Last night I walked out in to the pasture to bring in the herd. My horses live in a dry lot. They have a green pasture and get to go out to play for about 3 hours. They eat, roll, and otherwise have a heck of a lot of fun. Then I bring them back into the dry lot, well after today rather a mud lot. Preserving the grass is my goal every year. The horses know the drill. Friskily they run a little here and they and head for home where hay awaits them.Last night I went out to bring them in. They were not out for as long as I have been venturing all over Wisconsin to repopulate my poultry population that has taken a toll due to a resident fox. They were out for a bit though. I quietly walk out and watched them greedily gobble up a little more grass, effectively ignoring me. Rather rare really. Especially the minis like to schmooze.
Then I caught Kinsey's eye. She started to walk toward me as I stood still as an old oak tree. Steadily she closed the distance between us. My heart started to rise in my chest. Was she really going to come up to me? Two lengths away she started to veer to the left. No! My heart called to her. "Come here Kinsey," I said aloud, "Come 'ere.
Her eye gave off a little spark, never departing from mine. Her path may have faltered a bit, but then she set her course back toward me. TO ME! She walked up, the last steps only a little timidly. She put her nose out so I could pet her. She did! I rubbed her face a few times. She bravely stood there and then her nature over came her and she trotted off.
But she came up to me! I did not step to her at all, she came to me. For any of my other equine friends this is just second nature, but for Kinsey it was a real milestone!
That is awesome!
ReplyDeleteI am training a little chestnut mare that has taken me back to basics with understanding horses. She is the only horse I have ever felt scared of, and after weeks and weeks of patience on my end, we are getting somewhere. There is nothing more splendid than when I grab her from the field (after a bit of chase) clip the lead rope on her and after a few steps she lets out a heavy sigh (relaxation!). It seems like a tiny thing, but it's huge for us.
ReplyDeleteThat's wonderful. I'm so glad she came to you freely. It's a great start in what I'm sure will be a long loving relationship with Kinsey. Mares are much harder (in my opinion) to give their trust than the geldings are. I actually know how you feel because Fri. Dusty made me go to her to bring her in, but Sat. she walked right up to me to be led in. She's never predictable.
ReplyDeleteSounds like Kinsey is warming up to you! Mares can take a while (at least I have found). Good news for you! :)
ReplyDeleteThat's just so beautiful! I bet your heart was flying on wings!
ReplyDeleteI totally understand, because it took a year for my previous horse Baby Doll to trust me enough to walk up to me. And in the very end I would put her out on a 200 acre leased pasture with 5 other horse and when I would go out and call her name.....she would come galloping to me from wherever she was, usually with the whole herd running after her.
I actually took video of her doing that once time and now I'm so glad I did.
I think I took that for granted because now I'm starting all over with my new horse Apache. She only comes when I call her if she sees I have treats...and not even then sometimes.
But she has changed in that catching her is easier now and she doesn't run away when she sees me coming, so I guess we are making progress.
My neighbor recently asked me if I wanted to go in together and lease that land again for our horses, but I'm not so sure it would be a great idea because Apache and I just aren't at the same place as Baby Doll and I were last year. On 200 hundred acres I'd be afraid that I might not be able to catch her at all.
I hope one day I'll have an even better relationship (on the ground and in the saddle) with my mare Apache. It just takes time, right?
I'm so happy for you that you and Kinsey are reaching that point together.
~Lisa
That is fantastic!!!!!
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