Today was a big day for Aztec. This morning was her first adventure outside in the big pasture. I decided she was okay to take out (in hand, of course) because she is doing pretty much anything I request of her. She was a little rusty on leading before we went out, but once we were in the pasture and she discovered that I knew my way around this new scary place, she led right beside me. Occasionally, once she got up the nerve to venture out behind me, she got a little full of herself and wanted to trot. No biggie. All I had to do was ask her to disengage and she regained her focus on me.
On a funny, she was scared of the pond. We walked up the levi and the pond was hidden behind some brush. Once we cleared the brush, she saw it and stopped. Then she snorted and raised her head, extending her neck to get bigger. She put on a show for the demon-pond, and then asked to leave. So I allowed her to walk away from it, even though she would have liked to run away from it.
I also took her over to a small log that I use to mount bareback. She snorted at it, but she didn't shy away. She walked right up and plopped her nose on it. Once she nosed it all over, she was ready to move on. I let her munch on some grass, then we headed in for a lesson in standing while tied. She wasn't a fan. she never pulled back or had a come apart, she just paced and chewed hay string. Which was fine for her first time.
When we moved to the round pen, I lunged her around to get her focused, then I got out the plastic bag on the end of the extension stick. She was a bit skeptical about the bag, so I held it out to let her sniff it. When she rammed her nose into it, it made a noise, and she popped her head up. She did go immediately back down to smell it some more, and she even chewed on it. Once she was satisfied that it wouldn't eat her, I rubbed it all over her body, even under her belly near her flank and on her legs. She was perfectly cool with it.
Tomorrow I'm going to tie up a tarp on one section of their pen. I want them to know that they can get away from scary objects if they feel they need to. Putting the tarp (scary, right?) on the fence gives them the chance to investigate for themselves. It allows them to think about it, more so than me holding them still while I toss it on them.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Day 11: Lunging, Hosing Off, and Touching the Face
Aztec has proven to be better off than Lucy. She has completely accepted me as her herd mate, and now she does pretty much anything I request of her. She disengages with just a look, respects my space, and lets me walk right up to her and halter her.
I had to take a few days off, since I was forced to go to Freshman Orientation at the U of M. So today I kind of repeated what she started learning the other day. We practiced leading. She doesn't really like leading and giving to the pressure, but if I walk off, she follows on the line. I led her into the pen, and we began lunging.
All I had to do was look at the eye that I wanted her to move away from. If I wanted her to move out to the right, I would look at her left eye and kind of crouch down into an "aggressive" posture. I opened my right arm out and kissed, and she was more than happy to take off trotting in a calm circle around me. After a few times, I didn't even have to crouch. I just gave her a look, and she understood. When I wanted her to stop, I looked at her hip. And she disengaged, without really formally being taught to. She just assumed that I wanted her hindquarters out of my way, and that she should face me.
I also worked on petting her head. I can now touch her all over her body, but she was still wary of allowing me to touch her face. So I began to ask her to let me touch her nose. I started petting her neck, then I moved my hand to her nose. Of course, she moved away from me. But I kept my hand on her nose until she stopped. The second she stopped, I said "good" and took my hand away. She chewed and licked. I repeated this until she was okay with my hand on her muzzle. It took maybe two minutes.
Then I moved up her head a bit. I asked her to let me touch the area right above the nose band of her halter. I went back to touching her nose, then I moved my hand an inch. When she didn't move, I took my hand away. I asked for another inch, and continued this practice until she was content with my hand above her halter. After that, I wanted to touch her forehead. She moved away from that for a second, so I kept my hand between her eyes until she chilled. When she stopped fussing, I removed my hand. I went back down and touched her nose and above her nose band, then asked for the forehead touch again. She moved again. So I held my hand until she quit, went back to what we already established, then did the head again. The next time,she let me scratch her forehead. Now I can walk up to her, reach and touch her forehead with no problem. (:
I hosed her off today. She fussed and danced around. So I did exactly what I do with everything. When she stopped dancing, I stopped spraying her. I sprayed, she moved, she stopped, I stopped. She eventually decided that dancing around was pointless and that the cool water actually felt pleasant in the heat. She rolled immediately after I let her go, but the dust keeps flies at bay, so it was all good.
On a side note just in case anyone actually reads this and takes any info from it, I never let my horses walk away from me. When I turn Aztec out, I expect her to stand there until I move away from her. Her feet should not move until I say OK and walk away from her. That way, I know that she won't get too excited and buck while she runs away, putting me in a potentially unsafe spot. I don't hit or tie them to keep them still. I just stand with them on a line until they're quiet, and then I unclipped their lead or take off their halter. I keep my hand on their shoulder, and rub them. Then I say OK and turn to leave. Aztec figured this out really quickly. I'm very surprised at her sudden change of heart about me. <3
I had to take a few days off, since I was forced to go to Freshman Orientation at the U of M. So today I kind of repeated what she started learning the other day. We practiced leading. She doesn't really like leading and giving to the pressure, but if I walk off, she follows on the line. I led her into the pen, and we began lunging.
All I had to do was look at the eye that I wanted her to move away from. If I wanted her to move out to the right, I would look at her left eye and kind of crouch down into an "aggressive" posture. I opened my right arm out and kissed, and she was more than happy to take off trotting in a calm circle around me. After a few times, I didn't even have to crouch. I just gave her a look, and she understood. When I wanted her to stop, I looked at her hip. And she disengaged, without really formally being taught to. She just assumed that I wanted her hindquarters out of my way, and that she should face me.
I also worked on petting her head. I can now touch her all over her body, but she was still wary of allowing me to touch her face. So I began to ask her to let me touch her nose. I started petting her neck, then I moved my hand to her nose. Of course, she moved away from me. But I kept my hand on her nose until she stopped. The second she stopped, I said "good" and took my hand away. She chewed and licked. I repeated this until she was okay with my hand on her muzzle. It took maybe two minutes.
Then I moved up her head a bit. I asked her to let me touch the area right above the nose band of her halter. I went back to touching her nose, then I moved my hand an inch. When she didn't move, I took my hand away. I asked for another inch, and continued this practice until she was content with my hand above her halter. After that, I wanted to touch her forehead. She moved away from that for a second, so I kept my hand between her eyes until she chilled. When she stopped fussing, I removed my hand. I went back down and touched her nose and above her nose band, then asked for the forehead touch again. She moved again. So I held my hand until she quit, went back to what we already established, then did the head again. The next time,she let me scratch her forehead. Now I can walk up to her, reach and touch her forehead with no problem. (:
I hosed her off today. She fussed and danced around. So I did exactly what I do with everything. When she stopped dancing, I stopped spraying her. I sprayed, she moved, she stopped, I stopped. She eventually decided that dancing around was pointless and that the cool water actually felt pleasant in the heat. She rolled immediately after I let her go, but the dust keeps flies at bay, so it was all good.
On a side note just in case anyone actually reads this and takes any info from it, I never let my horses walk away from me. When I turn Aztec out, I expect her to stand there until I move away from her. Her feet should not move until I say OK and walk away from her. That way, I know that she won't get too excited and buck while she runs away, putting me in a potentially unsafe spot. I don't hit or tie them to keep them still. I just stand with them on a line until they're quiet, and then I unclipped their lead or take off their halter. I keep my hand on their shoulder, and rub them. Then I say OK and turn to leave. Aztec figured this out really quickly. I'm very surprised at her sudden change of heart about me. <3
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Day 8: Off Day (Literally)
Well, I didn't work the babies at all today. I went out this morning and fed them, then I had to head into work. I worked until 9:15, so I had zero time to work them today. Aztec did eat all of her grain today, which makes me really excited. She's a bit more food oriented than Lucy is, so hopefully she'll get excited about food enough to get some real clicker work going. Hopefully(:
Friday, May 18, 2012
Day 7: Day of Rest (:
Aztec has decided that we are going to get along just fine-- thank goodness! She is trusting me now, which is a major relief since I was beginning to think that she didn't really care for domestication. This morning a Purina Feed Rep. came out to my house to evaluate my horses and recommend feed for them. He evaluated Lucy, Aztec, Chey, and two others. I was more concerned about the Mustangs, though. I didn't feel like they are getting enough vitamins and minerals for growing yearlings. He recommended that I feed them Purina Equine Strategy, so in the next few days, Dad and I are going to pick up twenty free bags of feed for my babies. At the end of the 90 day challenge, Jon Law will come back and reevalute them to see if Purina Feeds really makes a difference. (:
Here's the best part! For Jon to weigh Aztec and take her height, he had to touch her. AND SHE LET HIM! I was so proud of my girl. Not only did she let me walk right up and catch her, she LED all the way into the barn and STOOD PERFECTLY STILL for him to measure her. I was without words when my girl just chilled out with me. It was so perfect. <3
Since she was such a good baby for the feed rep, I let her have the day off. Seven days of intense work is too much, so she got to sit around and eat hay all day. Not that she minded. I did brush her down, which she was perfect for.
I took some day seven pictures of her this evening. Enjoy (:
Here's the best part! For Jon to weigh Aztec and take her height, he had to touch her. AND SHE LET HIM! I was so proud of my girl. Not only did she let me walk right up and catch her, she LED all the way into the barn and STOOD PERFECTLY STILL for him to measure her. I was without words when my girl just chilled out with me. It was so perfect. <3
Since she was such a good baby for the feed rep, I let her have the day off. Seven days of intense work is too much, so she got to sit around and eat hay all day. Not that she minded. I did brush her down, which she was perfect for.
I took some day seven pictures of her this evening. Enjoy (:
She had a fly on her eye, so I snapped a picture!
Cute little zebra stripe legs!
Licking the bucket after enjoying her morning feed.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Day 6: Leading and Brushing
Today was so great! Aztec was very willing to hang out this evening. We started our session by practicing what she learned yesterday and the day before. I walked up, she looked, I took off away. I walked up, she looked, I petted, then took off. We did this for a few moments, then I worked her clipping the lead rope on and off. She stood perfectly still for this exercise.
Since she remembered everything from yesterday, I began asking her to move and disengage her hip. I didn't get worked up or anything. I honestly didn't care if she disengaged that much. But she did it like a champ. All I did was crouch and look at her right hip. She moved it. Just like she had done it for years. Then I asked for the left side. This was even easier, considering she didn't really care to show me her left side anyways.
Once I was satisfied with that, I asked her to disengage on the right so I could see her left side. I did the same thing I did yesterday. I walked up to her head and held out my right hand towards her left shoulder. When she stood still and looked at me, I retreated. Next I asked her to let me touch her withers. She did and I left. After three times of this, she stood for me to pet her from head to tail. But it gets better. When I retreated, SHE FOLLOWED ME. All on her own. She walked right up to me after I walked off. And she stood behind me, like she knew what I wanted. I was a pretty happy girl when she did this. (:
After she offered me this behavior, I went over to my treat bag and pulled out a small fistful of grain. Her little ears pricked and she walked up to my hand, eagerly taking the feed. So I grabbed another handful, and asked her to walk again. I put a little pressure on her lead, and instantly she took a step towards me. I let the pressure go and held out my hand full of grain. She looked at me, kind of surprised, but she didn't ask questions. She chewed for a second, then she took the grain. SHE WAS FINALLY THINKING. Praise sweet Jesus!
By the end of our session, she was sort of leading. I say sort of because I wasn't leading her like I lead my other horses. I was walking a few feet out from her, and she was walking too, so I'm calling that leading. Gotta take what I can get, you know. I also brushed her out today. I showed her the brush while she was standing still, and she took it in her mouth and made a funny face. I don't know why they think that trying to eat the brush is a good idea. I'm sure it tastes horrible from all the mud and dirt that gets on it when I use it. But whatever.
When she got finished "killing" the brush, I started rubbing my hand over her shoulder. Then I rubbed with my hand once and the brush once, alternating hand and bursh. She didn't seem to mind, so I just dove in brushing her. She seemed to really enjoy it today. I guess she's trusting me a bit more, so that's good. She didn't even bother trying to groom me again. She just lowered her head and closed her eyes. Such a cutie!
I fed Aztec her dinner from my hand, trying to get her used to accepting food from me. I want to start clicker training really soon, but first she has to get enthusiastic about taking the treats. But, from what I've seen today, she is definitely heading in the right direction.
Since she remembered everything from yesterday, I began asking her to move and disengage her hip. I didn't get worked up or anything. I honestly didn't care if she disengaged that much. But she did it like a champ. All I did was crouch and look at her right hip. She moved it. Just like she had done it for years. Then I asked for the left side. This was even easier, considering she didn't really care to show me her left side anyways.
Once I was satisfied with that, I asked her to disengage on the right so I could see her left side. I did the same thing I did yesterday. I walked up to her head and held out my right hand towards her left shoulder. When she stood still and looked at me, I retreated. Next I asked her to let me touch her withers. She did and I left. After three times of this, she stood for me to pet her from head to tail. But it gets better. When I retreated, SHE FOLLOWED ME. All on her own. She walked right up to me after I walked off. And she stood behind me, like she knew what I wanted. I was a pretty happy girl when she did this. (:
After she offered me this behavior, I went over to my treat bag and pulled out a small fistful of grain. Her little ears pricked and she walked up to my hand, eagerly taking the feed. So I grabbed another handful, and asked her to walk again. I put a little pressure on her lead, and instantly she took a step towards me. I let the pressure go and held out my hand full of grain. She looked at me, kind of surprised, but she didn't ask questions. She chewed for a second, then she took the grain. SHE WAS FINALLY THINKING. Praise sweet Jesus!
By the end of our session, she was sort of leading. I say sort of because I wasn't leading her like I lead my other horses. I was walking a few feet out from her, and she was walking too, so I'm calling that leading. Gotta take what I can get, you know. I also brushed her out today. I showed her the brush while she was standing still, and she took it in her mouth and made a funny face. I don't know why they think that trying to eat the brush is a good idea. I'm sure it tastes horrible from all the mud and dirt that gets on it when I use it. But whatever.
When she got finished "killing" the brush, I started rubbing my hand over her shoulder. Then I rubbed with my hand once and the brush once, alternating hand and bursh. She didn't seem to mind, so I just dove in brushing her. She seemed to really enjoy it today. I guess she's trusting me a bit more, so that's good. She didn't even bother trying to groom me again. She just lowered her head and closed her eyes. Such a cutie!
I fed Aztec her dinner from my hand, trying to get her used to accepting food from me. I want to start clicker training really soon, but first she has to get enthusiastic about taking the treats. But, from what I've seen today, she is definitely heading in the right direction.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Day 5: Rubbing and Lead Work Continued
Aztec had a really productive session today! I started out reworking what I taught her yesterday: to stand still while I rubbed her right side and put the lead on. She remembered this chain of tasks, so we moved on to adding a bit of pressure to the lead to get her feet moving. Today was all about getting her started leading without blowing up (we met our goal, by the way!).
Now that she let me attach the lead, I began asking her to bend her head to the right (not flexing, just giving to a small amount of pressure from the rope). She did this with ease. I try to use as little pressure as I can to get them to do something. I put a small amount of pull on the rope, pulling it out and back towards her hind end. She bent to the right enough to cause slack in the rope, so I dropped the lead and turned around, eliminating any potential pressure. I heard her chew. I turned around and repeated this maybe five or six times, and she lowered her head, telling me we were clear to move on.
Since I now knew she could handle the pressure on her head, I walked out a few feet, faced the direction I wanted her feet to go, and I put a slight amount of pressure forward on her halter. At the same time, I swung the end of the lead back towards her hip, never looking back to see where exactly it went. This got her feet moving. My whole objective was to put pressure on, kiss, and have her feet go forward. When her feet moved, I walked off with her a few paces, then I turned around. She did what I wanted, so I backed off. A minute later, we did this again. Same result. After a few more times, I didn't need to swing the lead. She walked out on her own. (I was not "leading" her. I was walking several feet away, but her feet and my feet were going the same way, so she is one step closer in the right direction!)
After she began walking out constently, I decided that I she was ready for me to try her other side. She is used to me rubbing her right side from head to tail, and I can reach over her body and pet the left, but she doesn't like showing me that left side. So I did what she knew, approached the right, petted and retreated. I did that as reinforcement a few times, then I stood directly in front of her. I held out my right hand (which pointed out to her left side), and she began to back up. That was fine. She knew that to get me to back off and stop annoying her, she needed to stand still and look at my hand. She took about ten steps backwards, and stopped. When she stopped, I went to the end of the line with my back to her. Again, I could hear her chewing. I turned around, and repeated that motion. This time, she only backed up seven steps. I left her to herself a moment.
When she would stand still for my hand sticking out to her left, I moved closer to that side and held it out. She backed. When she stopped, I moved away. We did this for a while, and then she just kind of decided that I was less obnoxious when she was still, so she quit moving and looked at me. Right before we quit, I approached her and placed my right hand on her left shoulder. She didn't move, so I immediately unclipped the lead and left her completely alone. I let her out of the pen, and fed both her and Lucy. That concluded our session.
I was very careful today to not get her worked up. When she's calm, she's thinking. And thinking is a great thing. My dad didn't really like this approach, because I worked her for over an hour, and above is all we did. But I feel like this is what is going to work for her, and that is what I'm trying to do. Horses don't ever have a say in how they train or learn, and I'm trying to get out of the habbit of being that kind of trainer, the kind who has a set way of doing things and that's that. That's why I'm letting Aztec decide how fast or how slow she wants to work. If she only wants to work on petting for an hour, so be it. In the end, I want a good, solid, trusting horse. Who cares if we win? If I can earn Aztec and Lucy's love and trust, I've already won.
xx Shell
Now that she let me attach the lead, I began asking her to bend her head to the right (not flexing, just giving to a small amount of pressure from the rope). She did this with ease. I try to use as little pressure as I can to get them to do something. I put a small amount of pull on the rope, pulling it out and back towards her hind end. She bent to the right enough to cause slack in the rope, so I dropped the lead and turned around, eliminating any potential pressure. I heard her chew. I turned around and repeated this maybe five or six times, and she lowered her head, telling me we were clear to move on.
Since I now knew she could handle the pressure on her head, I walked out a few feet, faced the direction I wanted her feet to go, and I put a slight amount of pressure forward on her halter. At the same time, I swung the end of the lead back towards her hip, never looking back to see where exactly it went. This got her feet moving. My whole objective was to put pressure on, kiss, and have her feet go forward. When her feet moved, I walked off with her a few paces, then I turned around. She did what I wanted, so I backed off. A minute later, we did this again. Same result. After a few more times, I didn't need to swing the lead. She walked out on her own. (I was not "leading" her. I was walking several feet away, but her feet and my feet were going the same way, so she is one step closer in the right direction!)
After she began walking out constently, I decided that I she was ready for me to try her other side. She is used to me rubbing her right side from head to tail, and I can reach over her body and pet the left, but she doesn't like showing me that left side. So I did what she knew, approached the right, petted and retreated. I did that as reinforcement a few times, then I stood directly in front of her. I held out my right hand (which pointed out to her left side), and she began to back up. That was fine. She knew that to get me to back off and stop annoying her, she needed to stand still and look at my hand. She took about ten steps backwards, and stopped. When she stopped, I went to the end of the line with my back to her. Again, I could hear her chewing. I turned around, and repeated that motion. This time, she only backed up seven steps. I left her to herself a moment.
When she would stand still for my hand sticking out to her left, I moved closer to that side and held it out. She backed. When she stopped, I moved away. We did this for a while, and then she just kind of decided that I was less obnoxious when she was still, so she quit moving and looked at me. Right before we quit, I approached her and placed my right hand on her left shoulder. She didn't move, so I immediately unclipped the lead and left her completely alone. I let her out of the pen, and fed both her and Lucy. That concluded our session.
I was very careful today to not get her worked up. When she's calm, she's thinking. And thinking is a great thing. My dad didn't really like this approach, because I worked her for over an hour, and above is all we did. But I feel like this is what is going to work for her, and that is what I'm trying to do. Horses don't ever have a say in how they train or learn, and I'm trying to get out of the habbit of being that kind of trainer, the kind who has a set way of doing things and that's that. That's why I'm letting Aztec decide how fast or how slow she wants to work. If she only wants to work on petting for an hour, so be it. In the end, I want a good, solid, trusting horse. Who cares if we win? If I can earn Aztec and Lucy's love and trust, I've already won.
xx Shell
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Day 4: Rubbing and Lead Work
I decided that Aztec needed me to slow down with her, a lot. So today we kind of started over. Since I left the halter on her from yesterday, I only had to walk up and clip the lead rope on her. Which was a task all in itself. So, I back tracked.
She walked herself into the round pen, so I calmly followed her. She didn't take off running mindless circles like she did yesterday, and that gave me a bit of confidence and patience with her. She just poked around munching grass. My entire goal for the day was to get the lead on her without a blow up.
I began working with her by following her around. All I wanted was her to stop and look at my outstretched hand at first. It took her about two circles of walking around the pen before she stopped. I kept my hand out to her, and she looked at it. Good enough. I turned immediately and went to the other side of the pen. Out of my peripheral vision, I could see her looking at me. Then she went back to grazing, so I approached her again. Same deal. Twice around, and the she looked at my hand. I went away. I did this for five or six times, until she finally only took a few steps before stopping and acknowledging my hand.
That's when I asked for a bit more. Now I wanted her to stop and touch her nose to my hand, kind of like targetting when you're using a clicker. She did this the first time. She stopped and looked at my hand, and when I didn't retreat, she streched out her nose to sniff me. Then I turned and left. After a minute, I did this again. And again. And again. Until finally when I retreated, she took a step towards me. That let me know that she was ready to move on.
Next I asked her to let me rub her shoulder area. I took the same approach, and within a few moments I could touch her all over her right shoulder. Then I asked her to let me touch her halter where the lead clips. At first, she had a mini heart attack at my hand under her chin. So I went back to what she knew, and rubbed and retreated a few more times. When I came back to touch her halter, she raised her head slightly, but I held on to it until she dropped it back to normal. I let go and retreated. Again, I repeated this until she could stand and let me touch the halter with no issues or fuss. Then I attached and reattached the lead rope in the same manner. Once she let me put the lead on, I quit with her for the day.
I've somewhat come to the idea that she is like a kid that's not so good at math. The teacher has to show that child EVERY step in order for the child to solve the equation. So that is how I'm going to handle Aztec. With Lucy, I didn't have to show her every little thing, like the targetting my hand to let me approach then rubbing and what not. She caught on to the big picture and fast. Aztec learns differently, and so it was foolish of me to try to teach her the same things as quickly as I taught Lucy. I'm glad it only took me four days of struggling to figure this out. I guess I'm learning jsut as the yearlings are. (:
xx Shell
She walked herself into the round pen, so I calmly followed her. She didn't take off running mindless circles like she did yesterday, and that gave me a bit of confidence and patience with her. She just poked around munching grass. My entire goal for the day was to get the lead on her without a blow up.
I began working with her by following her around. All I wanted was her to stop and look at my outstretched hand at first. It took her about two circles of walking around the pen before she stopped. I kept my hand out to her, and she looked at it. Good enough. I turned immediately and went to the other side of the pen. Out of my peripheral vision, I could see her looking at me. Then she went back to grazing, so I approached her again. Same deal. Twice around, and the she looked at my hand. I went away. I did this for five or six times, until she finally only took a few steps before stopping and acknowledging my hand.
That's when I asked for a bit more. Now I wanted her to stop and touch her nose to my hand, kind of like targetting when you're using a clicker. She did this the first time. She stopped and looked at my hand, and when I didn't retreat, she streched out her nose to sniff me. Then I turned and left. After a minute, I did this again. And again. And again. Until finally when I retreated, she took a step towards me. That let me know that she was ready to move on.
Next I asked her to let me rub her shoulder area. I took the same approach, and within a few moments I could touch her all over her right shoulder. Then I asked her to let me touch her halter where the lead clips. At first, she had a mini heart attack at my hand under her chin. So I went back to what she knew, and rubbed and retreated a few more times. When I came back to touch her halter, she raised her head slightly, but I held on to it until she dropped it back to normal. I let go and retreated. Again, I repeated this until she could stand and let me touch the halter with no issues or fuss. Then I attached and reattached the lead rope in the same manner. Once she let me put the lead on, I quit with her for the day.
I've somewhat come to the idea that she is like a kid that's not so good at math. The teacher has to show that child EVERY step in order for the child to solve the equation. So that is how I'm going to handle Aztec. With Lucy, I didn't have to show her every little thing, like the targetting my hand to let me approach then rubbing and what not. She caught on to the big picture and fast. Aztec learns differently, and so it was foolish of me to try to teach her the same things as quickly as I taught Lucy. I'm glad it only took me four days of struggling to figure this out. I guess I'm learning jsut as the yearlings are. (:
xx Shell
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