary objects. I managed to pick up all her feet, and I even managed to give her tail a bit of a brush. She doesn’t seem to mind it if you brush it hanging down, but she gets a little bit worried if you lift her tail away from her to brush it out. However, this is a step in the right direction, and I am thrilled to bits.
Another development which is making me very happy, is that Faith is starting to follow me when I invite her with my body language. This evening was the first time that I genuinely felt that Faith was more interested in me than in chatting to Tilly and Tommy.
Now don’t get me wrong, I have no desire to have her more attached to me than the other neds. It is my dearest wish that she feels strong bonds with my other two. However, it is obviously important for training purposes that she considers me a comfortable presence, and one that she is happy to listen to.
So she will follow me up and down the yard, but one thing she will not do is cross the (to my mind) innocuous drain in the middle of the yard. To her credit, she was really thinking about it, and while watching her wrestle with the problem, I couldn’t help myself but break into (to my mind again) a dulcet version of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”. This at least helped Faith make her mind up – she turned her back on me and walked in the opposite direction.
So, note to self, Faith is obviously not a fan of Motown.
Monday, 17 May 2010
Heads or tails?
Faith was brilliant this evening. Once again I had her loose on the yard giving her a groom, and rewarding her for standing still with groomy scratches and carrots. I managed to pick all four feet up twice with no issue at all.
So I thought we would see how it went with touching her tail. Now madam is still in season, so I do appreciate that she is going to be a little sensitive around that area generally. So I just gave her a lovely scratchy on top of her bum, and then just started stroking down the length of her tail in a long slow sweeping stroke. She was absolutely fine, and got a bit of carrot etc. I just kept doing this from both sides, and she was very good. So I left it there.
However, it would seem that Faith and I share a problem with ‘hormone impaired spacial awareness’. The poor dear clonked herself right between the eyes on the corner of one of the top stable doors, and gave herself a little graze. At that point I thought it best that we return to the relative safety of her stable , for a cuddle.
Before I forget to mention it, something really lovely happened last night. I went to the stables just after 10pm, as I normally do to give everyone their last hay ration. Tilly and Tommy were standing up snoozing, but Faith was lying down. I dished out Tilly and Tommy’s hay, then rummaged around in the barn for Faith’s portion. I was amazed when she let me walk into the stable, shake out her hay, then turn and give her a stroke on the nose, while she was still lying down! I have never done that with any of my horses before, and I was really, really touched that Faith trusted me enough to let me do that.
So I thought we would see how it went with touching her tail. Now madam is still in season, so I do appreciate that she is going to be a little sensitive around that area generally. So I just gave her a lovely scratchy on top of her bum, and then just started stroking down the length of her tail in a long slow sweeping stroke. She was absolutely fine, and got a bit of carrot etc. I just kept doing this from both sides, and she was very good. So I left it there.
However, it would seem that Faith and I share a problem with ‘hormone impaired spacial awareness’. The poor dear clonked herself right between the eyes on the corner of one of the top stable doors, and gave herself a little graze. At that point I thought it best that we return to the relative safety of her stable , for a cuddle.
Before I forget to mention it, something really lovely happened last night. I went to the stables just after 10pm, as I normally do to give everyone their last hay ration. Tilly and Tommy were standing up snoozing, but Faith was lying down. I dished out Tilly and Tommy’s hay, then rummaged around in the barn for Faith’s portion. I was amazed when she let me walk into the stable, shake out her hay, then turn and give her a stroke on the nose, while she was still lying down! I have never done that with any of my horses before, and I was really, really touched that Faith trusted me enough to let me do that.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)