RE: [IceHorses] Angie - one week anniversary
I'm a big believer of giving horses a lot of time to settle in. I think I did too much too soon with Gloi and pushed it too much and it made us lose ground. He needed more time to settle in and learn to trust me. Moving here along with the other changes in his life in the year before he came here meant that he needed more time. I remember talking to Alexandra Kurland at the Equine Affaire about Gloi and she said that she wouldn't be surprised if it took him a full year to really be comfortable. I know it varies from horse to horse, but honestly, I suspect that MOST horses need a full year to REALLY feel at home, although some seem settled enough to be ok in just a few weeks. But, like you, I prefer to take the conservative approach, and let the horses tell us when they are ready to move on. I CAN think of one notable exception where I think riding a horse pretty soon after he arrived was a good thing. Reddi is a little Icelandic gelding we got from Robyn 4-5 years ago. He was adorable (though gait-challenged) when we rode him there, and bought him even though we'd intended only to buy a couple of mares. When he arrived with the three mares, he seemed physically fine, but just looked like he expected the Grim Reaper to appear at any moment - he had this suspicious, Eeyore type demeanor, like he expected today to be the day when the meat man came to pick him up, but he was going to take it like a man, always doing his job. He wasn't at all like he was in Canada. Since the mares were all chipper on arrival, I'm pretty sure nothing happened to him in the trailer on the way down. On a hunch, my very low-key, low-pressure trainer/best friend, Shirley, decided to put a saddle on him less than two weeks after he arrived, with no intentions of riding him, just to gauge his reaction to saddling. His reaction was unexpected. He relaxed, almost like he was saying, Oh, ok, I know how to do this, and this isn't bad! Even though it wasn't planned, she hopped up and walked him around the yard - and he was just as great as he was in Canada when we tried him. He was always great about being ridden, almost seeming to take comfort in having a relatively easy job to do that he was comfortable with and could do well. Note though, that Reddi was NOT ridden hard at all while we owned him. He was one of the ones I could comfortably do some little relaxed walk/trot trail rides while I was overcoming the last of my fear and physical issues from my broken back. It took Reddi a full year to really relax here, but he did seem to be quite happy doing a job he knew well in the interim. It certainly does vary a lot from horse to horse. Reddi is the most extreme case I can remember like that...but the other two horses I've had that seemed to take the longest to settle were Trausti and Flekka. They never were problems during their first months here, but they both lost weight, and seemed very reserved (even for Icelandic's) for a while. I doubt that it's coincidence that Reddi is an uncle to both of them... I don't really think that any of the three show any signs of past abuse. I think they were relatively clean slates when they came here - although all three were also pretty much ignored by humans for their first few years. In their case, I think the tendency to be worriers is innate, made worse by lack of early human contact. They are all great horses, but I'd hate for anyone to ever own them and be oblivious to their quiet, stoic natures. Karen Thomas, NC No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: 269.16.17/1176 - Release Date: 12/6/2007 11:15 PM
RE: [IceHorses] Angie - one week anniversary
He has been so nervous and jumpy that the mares can barely get food or rest because he's just not a very good herd stallion. It made me think about Falki. Maybe he's not 'drunk with power', but just not sure how to be a good leader. There was a little difference in the dynamics between him and Gloi this evening at feeding time. He has been keeping Gloi farther away from the gate and barn when I come down with the buckets. Tonight Gloi was closer and Falki was farther out. I just wish they could talk, so they could tell us more. It helps me imagine - and since I'm of another species, it's only imagining - what it might be like for a horse to change homes to think about how humans handle changes. I think about all the phases people go through during their lives. I remember feeling a little lost and child-like my first few weeks in high school...but by the time most kids are seniors, they are fairly cocky in their routines, at least in many ways - some are VERY cocky. Then the reality of college (or work) hits, and suddenly they aren't big fish in a little pond any more, and the confidence may take a serious nosedive for a while. Even as an adult, I can remember having something new and wonderful happen (maybe an exciting job offer, whatever) and I'd go through a period of giddy confidence, feeling on top of the world - until the first few days of the new job, when I didn't know any one, didn't know what exactly was expected of me... Adult humans know to expect these ups and downs as routine parts of our lives, and we deal with them...but even so, they aren't always pleasant. We're always evolving as we change situations, so why wouldn't horses too? I know horses don't process changes exactly like we do, but you know they have to go through similar ups and downs in their confidence levels as changes occur. Knowing Falki, I have trouble believing he'll ever be anything other than a gentle sweet soul, but you're right, he has no experience with leading a herd. Maybe it's possible that he's had these moments of being drunk with power (a la the first days after an exciting job offer?) but as reality sets in, maybe he's back to being the self-doubting freshman. Who really knows? I just know that their lives are also complicated to them, from their perspectives, no matter how they may seem to us. Karen Thomas, NC No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: 269.16.17/1176 - Release Date: 12/6/2007 11:15 PM
[IceHorses] Angie - one week anniversary
Angie has been here a week today, and as luck would have it, I've had to work a lot this week. I was told that she could be jumpy, and that she could be pretty hard to catch. Runa has been her designated buddy during her settling in phase. I've been leading her and Runa out in a small pasture during the day, but bringing them back to the barn for the nights. They each have a private stall, with a small paddock attached overnight, but they can touch noses over the paddock fence. I will put her in the herd eventually, but for now, I want her 1) isolated so she can relax and settle into her new home, and 2) to get used to a routine of twice daily handling, so that coming in to the barn is a pleasant event, not just something she'll associate with some invasive (to her) procedure. There is another paddock between her pasture and her stall, so now all we have to do is open the gate to her pasture, and she and Runa are waiting at the gate, ready to calmly walk to the barn. I want to get her to the point where she doesn't mind me putting a halter on her in the pasture, but she's very pleasant and willing to come in, so for now, I think this is very good. Karen Thomas [EMAIL PROTECTED] No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: 269.16.15/1173 - Release Date: 12/5/2007 9:29 PM
Re: [IceHorses] Angie - one week anniversary
Angie has been here a week today, Happy Anniversary Angie. Lorraine Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your home page. http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs
Re: [IceHorses] Angie - one week anniversary
On Dec 6, 2007 7:25 PM, Karen Thomas [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I will put her in the herd eventually, but for now, I want her 1) isolated so she can relax and settle into her new home, and 2) to get used to a routine of twice daily handling, so that coming in to the barn is a pleasant event, not just something she'll associate with some invasive (to her) procedure. I'm a big believer of giving horses a lot of time to settle in. I think I did too much too soon with Gloi and pushed it too much and it made us lose ground. He needed more time to settle in and learn to trust me. Moving here along with the other changes in his life in the year before he came here meant that he needed more time. I remember talking to Alexandra Kurland at the Equine Affaire about Gloi and she said that she wouldn't be surprised if it took him a full year to really be comfortable. When I was at an art show last weekend there was a photographer who had photos of the Pryor Mountain wild mustang herd. One photo was of two stallions fighting with one being very beat up, she said that the beat up one has been a bachelor for many years and finally stole a herd of mares for himself. He has been so nervous and jumpy that the mares can barely get food or rest because he's just not a very good herd stallion. It made me think about Falki. Maybe he's not 'drunk with power', but just not sure how to be a good leader. There was a little difference in the dynamics between him and Gloi this evening at feeding time. He has been keeping Gloi farther away from the gate and barn when I come down with the buckets. Tonight Gloi was closer and Falki was farther out. I noticed this morning, he wanted to go to the pasture to eat hay instead of staying at the barn. He was half way there and the other two wouldn't follow him. I stood there thinking that if you were a more benevolent leader, maybe you'd have more willing followers, maybe he's realizing that too. -- Anna Southern Ohio
