Three Wishes

Some of the best advice I've had regarding gentling mustangs is to not "want it" so bad.  Don't want the first touch, don't want the horse to approach me, don't want it to call out to me.  It's good advice because it helps put me in the mind-frame of just waiting, being patient, and letting the horse decide when she's ready for more interaction with me. 

After six months of pretending I didn't want it, I finally said, out loud, that I wished Belle would get vocal with me, and I wished she would touch me, and I wished she would eat from my hand.  Well, I didn't rub a lamp, and I didn't see a genie, but somebody was listening because the very next day when I arrived at the barn Belle called out to me with a lovely, low nicker that clearly meant, "Nice to see you today, may I have some hay, please?"  She has nice manners, doesn't she?  Not all horses are so polite, you know.  I'm nice too, so I loaded my arms with a big flake of soft grass hay and held it through the fence to her.  Did I really expect her to walk right up to me and eat from my hands?  Honestly?  No, not really, but I figured maybe I was on a roll and I had nothing to lose.  I figured right!  Belle really did walk up to the fence and take three big mouthfuls from the flake I offered to her. 

It's been five days since the first time Belle ate hay from my hands, and we've been perfecting our routine since then.  Today was her best day yet.  This morning she ate hay from the flake in my hands, but this evening she was happy to accept a tiny handful of hay.  I started picking long, fragrant, fresh green grass for her, and she would accept just a stem or two at a time from my hand.  When she nibbled at the stems, she touched my hand with her warm, soft lips, which was a first.  The funny part was, she acted like it was no big deal, but it was, and I loved seeing her act so casual about it.

Belle has an established fondness for carrots.  Typically, I toss pieces on the ground for her, and she has fun picking them up.  A few months ago, I started using the word "cookie" whenever I offered her a piece, and as she was chewing it I would repeat the word several times in a sing-song voice.  Today I offered Belle a whole, large carrot from my hand.  She never tried to take it from me, but as soon as she looked at it I dropped a small piece of another carrot on the floor and said the word "cookie".  Pretty soon she was touching the carrot to earn the reward.  After a few minutes, she was touching my hand, deliberately, to earn the reward.  It is the same as clicker training, except that I use the word "cookie" spoken in a unique way in place of an actual clicker.  Clicker training involves the use of a target and a reward to establish a desired behavior.  In this instance, the whole carrot was the target, the small piece of carrot was the reward, and touching my hand was the desired behavior.

Belle's progress this evening was amazing.  After the carrot session, she acted like she couldn't get enough of me, and followed me everywhere.  If I was outside of the paddocks or the arena, she stuck her head over the top rail and kept a close eye on me.  She's never, ever, done that before.  It's a funny coincidence, but just the other day I was remembering how Siesta and Capri used to do that and I wondered if Belle ever would.  I guess I have my answer!  I rewarded her with lots of verbal praise and more handfuls of fresh grass. 

I'm still going to play it cool and not pressure Belle too much, but if Belle is as hooked on me as I am on her, I think we can expect a lot more progress in the next week.  Working with a responsive animal is so much fun, it is difficult to not get too excited, or to want it too much, but it's easy to think of more things I would like from Belle, so maybe I'll just make some more wishes.