Introductions and more

Hailey Is in Town

Now, so far, all the young horses who have come here have gravitated to Tresa, the old girl, as their first friend and protector. So naturally, I thought I would put Hailey out with Tresa for a couple of days then put them in with the rest of the herd. Within 5 minutes I could tell that was a big mistake. Hooves were flying, if they were in a house there would have been hoof prints on the ceiling. Neither of those girls were having one thing to do with the other. Amazingly enough, neither actually made contact, so either they weren’t serious, or they both have very good range detection!

So off to the herd went Hailey with no waiting period. Chaco, being the manly gelding that he is, naturally took to her IMMEDIATELY! Now you see, her nickname is Chacolina, as she really is a little Chaco. I don’t think her looks had much to do with his infatuation, most likely her lovely mareish ways and smell… She is a bold one and took over the introductions so they happened on her terms and in her way. She took over so completely that even Larz had to do her bidding and keep everyone away from the hay piles they were eating at. Larz may be the boss man, but he was still pussy whipped!

Anyway, I could see that she didn’t need too long of an adjustment period as she seemed quite comfortable in her ways. Her feet needed trimming right away, so that was our first day’s work. We took a nice walk to get to know one another, and then got to work. She was so polite and sweet about all of it. Not a wiggle out of her the whole time. And she is really smart. I have a can of treats in my trimming bucket; yes they get one after a completed hoof. I usually shake it a bit and then put one in the top so they can take it out of that instead of my hand. Well, it only took one time for her to get with the program.

Today in our play session, she again proved her smarts. We were playing the touch it game (find fun things to put your nose on) online and she was doing fine, then had a little trouble reaching down for the soccer ball. She finally got it, so I gave her a treat. Later on our walk about (me on her), she kept seeking out the soccer ball, as I still was giving her treats from her back when she touched it. After the fourth time around I figured I would be out of treats soon, so she got scratches after that. Scratches are not so much of a reward for her, so soon the soccer ball was a thing of the past.

But we have jumped quite a bit. Skipped the whole part about putting on a saddle for the first time, or getting on for the first time or taking our first steps as riding partners. It was all so uneventful that I am having a hard time finding interesting things to say. I could say over and over how smart, cute and willing she is, but that would get pretty old fast. So, in a nutshell, there were no problems with bareback pad, then old english saddle, then heavy western one. The only thing I have to say about saddles and Hailey is that I think English saddles fit her better. Something about her confirmation makes the back of the western one flap up and down when there is no one in it. I do have a back cinch on it , but it is not supper tight yet. 

One interesting tidbit about her start. Since she had a nice circling game already established I decided to try out a flank rope on her. A flank rope is when you put a 22' or longer around their barrel, perhaps where the back cinch would sit. The rope is looped through itself, like a choke collar on a dog, so that as soon as there is no pressure on the rope it loosens. Well, this did create quite a reaction in her. So much so that I did back off on getting on until we had a few sessions of the flank rope and she accepted it. That first time she not only protested with her body, she squealed and made quite the ruckus. I really didn't put any pressure on the rope at all, but just the fact it was there was an affront to her womanhood I guess. Again, she is smart, and she got it pretty quick that as long as she went forward at the lightest touch, it didn't get any tighter. Really it only took 2 times for her to accept the flank rope, 3 times a charm though and 7 is a program. We are up to 4 and will continue for the programs sake and to establish a positive pattern.