Pictures

I went out and took a few pictures of the horses today, so I thought I'd post a few of them here.

[caption id="attachment_433" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="I <3 this photo!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_434" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Just a pic of Dancer"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_435" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Nothing to do with horses, but my mom took a cute picture of a flower we're growing."][/caption]

I would have a picture of Bella, too, but she wasn't being very photogenic today.

The Day After Yesterday

After rewriting this like 3 times, I finally figured it'd be easier on anyone who reads this if I just started out with some background things going on in the past few days.

For starters,  I've had a horrible time with Moose's draw recently - he'll just stand there and lean on the pressure. Sometimes he'll be great, but other days he'll be awful. It doesn't seem like unconfidence, so I wasn't really sure what to do about it. Then, I thought about make vs. want, and realized he should LOVE to come to me. Well, it's not exactly fixed yet, because it's a new invention of his, so to speak, but in the past 3 days he's came to me 3 times at liberty, so a GREAT start!!

Also, I've been thinking about Bella and Moose's confidence levels a LOT lately. Bella is an attention hound and is very curious about things, so I think she loves to learn and has no issues with people. And I had a sort of light bulb moment when I thought about Moose. I don't think he likes to learn. I am still developing this theory, but I think to him learning is stressful (kind of like how Allure used to be a very unconfident learner, just that Moose is not nearly as extreme). For example, the other day I had plans to play with a saddle we've got laying around here. I brought it up to Moose and let him sniff it. He sniffed it, but immediately after walked away quickly. On the other hand, Bella comes up and just says "OMG!! You have an English saddle! What's that taste like?" So then, I put it on the ground near Moose and walked away. He was really curious about it then. Situations like this one lead me to conclude (Ha, I sound like I'm writing a science paper) that Moose has confidence issues with humans. I will definitely have to lick and chew on that for a while!

Now onto my ACTUAL post. Starting off with yesterday: the day didn't go so well. I was trying to stop Moose  from throwing his head away from me every time I go to halter him. Basically, he had other ideas. And I started getting frustrated and emotional, and eventually just quit. I knew if I kept going things were just going to go even further downhill. Although, Dancer did roll near me, so I can't call the day a complete failure.

Now on to TODAY!!  Objective of the day was to help Moose gain confidence with the tarp. So, I grabbed one and went to work. We ended up playing at liberty, because I never haltered him. It seemed unnecessary, because he was responding alright without it. So, I started out with him sniffing the tarp. Once he sniffed it, I'd walk away. Eventually, he'd lick his lips, so I'd let him think for a little while once he did that. Once he was alright sniffing it, I tried to pet him with it, but there was a threshold about touching him anywhere else but his nose. A saying popped into mind here: "If he's scared of blackbirds, get him used to eagles." So, I wagged the tarp around and retreated until he looked at me. The first time he looked at me was about 20 feet away, at a guess. Well, I continued approaching and retreating, until I was about 6 feet away. Then, he came to me and sniffed the tarp, and blew a few times! Now THAT is a sign for session over!

In comparison of the 2 days, it's interesting how things work out: I can play with the horses for a whole 3 hours some days and have everything go wrong that will. But other days, like today,  I can have 30 minutes, have a GREAT time, and get more done than in that 3 hours. "How interesting!"

And I almost forgot. . . (as if I could forget). . . I got my braces off today!! YAY!! So, after 2.5 years of scrubbing and yanking and grinding and pushing and pulling and all those other things us teens go through to have nice teeth, I finally have them. Can't say they're perfect as of yet, though, because they hurt like the devil at the moment. But in a day or two, I should be pain-free and acting in Orbit gum commercials.

Greetings and Answers

Sorry for not blogging a lot. I'm still outside with the horses about 45 minutes + daily, but there's not much to blog about. So, until things start moving again, updates will still be far and few between. Of course, it would be nice if we actually had decent weather, lol.

Also, I'd like to say Happy Holidays! I am late, yes, but better late than never! Hope everyone had a great end to 2008, and is looking foward to the future.

And I received these answers a while ago, but I kept neglecting to post them.

So, the questions I have for you are: can itching be a form of releasing adrenaline,

Yes. . .and it can be a form of displaced behavior (an expression of emotion).

or is he just suddenly realizing he's itchy because he's now calm? What do you think is going on with the halter: should I buy a new one, or is he just testing my leadership?

Yes. :)  Buy a Parelli halter b/c it is softer and therefore more comfortable when he's with you (not putting tension on it) than the stiff one you have--and it gives more of a release (back to being comfortable) when he quits putting pressure on it.  And, yes, he's testing your leadership. Put another way, he's just being an excellent horse! It's up to you to help him learn to be a partner. And you're going a good job so far. :)

Don't be afraid to go ahead and play with him more once he's on-line. Do as you did here, releasing right when he responds and give that first try. But as you progress the "first try" will be farther down the line, so to speak, so that you're not just boring him with asking for the same thing over and over. Go ahead and play all 7 games.

And lastly, what happened on line: why does he suddenly release adrenaline and what is causing it?  Also, what horsenality do you think he's being on line (and how should I react)?

He sounds RBI/LBI on-line--both, back and forth. The release of adrenaline shows he's been RBI and has changed to left-brained (meaning, he can relax). He releases adrenaline when he feels safe and feels right rather than wrong (comfort). It's a sign you're on the right track. Just wait for him to lick and chew, or at least sigh, blink, etc. Then, go on and do more.

He's "storing" adrenaline (holding tension) b/c being in the hands of a human makes him uncomfortable. Why? because he's a prey animal and you're not, and probably b/c of past experiences. Some horses are made to be introverted. From your description, he may have been. . .and will blossom as you progress with him, giving him fun, challenging things to do as well as opportunities to express his curiosity. You want him to be more extroverted, so do things which help him engage with the world: think, play, explore.

Good luck and let me know how it goes, Erica.

Nita Jo

I am very happy with her response. I didn't know itching was a form of displaced behavior, and that explains a lot, because Dancer itched a lot when she was emotional. BFO!! And I didn't know that horses release adrenaline specifically when they feel safe and comfortable.

Though, I'm getting better at recognizing when Moose goes RBI. He doesn't do it so much on line anymore, which is great! He still has his moments, especially when moving the FH, but with passive persistence all is well.

On other topics, I'm looking forward to the auditions coming out. Only a few more days and the wait is over!! It's very exciting!