No More Baby Steps

Capri made huge progress this week, and has, I believe, turned the corner and become a happy, relaxed, willing, and eager partner on the journey towards becoming a gentle, civilized horse.  Just the other day, I led a reluctant Capri out of her pen and into the arena.  It took me at least five minutes to convince her that it was a good idea to go exploring and get some exercise, which gave me plenty of time to snap some cute photos.

 

Once she decided to leave the security of her pen, she relaxed and let me lead her around the arena in both directions, sniffing at everything along the way, and taking in the new and exciting view.  There was no snorting, no prancing, and no spooking at all, just relaxed forward motion, perky ears, and bright eyes.

 I really wanted to see her move, so I removed the rope and let her do what she wanted.  Well, all she wanted was to walk around slowly and continue with her investigation of her new surroundings.

The next day, I let Capri out to play, and play she did.  I didn't have my camera with me, but I had a great time watching her move.  She has a very fancy trot, a huge canter, and a blazing-fast, tail-in-the-air gallop.  We have barrels set up at the end of the arena opposite Capri's pen.  As I watched from the barn, Capri would gallop out of her pen, turn around a barrel, then high-tail it back to her pen, as if she had a 12-year-old kid on her back and they were aiming for a blue ribbon at the local gymkhana show.  It was the cutest thing I've ever seen!  After three or four rounds, she was all tuckered out and stayed in her pen to take a nap.  Barrel racing isn't my thing, but perhaps it's Capri's!

Today was fun and exciting, too, but in a different way.  Capri spent the day turned out in the arena, and when I was done with my barn chores this evening I went in to play with her.  She let me walk right up to her and snap the rope on with no bribe, which was a first.  I rewarded her with lots of scratching, petting and praise.  When she spotted the carrot in my pocket, I rewarded her with that as well.  I reached for the rope halter and slipped it on over her web halter, which is something she learned for the first time yesterday.  I brushed her left side, then moved to the right side, which she has been protecting from me.  She let me pet her all the way to her flank, so I picked up a soft brush and she let me brush her entire right side, including her belly, butt, and legs.  She received lots more praise for this, and she looked just as happy as I felt.  I returned to her left side and went to work on her tail, which is almost tangle-free now.

Capri has been getting used to the rope being on her body and legs this week, but tonight she was really relaxed about it, so I did some heavier desensitizing with it.  I rubbed the rope all over her, let it dangle on her other side, and dropped it in front of her several times.  None of that fazed her, so I used the rope to pick each of her front feet up, and took a little "walk" using the rope on one pastern to gently lift and direct that foot forward, while leading her and asking for normal steps with the other foot.  It's a great way to teach the horse to give me the foot, because they learn that as soon as they give it to me and do with it what I want, they get it back.

Capri is making everything seem easy.  Her disposition is so nice and mellow, and she is so gorgeous and lovable, that working and playing with her is not only rewarding, but relaxing.  I'm having a great time, and I think Capri is too.

Getting Groomed

Working Capri with my own 15 foot rope is so much more productive than using the 8 foot drag rope that she came with.  My rope is obviously much longer, which gives me and Capri more confidence.  We can get close to each other or farther away, and she is able to move freely on a longer rope.  My rope is soft in my hand, and it is clean because it hasn't been dragged through the pee and poo for a couple of weeks the way her drag rope was.

Because of the confidence inspired by the longer rope, and Capri's new love of carrots and peppermint treats, I was able to groom her yesterday.  I started by scratching her neck more vigorously than I had before, which she really enjoyed, then I picked up the extra-soft finishing brush and groomed her entire left side with it, including her face, belly, butt, and lower legs.  She is squeamish about me being on her right side, so I just brushed what I could reach of it while standing on her left.  Capri was trying hard to relax, but needed the reassurance of familiar petting and scratching every few minutes, then I could go back to brushing.  When her body was clean and shiny, I went to work on her mane using a large, round mane and tail brush.  She had one extra-large witch's knot half-way down her mane where her itchy spot is.  I've observed her scratching that spot with her rear hoof, which was the cause of the snarl.  Multiple ropes of hair combined to make this huge beast of a knot, and I couldn't quite work it out on my own, so I sprayed Laser Sheen all over, under, and through it.  She was fine with that, so I sprayed the rest of her mane, too.  By this time she was enjoying herself and really seemed grateful for all of the attention.  What pretty girl wouldn't?  With the Laser Sheen loosening up the snarls, I was able to work everything out with my fingers.  As I did, I noticed that the hairs on the very inside of the snarl were a strange gray color, which turned out to be dust, or possibly sand, from the wilds of Oregon.  When I undid the last of the tangles, the hair released this dust in a small puff.  At the same time, Capri released a heavy sigh, as if she was letting go of her old wild self and letting her new, domestic self take over.   I brushed her forelock, too, and removed a snarl there that had been driving me nuts.  Her tail is horribly tangled, really a solid mass, so I am saving that project for a day in the near future.

Horses who have been putting up with me for a while know that I insist on them letting me give them hugs and kisses.  My own gelding, Louie, raises his face to mine automatically every night after I give him his grain so that I can give him a smooch on the soft place between his muzzle and his cheek.  River is learning, too.  But Capri knew nothing of hugs and kisses until last night.  Once she was groomed, and we'd played with the rope a bit, learning to lead, back up and return, and yield the hindquarters in both directions, I was so pleased with her that I just couldn't help myself.  I had to give that precious horse a hug and a kiss.  And you know what?  She let me!  A gentle squeeze around her neck, then two little kisses on her closed eyelid, to seal our new partnership.  Such a sweetie-pie, and so incredibly beautiful, is Capri.

Rope Trick

Old Rope

No Rope

New Rope!

She Likes Carrots!

I've been putting chunks of carrots in Capri's hay, hoping that she would develop a taste for them.  At first she avoided them, but eventually she began to nibble on them.  Today she ate four large pieces that I left on her afternoon flake.  This pleased me, so I offered her pieces from my hand.  Apparently that pleased her, because she gobbled up a whole bunch and asked for more!  I played with her halter and rope while she munched on her carrots, and she looked very happy and relaxed.  Later, she let me pet her muzzle for several seconds, with the only reward being the petting itself and sweet talk from me.  We're definitely turning that corner!

She Likes Me!

Capri welcomed me with a nicker today.  She saw me walk through the barn, and as I was heading toward the arena she made the happy sound that we all know means, "Hi, how ya doin', and would you mind throwing me some hay, please."  Yes, it was snack time, but today marked the 18th afternoon snack time, and the nicker was a first.  The nicker alone would've satisfied me, but Capri had more to give.  I carried her hay into her pen and set it down, then offered her a handful while scratching her neck.  I've been wanting her to relax enough to let me continue to scratch her neck while she eats freely from the pile, and today that is exactly what she did.  I've also been wanting her to let me get both of my hands on her at once, and she did that too.  But you know what I've really been wanting to do?  I've really been wanting to untie the string around her neck and remove her number tag.  And guess what?  She let me do that too!  Thanks Capri!

Measureable Progress

I've been waiting to turn that first corner with Capri; the one where she lets her guard down and opens up to me more.  I think tonight we got at least half-way around that corner, and the view from here is looking pretty good.  She round-penned really well tonight, both at liberty and with the rope.  She stepped out nicely, changed directions smoothly, and faced up to me readily.  She took steps towards me and touched my out-stretched hand with her nose.  The best part was that she seemed to be smiling the whole time.  Her mouth was relaxed, her eyes were soft and bright, and her body was fluid.  I like that so much better than the defensive, defeated, and depressed posture that an unhappy horse has.  She let me scratch all the way down her neck, too, while eating hay from my other hand.  For now, the hay is a reward for letting me pet her, but soon she'll decide that the petting and scratching is reward enough in itself.  That's when I'll know that I've really turned the corner.

Horrible Humans

Wild mustang that she is, Capri is naturally suspicious of me.  She takes it a step further, though, and expresses great horror when things happen between the two of us for the first time.  The first time I touched her neck while scratching her back with a lunge whip was horrible.  The first time she accidentally touched my hand with her lips while taking a bouquet of alfalfa from me was horrible.  When I picked up her rope and practiced pressure and release with her?  That wasn't so bad.  But when she saw me saddle River and climb on her back and ride her around the arena in front of her?  That was horrible, horrible, HORRIBLE!  Luckily, Capri is able to overcome her horror when these scary things happen for the second or third time.  She is actually coming along nicely, with new accomplishments every day.  Her wild days are numbered...

Happy Independence Day!

 Thank you, soldiers, both human and animal, who fought and died for our liberty.  Let freedom ring!

Capri's Arrival

Well, it's true, Capri is even more beautiful in person than she is in her photos.  When I first spotted her standing in a pen waiting her turn to load up and go home, I didn't realize that I was looking at my new horse.  She stood there so calmly, that I didn't even realize she was a wild mustang!

She is tall, with a long and lean build, and she looks like she could really gobble up the trails.  Her conformation and color remind me of a Tennessee Walking Horse.  She has flashy movement, with lots of hock and knee action, and should be really amazing in the arena too.  Her color is a dark liver chestnut, just like a Hershey bar.  She has a large, well-placed star, one hair whorl (that's good, it generally denotes an even temperament) and three white socks with the cutest brown freckles in them.  Thanks to the dark skin under the freckles, all four hooves are black.

Loading Capri in the trailer to come home took all of 57 seconds.  Not bad, huh?  The best part was that she didn't show any signs of aggression or defensiveness at all.  No kick, no buck, no ear-pinning.  She had already had a long day on the road and didn't really want to go for another ride, but with some encouragement she hopped in and rode quietly home.  She needed more encouragement to unload into her new pen, but once out was very calm and quiet.

I let Capri settle in for almost a whole day before working with her.  I really couldn't wait any longer to get in the pen and see what she could give me.  She gave quite a lot, actually.  I slapped my 15 foot rope against my thigh and got her moving in circles around me, first one direction and then the other.  She stepped on her rope and got herself stuck a lot, but with more encouragement she figured out how to get moving again.  That went well, so I picked up a long PVC pipe and set it gently on her withers.  She only shied a little bit, so I rubbed it back and forth, up and down, and she seemed to enjoy it.  I traced her butt and lower legs, then back up to her withers and along her neck.  She moved off in a circle around me and became animated, but not panicked.  I kept the pole on her withers until she stopped, and then I began scratching her with it again.  We did this routine for five minutes, and when she was looking at me happily I quit.

Next time, I'd really like to pick up that rope and see what happens...