>>> I think his training was icelandic-style, tho, wasn't it?
I was told that his very first under-saddle training was "traditional", and that it was a failure. Frankly, I didn't ask for a lot of detail on that first saddle-training incident - I'd ask for more now. I just remember that it wasn't successful and Loftur came back from it more wary than when he started it, and it sounded like he was plenty wary to begin with. I gather that he bolted and was then manhandled. After that, his first American owner did try to start him over with some groundwork herself, out of desperation, and somehow stumbled on and taught him the Seven Games. I think that was a big boost in getting he and I off to a good start. He was brought here in a big trailer from Florida, and the hauler let him off at the end of our long driveway. The woman I bought him from hadn't mentioned a word about any groundwork training he'd had prior to her buying him, so discovering his Parelli training was a total surprise - but a good one. When I was walking him up the driveway, I tilted my head to one side and slightly bent over - just to have a good look at his feet. He surprised me by perking up, turning to face me, and by "giving his hindquarters." I did a couple of other "natural horsemanship" type cues - VERY subtly and he responded. Whoever did the Parelli work with him did a fantastic job with him. He was very interested, perky, ears up and forward, and very light - no pressure over phase 1 needed. It was such a relief to find something positive that we could share and something he obviously enjoyed doing. It gave him a chance to "be a good boy" without any pain. I found out later that his earlier owner had essentially done all of Level 1 groundwork with him, but of course, I'd realized that by then ...but the bolting kept resurfacing when she'd try to ride him. Anyway, at some point he was sold to the woman I bought him from. The last owner didn't do any of the groundwork with him, and she sold him when she found out he'd bolt. To her credit, she was honest in her ad, and described him as a "bolter." I bought him fully knowing he had issues. I'll always remember walking him up the driveway that first day. Ima, Refur and Miska were just maybe 2-3 weeks old, and they were in one of the pastures by the driveway with their moms. I could just see Loftur "smiling" at them playing. Then, I inadvertently gave him a cue he understood, and thankfully, I recognized it when he responded. I had a feeling he was relieved to be here, that it felt comfortable and familiar to him - the babies, the horses, even the Parelli "language." I knew after that first walk up the driveway that he was a quiet, gentle soul, very smart and one who wanted to do the right thing. He was my first Icelandic rehab. I'll never sell him, and he'll stay here forever if at all possible. This is his home. He did NOT trust men when he came here, and he would get irrationally panicky if approached by a man in the open field. He quickly warmed up to Cary and the farrier inside the barn, but still remains wary about people he doesn't know when he's outside in the bigger pasture. That makes no sense in a way - most horses are more likely to feel panicky in an enclosed area...it makes no sense unless the pasture castration trauma story was true, and he still has memories. The people who have visited here may have noticed that I don't generally bring him out to show people that don't know him. Maybe I should try to encourage him to trust more people, but since he likes and trusts us, I haven't really seen any need to push it. I think the Parelli work was a wonderful thing for Loftur for building his confidence and trust in humans, but NO training method, however gentle and solid, was going to eliminate physical pain, and the pain was the root cause of his behavior. And from what I was told, it certainly seemed that his physical pain was present from the time he first arrived in the USA, until Dr. Daniel went to work on him. All the clues point back to that pasture gelding procedure before he came to the USA. He'd been in the USA about 4-5 years before I got him and he had the full vet work-up. Funny, no one had ever thought that he might be hurting. Karen Karen Thomas Wingate, NC No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: 269.15.31/1129 - Release Date: 11/13/2007 9:22 PM
