Belle's Gold Medal

Wild mustangs fresh from the BLM corrals almost always wear a tag printed with their personal identification number on a length of stiff, waxy string around their throat latch.  In Oregon, the BLM uses red string for the mares and fillies, and a bluish colored string for colts, stallions, and geldings.  The tag is made of sturdy yellow plastic, and is kind of a triangular shape with rounded corners.  The string is woven through and tied to a small, V-shaped piece of aluminum that has three holes on each end.  I imagine that putting the string around the neck of a nervous, unhandled mustang in a stock is no easy task, and I admire the wranglers who have the skill and patience necessary to accomplish it.  Taking the string and tag off of the mustang is a bit tricky as well, and is considered by most folks to be a momentous occasion, on par with cutting the umbilical cord.  With the tag on, the horse is a wild mustang referred to by its number.  With the tag off, the horse is on its way to being domestic, and is trusting enough to let a human put her hands by its throat and undo the tricky little knot there.  Once in my hand, the humble piece of yellow plastic feels like an Olympic gold medal.

Typically, a trainer or adopter can plan on getting the number tag off the new mustang within two weeks or so.  Typically.  Is Belle typical?  Nope.  I've had Belle for exactly ten months today, and today is the day that she chose to let me take her tag off.  Instant gratification is highly overrated, by the way.  Delayed gratification is so much more rewarding!

Since the day that I was first able to scratch Belle's star, I've been working my hands around her face and her throat, and playing with her tag as well as the rope and halter.  Today I was hoping to be able to touch her neck and mane, which I did, but I didn't really plan to remove her tag.  Belle was so relaxed and happy with being petted and scratched, that removing it just seemed like the right thing to do.  While I was at it, I gave a big, nasty chunk of loose mane a good, hard tug and the whole big blob came out in my hand.  It is lovely hair, but she looks better without it hanging there.  Working out the tangles in the rest of her mane will be a job for another day.

Belle was willing to give me more, so I snapped my 15 foot-long rope onto her halter and played a little bit of pressure-and-release with her, then removed it and let her relax while I scratched her face and neck again.  It was a very satisfying session, and the best part was that Belle was comfortable with everything that I did.  I think she deserves a medal!

Getting Back to Business

When Belle first arrived here eight weeks ago, I had it in mind to let her settle in for a bit, then get right down to the business of getting her gentle.  I could pick up the end of her drag rope and move her in a circle, and even ask her to take sideways steps towards me.  I felt pretty confident that she would come around in the same time frame that Siesta and Capri did.  Now I know that Belle will come around, but she'll do it in her time, not someone else's. 

Belle isn't stubborn.  She isn't silly or stupid.  In fact, she is quite clever, charming, and creative.  She's also fearful, and it's that fear that has made progress go so slowly.  When working with her in the gentling pen or the round pen, she would express her fear by running in furious, mindless circles, which is not a good thing to do, especially while wearing a drag rope.  Rather than pushing her hard and fast, I've been working to earn her trust, and it's been paying off consistently, in little bits at a time.  By using pressure and release tactics, I've shown Belle that she doesn't need to blow up and nearly hurt herself whenever she gets afraid.  She can calm down and listen to me now.  That's a huge sign of progress, and it's what I needed to know before I could get back to business and move her forward in her training.

I'm the proud owner of a twelve-foot bamboo pole.  I like the length of the pole, as it matches the amount of personal space that horses like to keep around themselves when they are checking out a visitor, whether horse or human.  I've been using the pole to get closer to Belle, using it to move her forequarters and hindquarters effectively, using it to desensitize her to touch, and using it to pick up the end of the drag rope, which I can then grasp with my hand.

Sometimes, I can pick the rope up without help from the pole, but Belle has adopted the rope as part of her body, and she is very clever at positioning it just out of my reach.  I see no reason to bend down and present my skull as a target for her hind end (never mind that she's never yet offered to kick...there can always be a first time), so the pole is useful for "fishing" the rope up to me.  Belle actually likes this part of the game, and patiently waits while I get the rope up off the ground, slide it down the length of the pole, and into my hand.  I like the game, too!  As further evidence of how clever and creative Belle is, she somehow managed to tie a lovely knot in her rope, approximately two feet from the dragging end.  I love the knot, because it gives weight to the rope in just the right place, and makes it much easier to pick up with the pole.

So, with the rope in my hand, I let Belle do circles around me until she is relaxed and breathing, then I start to apply pressure to her head.  The other half of pressure is release, and I like to experiment with how much pressure I can apply before she needs her release.  I start by squeezing my fist on the rope...release.  Then a little wrist motion...release.  Next, some elbow-bending...release.  Belle's head turns towards me every time I exert pressure, and it returns to a straight position with every release.  If I get greedy and ask for pressure plus more pressure without a release, she pulls the rope from my hand and spins away to her favorite corner.  That's okay, though, because as she continues to learn I have to test her to see how far I can push ( or pull, in this case).  I fish the rope up, then start again.  This time, after the elbow-bending pressure, I use my whole body and step backwards in a straight line and expect her to move not just her head, but also her forequarters, toward me.  She does, as long as I offer a release.  This part of the game forces her to confront her fear, so I keep it brief and let her return to her comfort zone, then ask it again on the next lap.  That way, she is allowed to build confidence without passing the threshold of her sanity, and we stay safe.  I find a good note to quit on, and then we spend some quiet time together.

There is still a lot to look forward to with Belle, but I am enjoying working with her.  I'm convinced that when she finally comes around she is going to be a heck of a nice horse.  She sure is pretty, and so sweet too. Good things are in Belle's future, and I can hardly wait to show them to her.

Uh Oh...

...Not again.  Oh, dear.  Not so soon.  That funny feeling is back.  The one where my stomach knots up and feels all tingly.  Could I possibly be...falling in love...again?  I've already fallen in love three times this year.  First with River, then Siesta, followed by Capri, and now Belle.  Won't I ever learn?  Falling in love is suposed to be a rare event.  What's wrong with me?  I guess I'm just the lovin' type.  Or maybe these mustangs are just so darn lovable, and impossible to resist.  Yes, I think that's it.  It's not me, it's them!

I went in the pen with Belle this evening and picked up the drag rope.  Her rope is a nice long one, so it's very simple to get close enough to bend over and pick up the end.  The only trick there is to make sure that I'm staring at the end of the rope, not the horse, so that she doesn't feel threatened by my intent.  While holding the rope lightly in my left hand, I encouraged her to move in a circle to the left, and she calmly did.  She went 'round and 'round, with only a slight hesitation in her favorite corners, which I could easily push her through.  When I asked her to stop, she did, and she gave me her full attention.  I gave a gentle, steady pull on the rope, while angling my body away from her, and she freely took two steps towards me by moving her front end sideways, with her outside foot crossing in front of her inside foot.  This made me very happy.  She followed up by moving her hind feet too, and completed a side pass toward me.  I really wasn't  expecting this, but to my surprise I could ask her for it again and again, and she would deliver.  When she quit giving it to me, I sent her back in a circle, then stopped her and asked again.  She seemed to like this game.  I changed the rules by asking her to come straight to me, and again she surprised me by taking a couple of forward steps.  What a smart, brave girl!  I was only in there with her for twenty minutes, but I feel like she made huge progress in that short time.  I have a feeling she's going to be a really nice horse.  No wonder I'm falling in love...

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!