Miyagi is back....and oh boy....was the dust flying. Got some good behavior on video, from alpha to omega!
Showing posts with label Rescue's. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rescue's. Show all posts
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Wild Thang! video of chacote's freedoms
This is why I do what I do.....rescue those that no one can or will. To be able to set a horse free....free from hunger, free from physical pain, mental suffering, emotional anguish, and downright imprisonment. Freedom from those that neglect their needs, and then freedom from the past. Freedom from themselves. Cha'cote was a long time coming to be confident to do this.....I love the way he is walking in this video...with purpose and self confidence....WANTing to be a part of the fun, and confident enough to make his own fun. It has been 1 year and 10 mos since I rescued him, wild and terrified....begging to be set free.....and we are finally there. Enjoy with me the beauty of freedom.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Cha'cote update....tears of joy
History again, he was in a 12x24 stall for 6ys before I got him. He sat here for a year and a half, in his 30x30 corral alone. I tried for about 6mos, every weekend, putting him in with the herd during the day, to aclimate and re-naturalize him to herd life, as he was terrified of other horses and too fearful to make the journey to the water trough on his own. About 6mos after I got him, I would catch him every once in a while in the cool crisp early morning hours playing in his corral. He had just enough room to just barely get up a slow canter circle, a few bucks and kick out at his water bucket as I was filling it.
He has now been in the pasture with the herd for about 3 mos. Most of his time is spent standing in one corner of the pasture. It breaks my heart to see him like that, but I knew he would eventually come around, even if it took forever. He has only explored the upper half of the small pasture on his own, and only a handful of times been chased thru the unknown parts of down below, much to his horror.
Well this morning, around 6:30, as I laid in bed dreading getting up for work, the dogs were barking un-relentlessly. I finally got up and looked out the window to holler at them to shut it....when I saw them all facing the pasture.....hmmmm.....I looked over toward the pasture to see a most glorious sight. Cha'cote PLAYING! He was galloping the length of the upper part of the pasture, with everyone else staring at him like he was a fool. He was bucking and snaking his head and kicking up quite a bit of dust. I stood and enjoyed the sight before me for a few minutes, and then thought about catching it on camera. By the time I got dressed and to the kitchen window, he had slowed down a bit and Rose had joined in the fun. Sorry no video this time, the crummy view thru my window and screen caused poor quality after uploaded, but I knew if I went outside they would see me and stop, so I guess just I gets to relive it again and again. I am just thrilled that he finally has the room to truley enjoy his morning play urges and can BE a HORSE. Makes me wish I had a hidden camera out there for these early morning treats that obviously go on while I am still in bed!
Savvy On
Michelle
He has now been in the pasture with the herd for about 3 mos. Most of his time is spent standing in one corner of the pasture. It breaks my heart to see him like that, but I knew he would eventually come around, even if it took forever. He has only explored the upper half of the small pasture on his own, and only a handful of times been chased thru the unknown parts of down below, much to his horror.
Well this morning, around 6:30, as I laid in bed dreading getting up for work, the dogs were barking un-relentlessly. I finally got up and looked out the window to holler at them to shut it....when I saw them all facing the pasture.....hmmmm.....I looked over toward the pasture to see a most glorious sight. Cha'cote PLAYING! He was galloping the length of the upper part of the pasture, with everyone else staring at him like he was a fool. He was bucking and snaking his head and kicking up quite a bit of dust. I stood and enjoyed the sight before me for a few minutes, and then thought about catching it on camera. By the time I got dressed and to the kitchen window, he had slowed down a bit and Rose had joined in the fun. Sorry no video this time, the crummy view thru my window and screen caused poor quality after uploaded, but I knew if I went outside they would see me and stop, so I guess just I gets to relive it again and again. I am just thrilled that he finally has the room to truley enjoy his morning play urges and can BE a HORSE. Makes me wish I had a hidden camera out there for these early morning treats that obviously go on while I am still in bed!
Savvy On
Michelle
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Protecting your herd of 2...a lesson in leadership.
I set out to give ONE horse a bath, and thru a series of events, moved up a to a whole new level leadership....of course, not before screwing it up royally first.
So we got a new horse 3days ago, and Snooke passed away 2weeks ago, she was the leader of the herd. Rose has done a good job being the leader since snookie has passed, but this new horse, Syrah (my latest rescue) has caused quite a ruckus! 72hrs of an all out battle for world domination. Rose has been HIGHLY protective of Cha'cote. And at times tries to protect spirit, but has yet to master, protecting two horses at once. and spirit being the 11hh Casanova, little will stop him from wooing syrah. At this point, neither Rose nor Syrah are 'leader' of the whole herd, but Syrah (a 15.2 american cream draft horse) is alpha, but Rose is still leader of Cha'cote and Spirit. Spirit is trying to be leader of Syrah and have his own herd, and sometimes tries to keep Rose away from her. I am learning a ton about the water hole rituals and herd culture, now that there is a whole new dynamic to the herd.
there has been much discussion round the world about the difference between an alpha and a passive leader. that the dominant horse is not always the leader. that got me thinking about what IS a leader. by it's very definition, it is someone who has commanding authority or influence, therefore, you cannot 'lead' if no one follows. So being a leader is about more than domination. BUT....the definition of alpha is simply....something that is first. So I guess you CAN have an alpha who is not the leader, and you can have a leader who is also alpha. Snookie was both. Rose is not. So far, and this could change in the future. Syrah has asserted her self as someone who gets food first, and does not move when rose asks, but everyone follows Rose. No one follows Syrah
So I wanted give Cha'cote a bath. Since his reintroduction into a herd, 2 months ago, after 7ys of isolation, he gives the other horses no reason to challenge him, and runs at the very sight of them. He has not given me any trouble catching him, until last night. I walked in, and Rose was desperate for my attention. Following me around, gently asking for some love, and probably protection, as she has taken quite a beating. Ordinarily this is not an issue, but since she has been chasing Cha'cote around for 3dys, keeping him away from Syrah.....If she was part of a package deal with me.....he wanted no part of ME. I couldn't get within 20ft of him. When I finally did, before I got the halter tied, rose and syrah trapped us in the corner, he bolted away from me, and with all the feet flying around lately, my life was more important that trying to stop him from leaving. that was mistake #1 as far as cha'cote was concerned....something I would come to realize about an hour later. in the moment....i was OBLIVIOUS to domino effect this was about to create.
since i coudn't catch cha'cote, and couldn't get rid of Rose, I decided to halter rose and bathe her first. spirit left the pasture with us, and when I was done, i turned her loose with him in the yard. During the bath, syrah was noticeably upset that they left her. So after i turned rose loose, I got cha'cote, and left the gate open for syrah to come out too so she wouldn't be alone in there. Mistake #2. coming out the pasture is a 15x15ft corridor between the above ground pool and my hay shed. rounding the pool is a corridor between the pool and the back patio. between that is a tarp on the ground to walk on. the bath area is on the other side of it, and cha'cote was unsure of crossing it. we were making progress, albeit slow, when syrah comes up behind him, scaring him. I was unable to prevent this. Mistake #3. still oblivious to chain of events that were now quickly adding up. she left to find the other horses, and we continued working on the tarp. next thing I know, a thundering herd comes up behind him, again, me unable to stop it, he finally had enough of me and this crap, bolted, and I had to let him go. rose and syrah fought over him for the next 5 min, chasing him around the house, down into a ditch, cornered him in a small space(4 horses in a 10x20 dead end), and as he tried to get out, they were stepping on the lead rope, feet started flying, and alot of squeeling. he was terrified, and there was nothing i could do to help him. finally he made it out of there, and they chased him back into the pasture, i closed the gate, and then they chased him around for another 5 min before i could get them off of him AND get him to trust me enough to get close enough to grab the rope.
Now for mistke #4...my husband walks out with the carrotstick/string and proceeds to "help me" by keeping the path clear for me to get him out the gate. I go thru first, and my husband was unable to keep them away, and he bolted AGAIN. now I spend another 5 min trying to catch him....trying to also keep my husband in line, the herd in line, and somehow convince cha'cote, that he could trust me, AGAIN, to let me catch him. now the issue was soley his. not the other horses chasing him away from me. sighs....i finally got him caught, barked something at my husband, retrieved the carrot stick......had to 'handle' my husband softly because i didn't want to squash his new found horse whisperer ego, not get a rope burn or my skull crushed in. it took ALL of this for me to realize.....hello you friggin moron.....PROTECT YOUR HERD OF TWO!..........screw everyone and everything else and PROTECT YOUR HERD OF TWO!
YOURSELF!
I was so worried about everything else, I was not IN the moment or the vicinity of decent frame of mind, and missed a vital cardinal rule. they will not let you trap them (halter and rope) if you then do not respect your new responsibility of protecting them. you take away their ability to leave, so you dang well better never let them down when they need you. there is no way around the fact that he needed me, and I let him down. it wouldn't have been such a big deal with many other horses. but this one...I blew it...and I blew it big time.
I had my husband man the gate, as it is a tight mental 'squeeze' as it is for cha'cote, and with the current situation, i may as well be asking him to jump into the grand canyon. i led him around the pasture, tagging anything in my way...mainly rose and syrah. I needed to prove to cha'cote that I and I alone, am going to protect him. That he not only can trust me to protect him, but that I have good ideas too. because he was pretty convinced at this point that I had the skills for neither. I was successful, to my surprise, in keeping the herd more than 30ft away while we approached and exited the gate.....whew! it was not easy, and we had to make several attempts, with me spinning and chasing them away, but it did alot for our relationship.
never before did he really NEED me to be a leader and 'protect' him. when snookie was around, she never attacked him, nor would she let anyone else. i can't even remember the last time i had to walk into a pasture with a carrot stick, for either my protection or a horses. it just never occurred to me that I would need it. so for now, I will have to always walk in with one when i need to do something with cha'cote, even if it is to just pet him. i need to prove to him that I am a LEADER, and everyone else needs to learn that we are OFF LIMITS when i am with him. period. no if's, and's or butt's about it.
I am the leader. ME....not Rose...Not Syrah.....ME. And I think after the justice I delivered yesterday......they know it. I just need to prove it day in and day out, never letting a moment sneak up on me when I am not prepared....basically....always be prepared.
to balance it out, i will spend undemanding time, sharing territory with them, just hanging out....like a leader does when they don't have to LEAD.
Snookie never would have let this happen. So i guess I will forever be asking my self in situations....what would snookie do?
Totally forgot to mention the fairy tale ending!
When I was all done with his bath. I took him to the pasture, and took the halter off, and we walked around at liberty together, moving all the other horses in the pasture! finally he was done and left me quietly....
Rose was staring at me, begging to see me. I waved her over and she came straight away to me, and we did the same thing. except we did not push chacote around.
it meant alot to me to have this special time with each of them, and i think it meant alot to them too.
Savvy On
Michelle
So we got a new horse 3days ago, and Snooke passed away 2weeks ago, she was the leader of the herd. Rose has done a good job being the leader since snookie has passed, but this new horse, Syrah (my latest rescue) has caused quite a ruckus! 72hrs of an all out battle for world domination. Rose has been HIGHLY protective of Cha'cote. And at times tries to protect spirit, but has yet to master, protecting two horses at once. and spirit being the 11hh Casanova, little will stop him from wooing syrah. At this point, neither Rose nor Syrah are 'leader' of the whole herd, but Syrah (a 15.2 american cream draft horse) is alpha, but Rose is still leader of Cha'cote and Spirit. Spirit is trying to be leader of Syrah and have his own herd, and sometimes tries to keep Rose away from her. I am learning a ton about the water hole rituals and herd culture, now that there is a whole new dynamic to the herd.
there has been much discussion round the world about the difference between an alpha and a passive leader. that the dominant horse is not always the leader. that got me thinking about what IS a leader. by it's very definition, it is someone who has commanding authority or influence, therefore, you cannot 'lead' if no one follows. So being a leader is about more than domination. BUT....the definition of alpha is simply....something that is first. So I guess you CAN have an alpha who is not the leader, and you can have a leader who is also alpha. Snookie was both. Rose is not. So far, and this could change in the future. Syrah has asserted her self as someone who gets food first, and does not move when rose asks, but everyone follows Rose. No one follows Syrah
So I wanted give Cha'cote a bath. Since his reintroduction into a herd, 2 months ago, after 7ys of isolation, he gives the other horses no reason to challenge him, and runs at the very sight of them. He has not given me any trouble catching him, until last night. I walked in, and Rose was desperate for my attention. Following me around, gently asking for some love, and probably protection, as she has taken quite a beating. Ordinarily this is not an issue, but since she has been chasing Cha'cote around for 3dys, keeping him away from Syrah.....If she was part of a package deal with me.....he wanted no part of ME. I couldn't get within 20ft of him. When I finally did, before I got the halter tied, rose and syrah trapped us in the corner, he bolted away from me, and with all the feet flying around lately, my life was more important that trying to stop him from leaving. that was mistake #1 as far as cha'cote was concerned....something I would come to realize about an hour later. in the moment....i was OBLIVIOUS to domino effect this was about to create.
since i coudn't catch cha'cote, and couldn't get rid of Rose, I decided to halter rose and bathe her first. spirit left the pasture with us, and when I was done, i turned her loose with him in the yard. During the bath, syrah was noticeably upset that they left her. So after i turned rose loose, I got cha'cote, and left the gate open for syrah to come out too so she wouldn't be alone in there. Mistake #2. coming out the pasture is a 15x15ft corridor between the above ground pool and my hay shed. rounding the pool is a corridor between the pool and the back patio. between that is a tarp on the ground to walk on. the bath area is on the other side of it, and cha'cote was unsure of crossing it. we were making progress, albeit slow, when syrah comes up behind him, scaring him. I was unable to prevent this. Mistake #3. still oblivious to chain of events that were now quickly adding up. she left to find the other horses, and we continued working on the tarp. next thing I know, a thundering herd comes up behind him, again, me unable to stop it, he finally had enough of me and this crap, bolted, and I had to let him go. rose and syrah fought over him for the next 5 min, chasing him around the house, down into a ditch, cornered him in a small space(4 horses in a 10x20 dead end), and as he tried to get out, they were stepping on the lead rope, feet started flying, and alot of squeeling. he was terrified, and there was nothing i could do to help him. finally he made it out of there, and they chased him back into the pasture, i closed the gate, and then they chased him around for another 5 min before i could get them off of him AND get him to trust me enough to get close enough to grab the rope.
Now for mistke #4...my husband walks out with the carrotstick/string and proceeds to "help me" by keeping the path clear for me to get him out the gate. I go thru first, and my husband was unable to keep them away, and he bolted AGAIN. now I spend another 5 min trying to catch him....trying to also keep my husband in line, the herd in line, and somehow convince cha'cote, that he could trust me, AGAIN, to let me catch him. now the issue was soley his. not the other horses chasing him away from me. sighs....i finally got him caught, barked something at my husband, retrieved the carrot stick......had to 'handle' my husband softly because i didn't want to squash his new found horse whisperer ego, not get a rope burn or my skull crushed in. it took ALL of this for me to realize.....hello you friggin moron.....PROTECT YOUR HERD OF TWO!..........screw everyone and everything else and PROTECT YOUR HERD OF TWO!
YOURSELF!
I was so worried about everything else, I was not IN the moment or the vicinity of decent frame of mind, and missed a vital cardinal rule. they will not let you trap them (halter and rope) if you then do not respect your new responsibility of protecting them. you take away their ability to leave, so you dang well better never let them down when they need you. there is no way around the fact that he needed me, and I let him down. it wouldn't have been such a big deal with many other horses. but this one...I blew it...and I blew it big time.
I had my husband man the gate, as it is a tight mental 'squeeze' as it is for cha'cote, and with the current situation, i may as well be asking him to jump into the grand canyon. i led him around the pasture, tagging anything in my way...mainly rose and syrah. I needed to prove to cha'cote that I and I alone, am going to protect him. That he not only can trust me to protect him, but that I have good ideas too. because he was pretty convinced at this point that I had the skills for neither. I was successful, to my surprise, in keeping the herd more than 30ft away while we approached and exited the gate.....whew! it was not easy, and we had to make several attempts, with me spinning and chasing them away, but it did alot for our relationship.
never before did he really NEED me to be a leader and 'protect' him. when snookie was around, she never attacked him, nor would she let anyone else. i can't even remember the last time i had to walk into a pasture with a carrot stick, for either my protection or a horses. it just never occurred to me that I would need it. so for now, I will have to always walk in with one when i need to do something with cha'cote, even if it is to just pet him. i need to prove to him that I am a LEADER, and everyone else needs to learn that we are OFF LIMITS when i am with him. period. no if's, and's or butt's about it.
I am the leader. ME....not Rose...Not Syrah.....ME. And I think after the justice I delivered yesterday......they know it. I just need to prove it day in and day out, never letting a moment sneak up on me when I am not prepared....basically....always be prepared.
to balance it out, i will spend undemanding time, sharing territory with them, just hanging out....like a leader does when they don't have to LEAD.
Snookie never would have let this happen. So i guess I will forever be asking my self in situations....what would snookie do?
Totally forgot to mention the fairy tale ending!
When I was all done with his bath. I took him to the pasture, and took the halter off, and we walked around at liberty together, moving all the other horses in the pasture! finally he was done and left me quietly....
Rose was staring at me, begging to see me. I waved her over and she came straight away to me, and we did the same thing. except we did not push chacote around.
it meant alot to me to have this special time with each of them, and i think it meant alot to them too.
Savvy On
Michelle
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Good Golly.....Meet Miss Molly
My newest rescue. I got a call about a woman losing her house and only had days to find a home for her. I went out expecting to find a draft cross nag, and imagine my surprise when I see this gorgeous cream beauty. Turns out, she is a rare and endangered breed, an American Cream Draft Horse. I will take special care to not only keep her needs and well being at the fore front as I find her a new home, but also the survival of the breed. She appears to be the rare 'champagne' color, making her just that much more special to her breed, as they are all suppose to be champagne, however, due to low population numbers, they are allowing mares with the 'cream' gene and black skin to be registered along with the 'champagne' gene and pink skin mares, until the breed is stablized. Stallions must be pink skinned.
Here is some pics and video of joining the herd.
Here is some pics and video of joining the herd.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Big news on the Mustang Rescue!
Cha'cote is finally in a herd again. It has been a long 7.5ys of solitude for him. Even though he passed OLL3 in 6mos, it has taken me nearly a year and half after I got him, to rehab him back into a herd (weather played a big part) He finally gave me the green light 2 wks ago, and Sunday was sink or swim day. He dog paddled! The mares are not interested in him, but he steers clear of them anyways, and Spirit got a buddy to swish flies off his face. He has been imprisoned, having never committed any crime and Savvy gave him a pardon. While he will never run free in the wild again, at least he can begin being a horse again. Three cheers for Cha'cote!!! Hip, Hip, Horray!....
While this video is not the most ‘exciting’ thing on the planet….just think of it as the happy ending to an Animal planet Sunday Special……Local woman does good! There is some good horse/herd behavior in there to watch, and also you get to see RBI’s in action. You can also see some WHR's leading from behind! It is a good day for my new Friend…..rejoice and enjoy on his behalf…..he IS happy…..exhausted…..but happy!
Savvy On My Friends……..Savvy On!
Michelle
While this video is not the most ‘exciting’ thing on the planet….just think of it as the happy ending to an Animal planet Sunday Special……Local woman does good! There is some good horse/herd behavior in there to watch, and also you get to see RBI’s in action. You can also see some WHR's leading from behind! It is a good day for my new Friend…..rejoice and enjoy on his behalf…..he IS happy…..exhausted…..but happy!
Savvy On My Friends……..Savvy On!
Michelle
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Putting my nose back to the grindstone.......
Well, I haven't posted about my journey for a while. Things have been crazy here as usual. Just a short while after my mom got home from the hospital, on the way to the doctors for a follow up, she flipped her car a few times off the highway, landing on the roof of the car. Amazingly she is ok. I am beginning to know the hospital staff by name now, and have all dr's listed on speed dial. Next weekend I will be taking her car shopping....fun.....NOT! Don't you just love car salesman?
I audited a Mark Rashid clinic and will be writing about that soon. Just need to make sense of my notes. I made some new friends there and had a good time. I learned for what ever reason, I am intimidated by men. Not that I didn't know that already, but it kinda sealed the deal. I get all tongue tied and stupid, and walk away feeling like a foolish idiot. C'est la vie!
I also have a few dvd review's to get caught up on. I kinda got burnt out. A bit too much stimulation, information, revelations, and little motivation. I am almost done with Dorrance "greetings" and need to get started on Alexandra Kurlands clicker training and Zettle's 'east meets west' with pat and linda. I am going to be getting the clicker training ones till I have seen all 17 of them, and also Linda Tellington Jones TTeam and TTouch.
I have been dabbling in the clicker training with Cha'cote and the trailer at liberty. And also with Rose and Spirit using a target. That has been fun.....Interestingly Rose is the slowest to 'get' the target and the clicker. Spirit was lightning fast, and Cha'cote not far behind him. Rose was just too busy trying to get her nose in the treat bucket to even notice that any action or sound had any say in the 'when' she got a treat. Spirit figured it out after about 5 clicks. Cha'cote about 10 clicks. I have done clicker in the past with Snookie, so she got it real quick too.
I am also working on a two blog 'pages'. One is about 'Masters' and the other will ALL about the age old dressage quandary and controversy of....CONTACT.....will be discussing and diagramming the definition, differences and implications of:
"Forward Down and Out"
"Low Deep and Round"
"Poll as the highest Point"
"Behind the vertical"
"On the Bit"
But those are big projects so god only knows how long it will take me. The contact page is first on my hit list.
I also decided on a picadero as my choice of liberty pen for water hole rituals and liberty play. A picadero is basically a square 'round' pen. about 35-40' x 35-40. I got my ideas on how I wanted to 'build' it. Bought all the 'stuff' and then proceeded to execute my 'plan'. Let's just say.....I know nothing about cement! My plan was to use buckets, fill with cement, stick the post in it, let it set, pop it out.....lather rinse repeat 13 more times. What I learned......don't use so much water.....cement takes about 24hs to set......cement doesn't 'pop' out of buckets. So now I have two buckets with permanent cement in them, luckily I did put the post in it before it set. Now I just need 12 more buckets or to line them with plastic bags....but stir the cement in a different bucket first. That was my intention from the beginning but I used too much water and had to pour half into the other bucket, but already figured out I would not be able to stir it with a bag.....thus, two perm cement buckets. Ah well, off to the store to more buckets. And at one or two a day due to set up time, this is going to take me more than a week to have enough of them to make my pen.
Enough for now......
Savvy On
Michelle
I audited a Mark Rashid clinic and will be writing about that soon. Just need to make sense of my notes. I made some new friends there and had a good time. I learned for what ever reason, I am intimidated by men. Not that I didn't know that already, but it kinda sealed the deal. I get all tongue tied and stupid, and walk away feeling like a foolish idiot. C'est la vie!
I also have a few dvd review's to get caught up on. I kinda got burnt out. A bit too much stimulation, information, revelations, and little motivation. I am almost done with Dorrance "greetings" and need to get started on Alexandra Kurlands clicker training and Zettle's 'east meets west' with pat and linda. I am going to be getting the clicker training ones till I have seen all 17 of them, and also Linda Tellington Jones TTeam and TTouch.
I have been dabbling in the clicker training with Cha'cote and the trailer at liberty. And also with Rose and Spirit using a target. That has been fun.....Interestingly Rose is the slowest to 'get' the target and the clicker. Spirit was lightning fast, and Cha'cote not far behind him. Rose was just too busy trying to get her nose in the treat bucket to even notice that any action or sound had any say in the 'when' she got a treat. Spirit figured it out after about 5 clicks. Cha'cote about 10 clicks. I have done clicker in the past with Snookie, so she got it real quick too.
I am also working on a two blog 'pages'. One is about 'Masters' and the other will ALL about the age old dressage quandary and controversy of....CONTACT.....will be discussing and diagramming the definition, differences and implications of:
"Forward Down and Out"
"Low Deep and Round"
"Poll as the highest Point"
"Behind the vertical"
"On the Bit"
But those are big projects so god only knows how long it will take me. The contact page is first on my hit list.
I also decided on a picadero as my choice of liberty pen for water hole rituals and liberty play. A picadero is basically a square 'round' pen. about 35-40' x 35-40. I got my ideas on how I wanted to 'build' it. Bought all the 'stuff' and then proceeded to execute my 'plan'. Let's just say.....I know nothing about cement! My plan was to use buckets, fill with cement, stick the post in it, let it set, pop it out.....lather rinse repeat 13 more times. What I learned......don't use so much water.....cement takes about 24hs to set......cement doesn't 'pop' out of buckets. So now I have two buckets with permanent cement in them, luckily I did put the post in it before it set. Now I just need 12 more buckets or to line them with plastic bags....but stir the cement in a different bucket first. That was my intention from the beginning but I used too much water and had to pour half into the other bucket, but already figured out I would not be able to stir it with a bag.....thus, two perm cement buckets. Ah well, off to the store to more buckets. And at one or two a day due to set up time, this is going to take me more than a week to have enough of them to make my pen.
Enough for now......
Savvy On
Michelle
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Please watch this video, horses need you NOW.....
there is NOTHING savvy about THIS!!
I can only imagine that this could have something to do with Cha'cote's fear of the trailer.
Read more about the budget cut, click here
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Considering the Horse: #3 Unfixable Horses
Oh dear, this one educated me...BIG time. Please read the whole thing, as the end will likely educate YOU big time too. I guess with my success rescuing, rehabing and rehoming horses...via my success in the parelli program (and my previous knowlege) I just kinda assumed that all horses are 'fixable' by the right person. That somewhere in the world there would someone with the right skill and personality to match each horse and could fix it, and that too many horses never have the good fortune of meeting that person. Same theory on horses with hoof problems. So this chapter and having just seen a few of Pete Ramey's dvds.....both Mark and Pete talk about the ones they couldn't save. Both describe the account as VERY humbling. We are not gods, no farrier or clinician is a god....we cannot save them all. Some are just too far gone, and some the owner get in thier own way. But some, a small number here, but some......no one can save. He wrote some things in this chapter that literally made me cry, and all of this pain is man made.
One of the causes is severe long time abuse....some horses just can't recover no matter how good you are. you can help them, but you can't cure them. Another is undiagnosed serious physical issues, such as ulcers. But the one I had no idea about is in breeding. I knew genetically you could have some huge problems......but I never really put much thought into it. I know of MANY big time QH/Paint breeders who do what is called 'line breeding'....and have heard a few breeders state...."if the colt comes out great...I'm a genious....If it is messed up....I'm a moron".....
WTF??? What on earth could cause a person not to hear how incredibly stupid that is? Maybe they were line bred? I dunno....but the whole thing sounds REALLY stupid to me. There are so many great horses to choose from, why on earth would you choose to breed in a way that could seriously comprimise your end product? One of the great phonoms that has always plagued me, is the breeding of Impressive lines. So many horses have suffered the fate of death due to this human selfishness. It is one of the reasons I will never buy or rescue a 'grade' quarter horse. Too easy for someone to take a 'well bred' hypp positive horse to a 'sale' and not tell anyone of his breeding or his genetic problems, and just say it is 'grade'. They buyer thinks they are getting a great deal, and when they get home, the horse has a siezure....hopefully not while riding, and is ultimately put down. Pitifully sad and is a fault that only humans can claim. Selfish....and usually for the dream of some stupid ribon at some stupid show. Thank god the AQHA has finally recognised this via the genetic testing discovered, and is no longer letting them be registered. But it has not stopped people from breeding them. IF the colt turns out hypp negative...they register it.....if not....it is sold as 'grade'. I think they have now made a ruling that if one of the parents is hypp positive the foal CANNOT be registered, but dont quote me on that as I just don't follow QH news. So to sum up, line breeding is only slightly less risky than in-breeding....which I hope we all know is BAD!!!
So apparently, what can happen is that horses just don't have the genetic make up, that makes them 'normal'. They can display behavior that is highly dangerous to them selves for no apparent reasons. I have once seen a horse like this, but I don't believe it was the breeding, I believe it was from an accident that the foal suffered at one day old. The filly had run into the stall wall pretty hard head first and she was just never 'right'. She had an infection that needed 3x daily care, and it took two of us to get the job done. One to hold her, one to treat her. One day I thought she was doing well, one arm wrapped around her chest, the other around her rump. She was about 5dys old. She leaped straight up and head butted me. I saw stars and then everything went black....and then a thud as I hit the ground. When I awoke, I was certain my nose was broken, though it wasn't, and I had two black eyes. I became more than a little determined to help this filly. I spent several sessions a day with her for a month. I did TTouch massages with her and every NH technique I knew of. Every session ended very well, and every session began as though she had never seen me before. it was the saddest thing I ever saw. I was then, and still am, convinced something was not right with this filly and never would be. Not long after that I wasn't working at that farm due to getting my furrent job with the government. But I worried about her fate, and if I had to lay money on it.....I would bet she is no longer alive. She, as with all TB's, was destined for the race track, and I can't imagine her 'fitting' in very well there, and if still alive, she would be about 6ys old now. I think I will pay Donna a visit and see if she can remember this filly and knows what became of her.
Anyhoo, I need to quote something from the book because I swear it ripped my heart out. It sent chills thru my whole body. Through some of the things that have happened to me in my life, I can feel the pain of the horse in his story, and of her desperate cry for help. Basically it is about this mare who was given to him by the owner with the stipulation he would try to help her before putting her down. Her name was dusty....
"What I soon came to find out, was that Dusty had some problems that were bigger than both of us"
She was very unpredictable, some days she was great, others she would....."pull away, rearing and shaking her head violently".....after getting away, "she would spin and buck in place" and then "stop and look at me. The look of terror that was on her face slowly dissipated into one I can only call helplessness"
One day "at the end of the tantrum, she ran directly into the side of the nearby barn, scraping her head and shoulder before stopping. To this day, it's hard to explain the feeling I got when she looked at me. I swear that she was saying, "can you please help me?"......"I felt the mare was trying to tell me something"
"Less than week later, while grazing with another horse in a 5 acre pasture, the mare suddenly panicked for no apparent reason......she turned and began running as fast as she could. When she came upon a 4 strand barbed wire fence that enclosed the pasture, she never slowed a beat and hit it full speed.
By the time I got there, she was standing quietly about a quarter mile away, being tended to by susie. The injuries she sustained when she went thru the fence were so severe that there was no question that she'd have to be put down. I immediatly went to the truck and returned with my rifle. As I approached, she nickered as if to say,
"There...that's what I've been trying to tell you all along. Finally, now you understand"
One of my best friends has just such a horse. She and I have talked at great lengths over the years about him, and last year he did something like this to himself. He was retired in a 1000 acre pasture with a couple dozen other retirees, and for some reason also went thru a fence. It cost her about a few thousand dollars to save his life, but I had let her know then, horses just don't do the things he does, and maybe she should seriouisly consider puttin him out of his mental misery. He is over twenty now, and has been like this since she got him as a yearling! She has decided, if he ever again does ANY thing to himself, she will give the nod for the vet to grant is life long request. Reading this chapter confirmed to me, that we have been right all along suspecting that he just isn't 'right' and never will be. Is it fair to make a horse continue to suffer this way?
I hope all of you reading this will read the book and story in it's full and original form, as i just can't retype the whole thing for you and Mark of course tells it better than I do.
Please consider that when your horse acts out, he may not need more leadership, he may be trying to tell you something very important and as his friend you should at least try to figure out what it is.
Savvy On
Michelle
Considering the horse: Mark Rashid 2nd edition with updates.
One of the causes is severe long time abuse....some horses just can't recover no matter how good you are. you can help them, but you can't cure them. Another is undiagnosed serious physical issues, such as ulcers. But the one I had no idea about is in breeding. I knew genetically you could have some huge problems......but I never really put much thought into it. I know of MANY big time QH/Paint breeders who do what is called 'line breeding'....and have heard a few breeders state...."if the colt comes out great...I'm a genious....If it is messed up....I'm a moron".....
WTF??? What on earth could cause a person not to hear how incredibly stupid that is? Maybe they were line bred? I dunno....but the whole thing sounds REALLY stupid to me. There are so many great horses to choose from, why on earth would you choose to breed in a way that could seriously comprimise your end product? One of the great phonoms that has always plagued me, is the breeding of Impressive lines. So many horses have suffered the fate of death due to this human selfishness. It is one of the reasons I will never buy or rescue a 'grade' quarter horse. Too easy for someone to take a 'well bred' hypp positive horse to a 'sale' and not tell anyone of his breeding or his genetic problems, and just say it is 'grade'. They buyer thinks they are getting a great deal, and when they get home, the horse has a siezure....hopefully not while riding, and is ultimately put down. Pitifully sad and is a fault that only humans can claim. Selfish....and usually for the dream of some stupid ribon at some stupid show. Thank god the AQHA has finally recognised this via the genetic testing discovered, and is no longer letting them be registered. But it has not stopped people from breeding them. IF the colt turns out hypp negative...they register it.....if not....it is sold as 'grade'. I think they have now made a ruling that if one of the parents is hypp positive the foal CANNOT be registered, but dont quote me on that as I just don't follow QH news. So to sum up, line breeding is only slightly less risky than in-breeding....which I hope we all know is BAD!!!
So apparently, what can happen is that horses just don't have the genetic make up, that makes them 'normal'. They can display behavior that is highly dangerous to them selves for no apparent reasons. I have once seen a horse like this, but I don't believe it was the breeding, I believe it was from an accident that the foal suffered at one day old. The filly had run into the stall wall pretty hard head first and she was just never 'right'. She had an infection that needed 3x daily care, and it took two of us to get the job done. One to hold her, one to treat her. One day I thought she was doing well, one arm wrapped around her chest, the other around her rump. She was about 5dys old. She leaped straight up and head butted me. I saw stars and then everything went black....and then a thud as I hit the ground. When I awoke, I was certain my nose was broken, though it wasn't, and I had two black eyes. I became more than a little determined to help this filly. I spent several sessions a day with her for a month. I did TTouch massages with her and every NH technique I knew of. Every session ended very well, and every session began as though she had never seen me before. it was the saddest thing I ever saw. I was then, and still am, convinced something was not right with this filly and never would be. Not long after that I wasn't working at that farm due to getting my furrent job with the government. But I worried about her fate, and if I had to lay money on it.....I would bet she is no longer alive. She, as with all TB's, was destined for the race track, and I can't imagine her 'fitting' in very well there, and if still alive, she would be about 6ys old now. I think I will pay Donna a visit and see if she can remember this filly and knows what became of her.
Anyhoo, I need to quote something from the book because I swear it ripped my heart out. It sent chills thru my whole body. Through some of the things that have happened to me in my life, I can feel the pain of the horse in his story, and of her desperate cry for help. Basically it is about this mare who was given to him by the owner with the stipulation he would try to help her before putting her down. Her name was dusty....
"What I soon came to find out, was that Dusty had some problems that were bigger than both of us"
She was very unpredictable, some days she was great, others she would....."pull away, rearing and shaking her head violently".....after getting away, "she would spin and buck in place" and then "stop and look at me. The look of terror that was on her face slowly dissipated into one I can only call helplessness"
One day "at the end of the tantrum, she ran directly into the side of the nearby barn, scraping her head and shoulder before stopping. To this day, it's hard to explain the feeling I got when she looked at me. I swear that she was saying, "can you please help me?"......"I felt the mare was trying to tell me something"
"Less than week later, while grazing with another horse in a 5 acre pasture, the mare suddenly panicked for no apparent reason......she turned and began running as fast as she could. When she came upon a 4 strand barbed wire fence that enclosed the pasture, she never slowed a beat and hit it full speed.
By the time I got there, she was standing quietly about a quarter mile away, being tended to by susie. The injuries she sustained when she went thru the fence were so severe that there was no question that she'd have to be put down. I immediatly went to the truck and returned with my rifle. As I approached, she nickered as if to say,
"There...that's what I've been trying to tell you all along. Finally, now you understand"
One of my best friends has just such a horse. She and I have talked at great lengths over the years about him, and last year he did something like this to himself. He was retired in a 1000 acre pasture with a couple dozen other retirees, and for some reason also went thru a fence. It cost her about a few thousand dollars to save his life, but I had let her know then, horses just don't do the things he does, and maybe she should seriouisly consider puttin him out of his mental misery. He is over twenty now, and has been like this since she got him as a yearling! She has decided, if he ever again does ANY thing to himself, she will give the nod for the vet to grant is life long request. Reading this chapter confirmed to me, that we have been right all along suspecting that he just isn't 'right' and never will be. Is it fair to make a horse continue to suffer this way?
I hope all of you reading this will read the book and story in it's full and original form, as i just can't retype the whole thing for you and Mark of course tells it better than I do.
Please consider that when your horse acts out, he may not need more leadership, he may be trying to tell you something very important and as his friend you should at least try to figure out what it is.
Savvy On
Michelle
Considering the horse: Mark Rashid 2nd edition with updates.
Considering the Horse: #2 Problem Causes
This is a very important chapter as I believe it is a subject too many people forget to investigate. PAIN.....that's right.....maybe your crazy horse is in pain. There are a myriad of physical issues that will only manifest themselves into what appears to be a 'training' issue. Limping isn't the only way a horse can tell you some thing is wrong with him. Palpating his body will only yield you results for that body part and only for that moment in time. There is nothing you can on your own do, to observe or palpate......what is going on with his insides.....without a vet's asssistance. Sometimes, we subconsciously ignore the fact that we may need the vet, trimmer, dentist, chiropractor, acupuncturist, saddle fitter, etc......because our finances don't allow for it.......AND worse yet....because we think that our training method is so good, that we our selves can fix the issue. He tells some really great stories about some horses whos 'training' issues were magically fixed with one visit from health professional. Ulcers, teeth, feet and saddles, seem to round out the top of list for 'training' related physical issues. So it is a great reminder for me as someone who rescues to never forget the possibilities of physical causes FIRST.....because there is ONLY one way for our horse to tell us he is hurting.....and that is to act it out.
A great human example of acting out from pain....is when a woman is in labor. We have all seen it in the movies and tv shows.......someone says something stupid, with good intentions, to the 98lb woman trying to give birth to a 10lb watermelon, and the obcenities start flying out of her mouth.....often followed by a death grip to whom ever her fingers can latch on to......concluded with some sort of death threat. When we don't feel good we get grouchy.....why should we assume it would be any different with an animal.
The other leading cause of 'training' issues is abuse. The scars can be both mental and physical, and he gives some great examples of this too. Unfortunately, due to a current owners lack of horse handlinig knowledge, or lack of knowlege in medical investigation......they all too often blame that a horse must have been abused in it's past, and the investigation stops cold in it's tracks. They cannot see that THEY are the ones teaching a horse to behave in that way, due to ignorance of horse behavior....and assume the horse has been hit before. The other unfortunate is that often they are right....as horses are abused horribly every day. Thru cruelty and anger, frustration of a training method not working, lack of knowledge, and well meaning owners getting frustrated. We have a bad day, the horse gets the brunt of it, and we say to our selves it was wrong and we won't do it again. But why do we do it in the first place? Why do we go there? Something to think about for sure. Have you gone too far? Frustration, anger and abuse...start.....where knowlege ends. Get smart fast as your horse NEVER deserves a phase 4 because you don't know what a phase 1 is.
The good part of the chapter is that it educates you to what may be ailing your horse so that it might be corrected....the bad part is that it leads you to the next chapter......'unfixable horses'.....a stark reality.
Savvy On
Michelle
Considering the horse: Mark Rashid 2nd edition with updates.
A great human example of acting out from pain....is when a woman is in labor. We have all seen it in the movies and tv shows.......someone says something stupid, with good intentions, to the 98lb woman trying to give birth to a 10lb watermelon, and the obcenities start flying out of her mouth.....often followed by a death grip to whom ever her fingers can latch on to......concluded with some sort of death threat. When we don't feel good we get grouchy.....why should we assume it would be any different with an animal.
The other leading cause of 'training' issues is abuse. The scars can be both mental and physical, and he gives some great examples of this too. Unfortunately, due to a current owners lack of horse handlinig knowledge, or lack of knowlege in medical investigation......they all too often blame that a horse must have been abused in it's past, and the investigation stops cold in it's tracks. They cannot see that THEY are the ones teaching a horse to behave in that way, due to ignorance of horse behavior....and assume the horse has been hit before. The other unfortunate is that often they are right....as horses are abused horribly every day. Thru cruelty and anger, frustration of a training method not working, lack of knowledge, and well meaning owners getting frustrated. We have a bad day, the horse gets the brunt of it, and we say to our selves it was wrong and we won't do it again. But why do we do it in the first place? Why do we go there? Something to think about for sure. Have you gone too far? Frustration, anger and abuse...start.....where knowlege ends. Get smart fast as your horse NEVER deserves a phase 4 because you don't know what a phase 1 is.
The good part of the chapter is that it educates you to what may be ailing your horse so that it might be corrected....the bad part is that it leads you to the next chapter......'unfixable horses'.....a stark reality.
Savvy On
Michelle
Considering the horse: Mark Rashid 2nd edition with updates.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Jueli's Journey
Blast from the past....this is Jeuli.....a rescue from years ago. She is the 'bucking' horse that was chosen by Chris Cox for a bucking horse demo at the Western States Horse Expo. She is now doing 3day eventing with her new owners. I miss her and wish I could have gotten thru MY trust issues with her. Anyways...this was also my very first online video that I made. She was starved and her winter fur made it hard to see in the pics, just how skinny she really was. She turned out to be a very beautiful horse, and would have jumped the moon for me if I asked her.....she really thought I held all the stars in my heart. I miss her!
Monday, December 27, 2010
5-5-5 I am soo mad.....rescue rant!
So I would really like to take the opportunity to remind everyone that OVER feeding is just as unhealthy as UNDER feeding. If an animal is so fat it isn't functional....it is tooo FAT! They do not have the ability to go to the store buy the food and over/under feed them selves. Animals suffer the same types of disease from obesity that humans do, one of which is lethargy, which just exacerbates the problem. Proper low carb diets are in order for all animals as sugars create insulin problems in animals as well as humans. PLEASE take the time to learn how to properly feed your animal BEFORE you take it home.
Bruiser will be looking for a new home near immediately, we just could not leave him behind. Being that English Bull Dogs are generally 'special' needs, we will be screening carefully for the right home for him.
We now have 5 horses, 5 cats and 5 dogs.....where is Dr. Doolittle when you need him?
Friday, December 25, 2009
Mustang Make Over Day 7
This is day 7 of working with the Mustang. It is the first day he has ever had a halter on in 6yrs with humans and the first day anyone has been on his left side.
Ochi found her forever home...Yeah! 11-21-09
What a wonderful day for Ochi. Long for us humans though. The day started at the crack of dawn, blanketed in a thick layer of fog, as we headed to the soccer field for the season end tournament. It was COLD! Usually I am all for girl power, but the first team my son played was comprised entirely of russian robot girls. They were GOOD, dominated the field and won 2-ZIP! We rushed home to unblanket everyone, and clean Ochi up from her romp in the mud left over from yesterday's showers. She was none to thrilled at being hosed off for the second time this week. We headed out again to the soccer field, to be trompled by a lack luster team with a Brazillian Soccer Savant Ringer. He had magic shoes and the brains to back it up. He looked like someone had plucked him straight off a proffesional team to pummel a bunch of 11 year olds. Some how we mangaged to make a goal, but lost 2-1. One more game at the crack of dawn tommorow....yuk!So we rush home, to anxiously await the family who is coming to meet Ochi. They arrived and from the moment they got out of the car, it was like a fairytale. They were a wonderful animal loving family with two horse crazy girls, age 12 and 2. It was adorable to hear the little girls voice say her name. They fell in love with her instantly, and I could just feel it with all my being that they were the right home for Ochi. We made arrangements for me to take her to them next weekend. I couldn't be happier that I decided to bring home two mini's that day instead of one. It was meant to be. I will post pics after I deliver her.
Congratulations...Patti, Josh, Britain and Ysabella!
Savvy OnMichelle
Congratulations...Patti, Josh, Britain and Ysabella!
Savvy OnMichelle
Ochi Mama 11-18-09
My head is realing. Two weekends ago I posted an add for Ochi. When I got little response I thought nothing of it. The economy is in the toilet and horses are luxuries. But it dawned on me that people may think my ad is the same horse for sale by my friend. So I changed the ad to read "different mini", and also sent a shout out on my friends apparently large e-mail list. I am quite honestly overwhelmed by the response. I would have never dreamed it. So many loving arms reaching Ochi's way. We have a very nice gal coming this saturday to look at her, and at this point, she seems like a perfect home. I of course have my fingers crossed that the meeting goes well, everyone falls in love, the clouds part and angels sing from the sky. If not, I have a hefty list of emails to respond to. I feel so bad, turning people away at this point as nothing is a done deal, but I also don't want to make appointments, have people plan thier weekend, and then cancel on them either. So if you are reading this before saturday and are interested, feel free to still email me so I can keep you updated. If it doesn't work out on saturday, I will have to figure out a way to be fair but keep Ochi's needs at the forefront of my thought process. Thank You to all who have or will inquire about Ochi....and we will keep in touch.
Miyagi's breakthrough 11-14-09
If you aren't moving forward, your moving backwards....so they say. A bit of a cheat here, but L3 online is supposed to be done with the 45' line, but you can audition with the 22' line. My yard really is not big enough to warrant using my 45' line, so I decided to move Miyagi on to L3/4 patterns. When we played the other day, I tried using nickermaker's cookies and she turned her nose up. I remembered that she seemed to like the peppermint cookies, so I brought those, my 22' and Drving lines. I figured I am just gonna play and see what happens. The objective was to start really working on transitions while circling, weave, lead by the tail and friendly game/passenger lesson with driving lines. Let me say...hmmm how interesting. She picked up the weave at a walk quite easily. It took us a few minutes to get our bearings with the driving lines, but for a horse who would not let me past her withers 5 weeks ago, I think it was just the right medicine. She was leary at first, and having a little trouble understanding how to "go", but once we got going it seemed to really make her more comfortable having me back there at all. Being able to move, and just being gently guided so we could steer around the yard ornaments, and realizing that nothing bad happened and i was my usual "friendly leader" self, she settled into it nicely, and has a nice rein back on her. We both have room to grow in the not letting the ropes get under those feet, as I have never "driven" before this year. And I only played with it a few times with Rose before the mini's came. Deffinately a learning curve there, no matter how big or small the horse. We then played with leading by the tail, and man did those cookies work wonders. She finished off the bag and I will have to get more before we play again. When we were done, she was taking two steps back from the tail. We met our objective minus transitions. And with that i felt we had crammed as much learning into once session that we could without me getting too direct minded. So the really interesting part is how curious she has been with me since then. She is actually coming to see ME. Leaving food to come see ME. Sniffing ME, saying hi, and just hangin' round ME. The expression on her face is much sweeter and less grumpy looking. On a high, this little lady has weasled her way into my heart. I don't know how, but she did....must be the extrovert in her. I tend to be drawn to them. HMMMM How interesting!Savvy OnMichelle
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
L2 on line taped with Miyagi...say what?
After we delivered Ochi's sister Onyx to her new forever owners, Kandi came over with Babe to play with us and we had a good time. With Kandi's help I finally taped my L2 online again, and this time it was with Miyagi. The one I taped with Rose, I just was not dressed appropriately for a world wide access debut on youtube. Regardless, I could not be more pleased with her progress. I have only had her for 5 weeks and she was essentially a wild RBE when I got her. Remembering back to day two...bath day....when she darn near pulled my arm out of the socket. I thought she and Ochi had done serious damage to my surgery site. But it was just real sore for a couple of weeks. WHEW!So in our audition, in addition to the compulsories:Trot fig 8, trot-stop-back up, massage front legs, friendly with stick and string, put front legs on pedestal.We: lead by the front leg, side passed over a pole, figure 8 over a pole, solved the "squeezed thru cones with a ball" puzzle, pushed the ball around, friendly game with the ball.Had I known that we were still under 8 minutes, I would have shown more of her 7 games, like yo-yo driving and porcupine. But if I should not pass for some reason, I will remember to add them. Not too bad for a couple of old ladies, I say.The only pattern that needs more work is the weave at a trot and the circling game at speed. She also needs more trust to trot behind me. She tends to drift out a little, but we make strides during each play session. She still gets a little right brained at this point with distance and speed and I cannot fault her for that. Nor will I push her thru this. On each of the patterns I play with each day, if she is ready for a higher degree of difficulty then we do it, but I don't push her in another as they are not transferable. Her overall progress alone is outstanding and she deserves a big 5 star hug for the level of trust she is giving me thus far. She is getting a little "trick" IE, in the sense that she assuming I want something and starting to offer before I ask. Also not a bad thing especially at this stage. So now it is time to start asking her to listen more and wait for instructions without making her feel wrong for what she is offering. She gets upset really easily if I ask her to stop doing what she THINKS I want, so this will be a great test of my savvy.I am sure some people will wonder why I would choose such a green horse to tape something that comes so easily to another of my horses. And the answer is this....my return to a life with horses after my absence has been hard on me mentally and Rose feels it. She gets bored easily, and I feel I am torturing her during this process of fighting my own demons. Not fair to her. I get very nervous when "performing" be it something as big as a show or as small as a private video taping. So add to that, my fear of not living up to my own expectations with Rose, and my emotional fitness goes to hell in a hand basket like a rocket to the moon. Long story short, I feel no expectations with Miyagi for the auditions and thus I can relax because I am just so proud of not only her progress, but my own as well. I can be proud of my knowledge and ability to help horses transform from fear full to trusting, from uneducated prey animal to a willing partner.
To see the video click link below
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7k0SM9N2_g
Savvy On
Michelle
To see the video click link below
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7k0SM9N2_g
Savvy On
Michelle
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Houdini Who!
Well we have been having a blast with these little ladies. After a week in the pony palace, Ochi decided she wanted to be with the big horses and kept escaping! I came out one morning and she was gone. I look over and see Snookie, Rose and Spirit in a huddle, staring toward the corner. They couldn't decide if she was boogie mans minion or a very ugly dog, and were all frozen with fear. I put her back and a few hours later she was out again. I put the big horses in the front and turned Miyagi out there too for the day and put them back that night. Come out the next morning to find Miyagi alone again and Ochi standing under Rose's nose. I gave up putting her back and tore the whole thing down. Of course Spirit and Miyagi went at like old rivals fighting over some unclaimed country. Over the next week, there were some skirmishes at feeding time, but over all things were going well. Then last weekend some one kicked the crud out of Snookie and cut 3 of her legs. Poor old lady. I ran out of bandages quickly. She is OK but still healing. I noticed that both Miyagi's and Ochi's back toes were quite sharp. oh dear! I wasn't quite ready to deal with hoof trimming these ladies. Miyagi first. With the help of Kandi holding the lead, I was actually able to use the grinder on Miyagi. Whew...that's a long way down to the ground, and the grinder sure makes fast work of a hard job. Ochi on the other hand has demonstrated that she is truly an LBI except with those feet. Man alive can she kick. It was lightning fast. definitely an RBI response. With alot of savvy approach and retreat, I was able to file them the old fashioned way. Oddly she had no problem with me holding her leg with a rope, but if I put my hand down there.....SHAZAM! It took a little while, but eventually she was confident enough to let me do my job. We also had a terrible storm a few weeks ago. I got them each a blanket. I started with Ochi as her blanket required a bit of adjustment. When I put her back in, I wish I had a video cam with me. Miyagi freaked out at the sight of her. She ran around like an idiot, snorting and tail high. Ochi quickly discovered that she could now chase her cranky grandmother around and proceeded to do it for a full 2 minutes. Then she rolled 20 or so times to try to rid herself of the beast. I took Miyagi out to put hers on, and she was not so agreeable. She decided there was no way in hell I was getting the thing that ate Ochi anywhere near her. But alas, she was no match for my savvy, and went back in prepared for the storm. They were just adorable in their little blankies!I know that I just don't have the time everyone needs to keep them both, and since Ochi is younger, cuter, and more easy going...I have decided it will be easier to re-home her instead of Miyagi. She is as sweet as they come and reminds me alot of Tiger Lily. She has no fear of the biggies, and has even been shown to pin an ear or two at them, though she moves quickly out of their way.I have been working with Miyagi and come to the conclusion, after alot of head scratching that she is an RBE/LBE, albeit a calm one. I can at least catch her now with out alot of effort on my part. Definitely have to use the catching game strategy though. She is a smart cookie! You can read about her on-line progress in the On-Line category of the blog as it applies to my L2 audition.
Savvy On
Michelle
Savvy On
Michelle
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Miyagi and the 7 games
I am definitely pleased with her progress. When I first got her, I couldn't even walk farther back than her withers, now I am using a power grinder on her back feet, so I would say we are nailing the friendly game. I have discovered that she is an LBE/RBE and that has helped with our progress immensely. I first took her to a local barn to play with a friend on the extreme cowboy obstacles. We started in the arena where I began to teach her the 7 games. Yo-yo she picked up amazingly fast, driving and porcupine frond and back end went very well too. Side ways was a dream, but she had trouble with the send and allow of the circle game. She started to get it to the left, but flat out refused to go to the right. I just let it be what it be, as she was doing quite well for her first day of play. We went in the round pen for a liberty catching session as she is the queen of not being caught. She was more tired than me in the end, so that was good, since she was catching me! Then we went out on the obstacles and I couldn't have been more pleased. Technically the only games we played were friendly, send and squeeze, and put your nose on it. All I figured would help to get her back in the trailer which she has boycotted as a mode of transportation. She went thru a car wash made of pvc pipes, fallen limb trash pile, up and down moguls and 2.5 ft high steps, thru a 5ft deep trench, over telephone poles, on a teeter-totter bridge, a tractor tire pedestal....Surely she will get in the trailer...........NOT! So as I remind myself that it is not about the trailer....even though it is the only way get her back home. Some people came to give me a hand with encouraging her, and just putting her feet in one at a time. I didn't want to make a big deal out of it as the day went so well. I have all the time in the world to take the time it takes at home. Loaded up, we went home feeling like we conquered the world. We spent the next week playing with the seven games some more and playing friendly with the trailer.
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