>>>> Angie has forgotten that she's supposed to be shy around people when >>>> she's in the pasture.
>> Does she act shy everywhere else? Gat only acts shy in the pasture not >> anywhere else. Initially Angie was what I'd call "wary of people" but you could also tell she's a nosy old busybody at heart - really wanting to know what's going on, and wanting to be a part of things. Personally, I love that in a horse. Angie's prior owner was told that all of Fengur's offspring are hard to train...and in this case, I think her expecations of Angie got in the way of Angie learning. Gosh, we have to BELIEVE IN our horses! To me, that's like constantly telling a kid that he's stupid, then wondering why he doesn't excel at school. Anyway, Angie was not handled as a baby, and was skittish when the woman bought her as a yearling. She got into the habit of "chasing her into the stall" (her words) for the farrier and vet, and basically didn't seem to do much else with her, except breed her several times. So, now Angie is 11, and most of her human contact has been from being chased in for the less-than-fun stuff in life. At first, I put Angie in a small paddock with a private stall. She was wary of humans, but would follow us into the stall if we were quiet. Once she was in the stall, she'd let us handle her and put a halter on her. I haven't made a project out of "catching her" in the pasture, but I've let her grow comfortable with us at her own pace. I was told that she is very "nervous" but she's not wary of "stuff" at all - only wary of people making sudden moves in a larger pasture. In fact, when it comes to tractors, tarps, cats lurking in the fallen leaves, etc, she's pretty darned brave, like most Icelandics. She now approaches us in the pasture. She's now in about a 4-5 acre pasture with two other mares. It's really no trouble to catch her now. She's been here almost two months. She's a very smart girl and very curious, and I think that's what is exciting about her. BTW, all of Fengur's offspring that we know are exceptionally good learners - go figure. Moral of the story - don't believe most of the "pedigree myths" you hear. Let the individual horse tell you about him/herself. Karen Thomas, NC
