Transcription
Okay, spring is officially here. Most of our bad weather is behind us. I had a bit of a cold; I'm getting over that. Um, just over two weeks in with Freya. She is tolerating some touch. I'm going to go over what I did the other day, and I think I can, um, be a little more clear on it.
Um, I like using these; they call them a lunge whip. I really don't use it ever as a whip; it's more of an extension of my arm, of my body. Um, gaining those first touches on a horse, a lot of times that helps if you can get a rope over their back. Now, she's already gone through this though, but she's still a little, little nervous. Stand there, let the rope be on her back for a little bit, and then just drop off. Not planning on lingering or camping or any of that stuff, right? [Music] Again and off. The goal is to end up with the stick actually rubbing her a little bit, rub on that, so it's safe for her, safe for me, and be done. Walk away a little bit, stand here and relax, let her think on it. She's blinking; I'm thinking…
Some people would call this desensitizing or, um, sacking out. No sack, but kind of same principle. But it's not really so much that as it is her getting used to being touched by something other than another horse. It's more acclimation; it's one of my favorite words—acclimate to things, grow into things. Come over on her other side, and she's like, "Nope." She does prefer me on her left side. There are quite a few Mustangs will actually prefer you on the right side, and I'm not sure if it's because they're freeze-branded on the left, they're given their, um, vaccinations on the left, so sometimes they prefer that right side just 'cause it hasn't really been messed with. But she's right side or no, left side preference. Hi.
So the idea is to rub the stick to the point that I'm touching her with my hand. So this is actually a really quick overview because we've done this a couple of times before; I just didn't get it on video. I'm going to curl this up, and you may end up spending multiple 20-minute sessions with your horse getting to that point. You really don't want to have a rodeo. If they start walking off, let them walk off; they're not going anywhere; they don't need the extra stress. Take a couple of minutes to breathe and relax, come back and do it again. And she's at the point she's okay with me here at her shoulder, touching her shoulder. I did find a real good feel-good spot, and once you find a feel-good, that's kind of where I like to go to begin a session. Not linger, let her enjoy it a little bit, walk away, soak on it a little bit. I'll go back. She's less comfortable with me up in front of her shoulder, so she's a bit protective over her head and her neck. She's really good on her back, further back, so I do want to get some feel-good spots back here, make her a lot safer, and I'll walk away. Might come and sit, just, uh, relax a little bit, see what she does. That definitely is her favorite spot. She does like looking out towards where the other horses and burrows are.
I have been rotating three different horses in here at night, depending on who volunteers; it's been either Toot, or Rich, or Scarlet. So she is getting, um, horse interaction from about 6:00 p.m. until about 10:00 a.m. So she's sharing dinner and breakfast. You're all right. Just give me another, another mare that prefers the booty rub over anything else. Fortunately, her tag is pretty loose, so I'm not too concerned about removing it. Might take another day or two for her to trust me up around her head like that. She does look over at me, then back out at the horses. Now she's like an inch; so she's processing the touch and the scratches and what feels good and what might be a little concerning for her. Then when I walk up, I walk towards her, not straight at her. Walk straight at her, and I'm giving her a signal to move away. I'm actually wanting to just be side by side with her. Well, just stand by each other; don't always have to touch her, just being next to her, sharing that calm energy. Yeah, I'm in a position where she can move away at any time she wants. I'm kind of squeezed in here; my option if something were to go wrong would be to go up, climb that ladder real quick. Might be blocking the cameras. I'm trying to find a spot that feels good in front of her shoulder. Always return back to this feel-good spot behind her withers, behind her shoulder blade. Thank you. What's going on with her right now is more important than me touching her. She's licking and chewing, processing, getting a feel for things. All right, it's definitely more sensitive to touch on the front of her shoulder blade and on her neck. Can do this one more and call it a passion. That's quite a bit over; may have to use the stick and the string up around her neck, some, just get her used to touch. Try that next time. We'll just finish where she likes being scratched on her booty. All right, thank you for coming back and spitting for a minute, and she's relaxed. Hi, sweetheart. All right.