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kirkcudbrightGemini has been being hard to catch since she starting living full-time in the lower paddock with the other horses. She doesn't really like the other horses (3 mares, 2 geldings), although she tolerates Fiona, the 2 year old filly who goes out of her way to be friendly to her. She's low horse of the herd, and tends to avoid the others, although she will defend herself if attacked.
She also has a lot of trust issues (which is to say, distrust issues) around humans and being caught. I go down there 3-4 times a week to give her treats, to try to do "catch and release", to try to de-sensitize her to being handled and being caught. Lately it's been easier to catch her, but then she just plants herself and won't move until someone else comes and chivvies her along from behind.
Today, after all of the above, I groomed her, grazed her for about 20 minutes, and rode her on a short trail ride. She's clearly been a trail horse before - surefooted, comfortable in the woods, going over rocks and fallen trees without hesitation, more than willing to explore. And she did most of it at a jog, when we weren't trotting or cantering. She's also way out of shape, because she got massively sweaty on what couldn't have been more than about 2 miles.
This is good for her. If only she would allow it to happen more often.
She also has a lot of trust issues (which is to say, distrust issues) around humans and being caught. I go down there 3-4 times a week to give her treats, to try to do "catch and release", to try to de-sensitize her to being handled and being caught. Lately it's been easier to catch her, but then she just plants herself and won't move until someone else comes and chivvies her along from behind.
Today, after all of the above, I groomed her, grazed her for about 20 minutes, and rode her on a short trail ride. She's clearly been a trail horse before - surefooted, comfortable in the woods, going over rocks and fallen trees without hesitation, more than willing to explore. And she did most of it at a jog, when we weren't trotting or cantering. She's also way out of shape, because she got massively sweaty on what couldn't have been more than about 2 miles.
This is good for her. If only she would allow it to happen more often.
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Date: 2009-06-01 03:25 pm (UTC)