First Nicker

I believe we turned a corner today.  The last couple of days I've felt stuck, stymied, and seriously plateaued in my efforts with Siesta.  Not that she'd done anything too naughty or scary lately, but it just felt like kicking things up a notch was the wrong thing to do. I've been making small progress with her.  Yesterday I could touch most of her face and halter with one hand while she munched on carrots from the other hand.  I could even touch the bottom ring of her halter, where the lead rope is supposed to be, and give it a little jiggle and tug.  But that's all she would let me do, and it felt like she was still protecting herself from me.

Today, however, was different.  Siesta nickered at me for the first time today.  She wasn't hungry, not for food, but I believe she was hungry for interaction.  What a sweet sound!  I noticed her watching me closely while I cleaned the other horses' stalls, which isn't unusual for her, but today she did it with softer eyes, as if she was wishing for me to come to her.

I didn't use any treats at all today, no carrots, no cookies, and no hay fed from my hands.  My interactions with her were focused on pressure and release, or approach and retreat, as it's also called.  While cleaning her pen, my focus was on keeping her moving on her side of the pen, while I held my feet still and quietly cleaned with efficient, deliberate movements.  Whenever she approached my space, I flapped my elbows like chicken wings and asked her to back up.  And she did!

Later, when I returned to Siesta's pen to have a training session with her, the pen was completely devoid of any food or bedding (she counts straw as food--go figure).  Before entering the pen, I held a lunge whip in front of her and asked her to "touch it".  She loves touching objects, so this was no problem.  I offered verbal praise only; no cookies today.  I entered the pen and used the lunge whip to direct Siesta into forward motion.  She responded willingly, but stopped in her favorite corner the first two times around.  With only a little encouragement, she resumed forward motion and I was able to ask her to change directions several times successfully.  Some of her turns were away from me, and some were towards me.  At no time did she buck, threaten me with her hiney and hooves, or get worked into a tizzy.  She was good.  Really, seriously good.  After just a couple of minutes I allowed Siesta to stop, and I watched her eyes soften, and she licked and chewed.  I offered verbal praise, then turned my body at an angle to hers, and invited her to join me.  And she did!

Never has it been so hard to quit on a good note.  I was overjoyed, wanting to throw my arms around her neck and cry, but I settled for blowing her a kiss, telling her thank you, and politely leaving her to herself.  I feel like I have more to build on now, and I'm guessing that one day very soon she'll be ready to be touched with a bamboo pole, and then she'll learn to enjoy being petted and scratched by hand.  From there I believe that progress will snowball, and I'll soon have a gentle mustang.  Thank you Siesta!