Friday, March 30, 2012

So....



Sunday:
Deciding where to start yesterday, I thought maybe begin with a refresher on personal boundaries. So that is where I began, after swishing off most of the bedding with my hands, I cleaned her feet and got a big clue that I was right. She picked her feet up fine, but after cleaning she took them back and stomped them into the ground. So we worked on that. "I will manipulate this foot and your shoulder will relax and then I will put it down."

Then we walked. "You will walk where I say. You will stop when I say. You will take a step back when I say."

Mostly: "You are not my hat so you will not walk on top of me.

"I know this is not your favorite place on the ranch, but the rules still apply."

Then back to the stall, "You thought we were going in but we are walking past this time."

When we were back, I tool off the halter and scratched her in her favorite places.

It killed my body. I went home and just watched TV for the rest of the day. The boys had to cook their own dinner.

Tuesday:
We are still here at Square One. Monday I did not even take her out. I went in to her 25x50 foot paddock. "When you turn your back to me, I will make you move away."
"I will not do anything if you look at me, if you turn away, I will make you walk away."

It took about 40 minutes for her to turn her body toward me and I went up to her and scratched her and gave her long slow pets. Then put her halter on. More scratching and massage.

Step forward from a light touch, one step. More long pets. Another step or two, more pets. A step back from a light touch on the halter and a voice command, More pets. More massage.

"If I touch you lightly here, will you move your head to me?" "If I touch you lightly here, will you put your head down?"

"Walk on" around me in a circle. "Whoa. Stand." more pets. More circles. More massage.

This is all we did for Monday. Repeat on Tuesday with the first part shortened to about 5 minutes, with a short walk out, a bit of graze, some stop and chat.

Wednesday:
Yesterday, when I got there, several other people were there. I talked to them. Yndi was hiding around the corner behind the stall. After several minutes, she came out to see me through the fence.
She asked: "Aren't you going to catch me?"

This time, when I went it, she turned her back, I asked her to move away....same old same old....she went about 15 feet before she turned around.

We did the usual, then went for a walk. I took her just to where she was anxious and circled back and just to where she was anxious and circled back. Each time stopping often to ask things of her or stopping to talk to people and she just had to hang out.

This doesn't seem like a lot, but I spent nearly two hours with her.

We are SO FAR from long linning! If we can move forward to the place where everyone is starting, it will be a big deal.

Thursday:
Yesterday morning..... I arrived and called out to her. She was hiding in her paddock behind the stall. I cleaned a little in the stall. No Yndi.

I got the halter and went out back to get her. She looked at me and began to walk away, so I did nothing, just looked into the distance. She circled around me two times.....turned 90 degrees and came to me and stopped.

Wow!

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Huge. Once you get her she's going to be something else.

Keep on it!