Yesterday I took Beege out of the pasture for a little exploratory wander near the barn. Both horses seem settled after moving last Saturday but Beege has always been a major worrier and gets upset if I introduce things too quickly to him. He looked around a bit when we left his buddy Odin the Mustang in the pasture but he responded to all the basic groundwork cues that keep both of us safe if he gets upset.
In the past, a tarp shelter, snowmobiles, camper, and other unfamiliar objects would’ve been cause for snorting and spooking. Or just spooking without warning. None of these things bothered him at all. Beege didn’t necessarily want to target the tarp shelter but he was fine walking by it. There’s a round pen area up by the camper camp and snowmobile trailer. I expected him to lean in toward me at the center when I asked him to walk and trot by. Not at all. He kept his circles surprisingly round.
Since all of that went much faster than expected, I secured him to a tree for a short grooming session. I’m keeping him in sight of Odin for two reasons: I want him to feel comfortable being away from Odin but I’m not going to take him completely out of sight. The second reason is that the barn aisle where the cross ties are located is currently blocked with bales of hay. And it’s nice weather. I prefer to be outside rather than in the barn.
Then Jodee started barking up at the house so I had to attend to her needs and the farm planner from the local conservation district arrived so I was not able to try the same exercises with Odin.
Odin did, however, touch the electric fence and lost some confidence. I stepped on a stick, which Odin thought sounded like the zap of the fence and took off. I thought that putting his fly mask with the velcro sound would be difficult, especially since he’s been resistant to having it put on. However, I’ve been clicker training him and he’s much more willing to have it put on. And once again Odin has proved how thoughtful and sensible he is. The fly mask was no issue at all, even when I tested the velcro by ripping it apart several times near his face before trying to put it on.
What did change was that he wasn’t sure he could walk through the open gate from the upper pasture to the lower one even though I walked through it twice, Beege walked through it. I had to lead him through it and that was upsetting to him. He went through it tentatively on his own this morning. Again, thoughtful and sensible.