Kinsey is doing very well here. I knew that she would. I have been working with her daily, although my idea of working with her is letting her settle in as I work around her and let her get used to everything.
I don't believe in doing much with a horse when they first get to a new place and a new owner. I'm not in a hurry. Especially a horse like Kinsey. She is so shy of new people that she really just needs to learn that I am not going to hurt her. I can now stand next to her while she eats, I can't touch her yet, but standing is good. She actually threw her head over the fence and nickered for food this morning. The biggest improvement: She will walk up to the fence and let me touch her nose and muzzle. She was backing way up before and would not even let me touch her.
Now for another horse these things would be no big deal but they are a big deal for Kinsey. I need to respect her needs. I am hoping that as I gain her trust, she gains mine and when it come time to send her to R. for some evaluations she will be in a much better place and so will I.
I have a feeling that Kinsey was with one owner for a long time, she is tenish now. Then for whatever reason she was sold to a woman who wanted a calm trail horse. She fell off and then used Kinsey for a brood mare for a year. I am thinking she may have had her for 2 or 3 years. She sold Kinsey to the people I got her from. There two young girls were riding double bare back and fell off. She was not as calm as they wanted so Kinsey was up for sale again. They had her less than a year. I get the feeling from Kinsey that she is one of those horses that really needs to bond with her owner.
Poor Kinsey!! She just needs some stability. I'm glad she's settling in. I'm sure she'll do fantastic with individualized attention.
ReplyDeleteFrom what you are saying about Kinsey I think you would really benefit from having a copy of Basic Training for a Safe Trail Horse with the subtitle of Eliminating the Fear Factors. It is a small paperback narrative about how a horse at age 12 began an ongoing process of learning new ways to relate to his new owner. This little book shows how to relate to a horse as his alpha-mare herd member, which then allows you to give your horse clear communication that he can understand. It shows how with patience to be consistent, insistent, and persistent you can then teach your horse how to confront fears. In doing so your own fears are reduced. The methods described to teach a horse are simple, direct, concise and logical and do not rely upon traditional fear factors to intimidate or hurt a horse. This information is available on Amazon.com or from the author at safetrailhorse@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteHer story is kind of sad :( She needs a forever home. She's lucky you found her since you have the patient understanding she seems to need.
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