!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i had the best fucking night with my horse last night. i am so proud and amazed and awed by how far he's came and i *think* the penny is starting to drop and he's starting to look to me for leadership.
keep in mind this may all change today, but for now... hahaha.
so, i got there last night and beejah was ALL ALONE. kelli & Karen have taken their horses to a TTouch clinic for the weekend, so beej was completely by himself! crystal & chelsea are still there, but they're way down the front of the property - not in sight at all.
so i could see that he was a tad distressed when i got out of the car. he wasn't panicking or freaking out, but he definitely showed that he was a bit concerned about where his friends were. i had a minor tanty (to myself, haha) that paul didn't move Chelsea (who's up the front byherself) to stay next to beej for the night, in case he does panic & break fences and that sort of thing.
wait... i just stopped writing for a while - there's this ENORMOUS ginger cat that lives next door & he's pretty much the kingshit of the street. he has NO qualms at all about wandering about & he was just outside my study window checking out our garden. i watched him for a while - initially, i was tempted to yell at him, but i kinda wanted to see what our cats would do... he drank a bit from the hose (it drips) and prowled away. our cats = not interested. not even aware! our tabby, Jai is much bigger than him (he's a freak - he's the comparison of a fit, buff WWF wrestler who is frightened by his own shadow) but hides under the bed most of the time, and Pilchard was asleep in the bathtub... freak.
anyway, i took beej's dinner & breaky up (breaky goes in a little shed up that end of the farm). gave him a big cuddle & talked to him about why he was by himself and how it wouldn't be for long etc. then had to pick up 3 days of poo (i didn't see him wed/thursday). he initially watched me for a while, then he was wistful & looking off into the distance. i kept talking to him and cajoling him into coming and helping me, but he wouldn't. eventually, he decided he wanted to be near me instead, so he was in my pockets whilst i finished poo duty. and REALLY in them.
after that, he was in a super big hurry to put his halter on and i could totally tell he wanted to go out and do stuff. as i led him down the lane i asked a couple of questions - he needs reminders a lot! if i leave him for a few days he's very quick to get back into my personal space. if i'm seeing him consistently, he's a lot more responsive and will just need reminding once. but he needed several BIG reminders to stay out of my way and it was difficult to do this with an armful of buckets (from his breaky & dinners whilst i was away - i leave it all in the shed for karen). So i just packed up the buckets and grabbed my carrot stick & we went for a walk.
wow. well.
where has my nervous wreck of a redhead gone????
we walked ALL the way down the drive, to the end of the cul de sac, over the gate, along the limestone road next to the OMFGTHEY'REGONNAKILLME pine forest, past our back gate. PAST it - he wanted to keep walking! then he started to get a little anxious & told me he wanted to go home. i made him walk a little further, then we went over some obstacles (steep embankment, which he thought was great fun) and then back to our back gate. he needed to be asked a couple of questions again here - so he was getting a bit anxious about where he was, but he wasn't in my face, he wasn't barging me, wasn't tense.
man. and the WHOLE TIME we walked he was stretching out, the rope was slack, he was slightly ahead of me (which i think is good - he's gaining confidence & is happy to be in front. or should i be ahead to be in a leadership position???)
i had to use the carrot stick to block him a couple of times (as i was at his shoulder level) as he'd sometimes drift my way, but he was responsive & happy to go back.
at any rate, i am super impressed with him.
we came in the back gate. he got a tad anxious & seemed to want to move, so i drove him out into circling game but then he decided he wasn't too worried so just walked & slowed right down. he did come towards me a bit when he was behind so i had to send him out.
after that i took him into marakesh's old paddock, shut the gate & let him off for a graze. snapped some pics with my mobile too, which i should upload at some stage. he was very concerned about something from the east,which i couldn't detect at first... but after 20minutes it became clear that it was the weather! a huge pall of clouds darkened everything prematurely and we got that beeeyootiful deep blue grey sky & gold tinged treetops that i LOVE. the wind picked up too - i thought it was going to rain, but i don't think it did in the end?
i was impressed at the grazing too - he is very quick to tell you how stressed he is, even when grazing/doing his own thing. although he had fastfeet at one stage there and had a very minor LALA when our neighbour came past with her horse, he was happy to eat.
i just lay on the grass watching him.
at about 7.30pm i packed him up for dinner. talked to him a while to remind him that raj & guin would be home today & that i'd be seeing him at 12 anyway as he's getting new shoes & i was going to prettify him today, yadayada. asked him to kindly NOT breakout of his paddock & to be patient & wait for everyone to get home.
it actually felt like he was getting some real "alone" time & that it was good for him!
i did fortify some gates & close things up tight so that if he DID break out he couldn't get off the property and OMFG run off somewhere random & get hit by a car, as that would suck ass! haven't had a phonecall yet, so i'm thinking he's reasonably safe & sound!
so looking forward to seeing him today. yippee, i've got a great horse, everyone!
keep in mind this may all change today, but for now... hahaha.
so, i got there last night and beejah was ALL ALONE. kelli & Karen have taken their horses to a TTouch clinic for the weekend, so beej was completely by himself! crystal & chelsea are still there, but they're way down the front of the property - not in sight at all.
so i could see that he was a tad distressed when i got out of the car. he wasn't panicking or freaking out, but he definitely showed that he was a bit concerned about where his friends were. i had a minor tanty (to myself, haha) that paul didn't move Chelsea (who's up the front byherself) to stay next to beej for the night, in case he does panic & break fences and that sort of thing.
wait... i just stopped writing for a while - there's this ENORMOUS ginger cat that lives next door & he's pretty much the kingshit of the street. he has NO qualms at all about wandering about & he was just outside my study window checking out our garden. i watched him for a while - initially, i was tempted to yell at him, but i kinda wanted to see what our cats would do... he drank a bit from the hose (it drips) and prowled away. our cats = not interested. not even aware! our tabby, Jai is much bigger than him (he's a freak - he's the comparison of a fit, buff WWF wrestler who is frightened by his own shadow) but hides under the bed most of the time, and Pilchard was asleep in the bathtub... freak.
anyway, i took beej's dinner & breaky up (breaky goes in a little shed up that end of the farm). gave him a big cuddle & talked to him about why he was by himself and how it wouldn't be for long etc. then had to pick up 3 days of poo (i didn't see him wed/thursday). he initially watched me for a while, then he was wistful & looking off into the distance. i kept talking to him and cajoling him into coming and helping me, but he wouldn't. eventually, he decided he wanted to be near me instead, so he was in my pockets whilst i finished poo duty. and REALLY in them.
after that, he was in a super big hurry to put his halter on and i could totally tell he wanted to go out and do stuff. as i led him down the lane i asked a couple of questions - he needs reminders a lot! if i leave him for a few days he's very quick to get back into my personal space. if i'm seeing him consistently, he's a lot more responsive and will just need reminding once. but he needed several BIG reminders to stay out of my way and it was difficult to do this with an armful of buckets (from his breaky & dinners whilst i was away - i leave it all in the shed for karen). So i just packed up the buckets and grabbed my carrot stick & we went for a walk.
wow. well.
where has my nervous wreck of a redhead gone????
we walked ALL the way down the drive, to the end of the cul de sac, over the gate, along the limestone road next to the OMFGTHEY'REGONNAKILLME pine forest, past our back gate. PAST it - he wanted to keep walking! then he started to get a little anxious & told me he wanted to go home. i made him walk a little further, then we went over some obstacles (steep embankment, which he thought was great fun) and then back to our back gate. he needed to be asked a couple of questions again here - so he was getting a bit anxious about where he was, but he wasn't in my face, he wasn't barging me, wasn't tense.
man. and the WHOLE TIME we walked he was stretching out, the rope was slack, he was slightly ahead of me (which i think is good - he's gaining confidence & is happy to be in front. or should i be ahead to be in a leadership position???)
i had to use the carrot stick to block him a couple of times (as i was at his shoulder level) as he'd sometimes drift my way, but he was responsive & happy to go back.
at any rate, i am super impressed with him.
we came in the back gate. he got a tad anxious & seemed to want to move, so i drove him out into circling game but then he decided he wasn't too worried so just walked & slowed right down. he did come towards me a bit when he was behind so i had to send him out.
after that i took him into marakesh's old paddock, shut the gate & let him off for a graze. snapped some pics with my mobile too, which i should upload at some stage. he was very concerned about something from the east,which i couldn't detect at first... but after 20minutes it became clear that it was the weather! a huge pall of clouds darkened everything prematurely and we got that beeeyootiful deep blue grey sky & gold tinged treetops that i LOVE. the wind picked up too - i thought it was going to rain, but i don't think it did in the end?
i was impressed at the grazing too - he is very quick to tell you how stressed he is, even when grazing/doing his own thing. although he had fastfeet at one stage there and had a very minor LALA when our neighbour came past with her horse, he was happy to eat.
i just lay on the grass watching him.
at about 7.30pm i packed him up for dinner. talked to him a while to remind him that raj & guin would be home today & that i'd be seeing him at 12 anyway as he's getting new shoes & i was going to prettify him today, yadayada. asked him to kindly NOT breakout of his paddock & to be patient & wait for everyone to get home.
it actually felt like he was getting some real "alone" time & that it was good for him!
i did fortify some gates & close things up tight so that if he DID break out he couldn't get off the property and OMFG run off somewhere random & get hit by a car, as that would suck ass! haven't had a phonecall yet, so i'm thinking he's reasonably safe & sound!
so looking forward to seeing him today. yippee, i've got a great horse, everyone!