Saturday, February 10, 2018

Good days

I have been working on Mesa's leading manners and getting her to be more in tune with me. I have tried a couple of different training styles, and use a little bit from each one. I absolutely cannot for the life of me stick to one particular style of training. I try each one and use what works for me. It isn't just about the horse, it's about the person too and what their personality is, that makes training successful.
I am finding that Mesa has, as can be expected, a short attention span, and any training has to be done within about a 10 minute time frame. Anything after that should be recreation and fun.
So, this is where we are at so far, after 3 days of working on this.


She is leading nicely behind me on a loose lead. Also, she will walk right beside me if I ask her to.

When it comes to backing, she is starting to get it without me having to get vigorous in my cues. At first, I was asking too much of her and not being satisfied with just one step back (my bad!) Once I eased off and worked on it one step at a time it became much softer. Now I can build on it.She does still tend to bend her neck to the side as an evasion but I think that will get better over time; she is still a baby .


I was such a beautiful day today! I raked the straw that I had put down over the ice into piles so that the ice could melt, and straightened out my hay tarps- I was quite dismayed to see how much of the hay had gotten wet under the tarps, I will have to peel out some mouldy sections, hopefully it is all surface and didn't penetrate deeply into the bales.

My vigilance in checking Rosalee's belly for baby bumping finally paid off! 250 days pregnant now.


The next 3 months are going to drag by! Especially for Rosalee.....



9 comments:

lytha said...

Isn't it nice when they follow you exactly where you want them?

I recently did a blog post about this topic because so many people here don't understand why I'd prefer my horse behind me. In case you're curious:

http://horsecrazyamerican.blogspot.de/2018/01/recent-ride-and-discussion-about-how-i.html

Linda said...

Is Rosalee separate now? We’re probably going to breed Cowgirl this spring and I’m going to need to watch what you do closely. We’re looking at a stallion today. He’s 22, foundation QH, and he has sired some excellent minded foals for my friends. The good thing is that he’s close enough for us to take her to him as soon as she shows signs—hopefully in May or June. And we’re the only ones using him this year so we get lots of attention if we go this route. They say he’s a real gentlemen. I’ll post about it after we get back.

I think Mesa is doing awesome! And I agree with you that training has to be a combination of all the factors and personalities. I don’t stick with any one training style either. There are certain things I want, but many ways to get there.

Shirley said...

I will wait until the beginning of April and put Rosalee in the foaling pen at night. Closer to foaling time it will be 24/7.

Far Side of Fifty said...

Mesa is still a baby, but so darn cute! I am certain that what ever training method you use will work with her.
I am anxious to see Rosalees foal...I almost wrote colt...:)

4RRanch said...

nice link in previous post. I found these videos a few years ago and really appreciated how she explained things. I'm with you, it's finding what works with you and each horse, I don't think you can cookie cutter them.
https://www.youtube.com/user/TheMeaTV

Linda said...

Is she with the herd during the day? Have all your horses foaled at night?

aurora said...

You are such a wise horsewomen Shirley! Mesa is a perfect fit, and she is lucky to have you as her person.

C-ingspots said...

Mesa is doing wonderfully! Sometimes it's hard to remember to be patient, but you're right, she's just a sweet baby. An adorable one too! Adolescent minds are so precious and it's our responsibility to make it fun for them too! I have that same problem, short attention span. :) You and she are doing just fine, I think. Remember to have fun with her. She's so sweet...makes me long for another one.

I saw Rosalee's baby bump! You're so right, a long and uncomfortable wait remains. Poor momma.

Shirley said...

Linda, she is with the herd 24/7 until about a month before foaling. Usually my mares foal at night but I have had a few exceptions - Stella was born around 11 am and I had a filly born years ago that was at 7 pm.