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.
He is very cute.