Month: March 2020

Here are a few training videos I made of Odin and me practicing at the mounting block pre COVID-19.  They are sped up twice the normal speed because horse training videos can be as interesting as watching paint dry.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I work in public health and along with my colleagues free time is in short supply.  Now I have two horses to train with this short supply of free time.  The good news is that the weather has been wonderful for the last week so Bragi's pen has dried out. Also, it's been easy to take a few minutes to spend time with Odin and Bragi the Mustangs, and since Bragi is so new, his sessions are 5 minutes at most.

Last time Dear Readers have heard from me Bragi had just arrived and was too shy to even let me touch him.  Well let me tell you what can happen in a week's worth of 5-minute sessions: he didn't run away from me, he sniffed my hand, he ate hay from my hand, he let me touch his neck, he let me touch his face, he let me touch his back, all on both sides, he let me connect the lead rope to his halter, he let me lead him to the round pen and stood still while I unhooked the lead, he let me lead him back to his stall, he let me pick up all 4 feet and pick 3 of them, he let me introduce him to a new halter.

Odin has also had a fair amount of training.  Instead of nursery school, like Bragi, Odin is in elementary school.  Maybe 4th grade.  He takes a good deal of responsibility when asked, is fine under saddle but needs remedial work with trailer loading and practice moving his body parts independently, namely his hunky shoulders.  Plus he has some winter "upholstery" that could use a little streamlining.  I hear ya, buddy.  The YMCA is closed so I haven't been swimming regularly. 

One huge benefit of getting ready for Bragi is that I now have a round pen.  I love my round pen as a training area.  The footing is sandy and flat.  It's big enough to do some nice stretchy, limbering, connection exercises but not big enough where anyone can get too wild if anyone has a notion.  I've done some basic ground work exercises, dressage exercises, and liberty exercises in the round pen with O.  We've done some hill work from the barn up to the house.  We practice getting in the trailer and staying there.

Yesterday O was fairly relaxed about the trailer. Today he was distracted because the neighbors are working in their yards, probably because it's supposed to rain tomorrow.  Well, and it's Sunday.  Still, he did well and when we were both getting bored with that, I introduced him to the spray hose.  Oh boy, he did not like that.  That was super scary and he couldn't get away fast enough even though I had the nozzle pointed in the opposite direction.  I pretended to water a flower box (with dead plants), the lawn (even though it is lush), wash off my boots like it's the most natural thing in the world. 

When he stopped snorting and acting like he was going to faint, I turned off the hose (released the pressure) and told him how brave he is.  Then I asked him to target the nozzle (in the off position).  He got a reward when he stopped snorting and stretched his nose toward it.  Then we went back to the trailer.  Thank God!  The trailer is so much easier than the hose!

One more session with the hose then we're done.  Back to the barn for a little rest before I go out there again.  Maybe I'll take some video of me showing Bragi the halter.

Radio silence for a while because I work in public health and novel corona virus (COVID-19) came in like a wrecking ball, to quote Miley Cyrus.  This is the first weekend I've had off for a while and even that was dubious until Friday.

To say that I felt guilty for leaving Odin the Mustang alone while I worked all the time is an understatement but he appreciated even the 5 minutes I spent with him during morning and evening feedings plus short walks we'd take up to the front on weekends.

Before COVID-19 (BC19?) I'd been pondering, dreaming, planning, scheming to get another horse so that Odin wouldn't be all by himself.  Odin understands social distancing.  Actually he understands and even accepts social isolation.  But it's not ideal for anyone.

I've followed mustang gentler and BLM-approved trainer Rachel Tarnowski in Oregon for a while.  A friend of mine adopted a mustang from her a couple years ago and was more than satisfied.  Rachel posted on FB a few mustangs that were nearly at the end of their gentling training and I responded.

BLM approved my adoption application almost immediately as I've already shown that I can successfully manage a "green-broke" mustang.  Rachel and I made plans for me to pick him up on a weekend in March.

And then COVID-19 came to town and I wasn't sure I'd ever get enough time off to make the trip.  Thankfully she was delivering another baby mustang to another farm in WA and offered to bring him up.  Thankfully I had this particular weekend off.  Thankfully the weather cooperated.

Baby Mustang #5333, whom I am calling "Bragi" after the Norse God of poetry, arrived yesterday afternoon. He's a cute bay with a scraggly tail and white freckling around his eyes, probably from Appaloosa heritage.  He's understandably nervous but walked nicely with Rachel to the barn and into his stall.  She gave me some tips about haltering, which I appreciate very much.

Bragi spent the night in the pen attached to his stall.  Odin the Mustang was both curious and dubious about this little guy.  When I went out this morning, I noticed Bragi hadn't eaten his hay or drank any water, although I saw him pee and poop so his innards are working fine.  He's very wary of me and won't let me touch him so I'll be patient and gentle until he feels he can trust me.

I tried to get Odin to help me demonstrate haltering and leading nicely but Odin said, "NO!  I want my breakfast!"  Stinker.  I told him his job is to help teach this little guy.  Odin is a Cold Springs mustang and Rachel mentioned that she has found some from that herd management area (HMA) are opinionated.  Odin is definitely opinionated but he likes to be with me so shares his opinions and then does what I ask.

I went back to Bragi and put his hay bag closer to where he could see it.  He showed a lot of interest in the hay bag, which is promising.  I hope he feels comfortable enough to grab a few bites before I go back out there and introduce myself again.  In the meantime, I need to scale back on my goals of leading him out to turn out.  My first goal is to touch him and that could take a while.