>>> My horses are handled, brushed and trained/expected to behave in a certain >>> way at least twice a day. Even mellow, trusty old, lovable Falki is not >>> exactly the same horse here that he was at Karen's. At first glance, it >>> would appear that Falki is nervous and doesn't like attention. He gets a >>> bit jumpy when Michael gets out the rake, but he's getting used to it. >>> He's >>> not crazy about all the grooming that goes on twice a day. Now, I don't >>> groom him completely twice a day, but he is messed with, at least getting >>> the mud off his face and some currying of muddy areas twice a day. He >>> tends >>> to move away from me when I try to groom him. Now granted, I expect my >>> horses to stand unrestrained for grooming. He went from being part of a >>> big herd and most probably just getting brushed occasionally to maybe more >>> attention than he wants. Like with Gloi, I am training him to stand still >>> for grooming and he is doing well. Some horses just don't like to be >>> brushed as much as others.
Anna, this is very interesting. Yes, Falki was in a bigger herd here just before he left for your place, but he wasn't always in a bigger herd. I believe that the herd he was born into and where lived for his first few years wasn't very big. Also, he came here from a huge herd, much bigger than even what I have now, and when he arrived, I was keeping my horses in several small herds in separate pastures. For the first few weeks (months?) he was here, he was in a pasture with just two other geldings, then we added another horse or two, and at times, he lived with as many as 8-10 other horses here. (In contrast, I suspect he lived with 30-50+ geldings at the Icelandic Horse Farm, probably adjoining a pasture with a similar number of mares...?) He's lived in huge herds, very small herds, and medium herds, so I wonder if that's much of an issue for him. There were periods here where Falki was ridden almost daily, and of course, he was groomed before each ride. Sometimes I tie my horses to be groomed, but I also often groom them standing loose in the stall. One of my friends who rides with me often always grooms her horses loose, and she also always picked Falki to ride when she came here, so that's how she groomed him. On the other hand, when my then-7-year-old nephew started riding Falki for lessons, we crossed tied him while Jonathan groomed him - one less thing to distract a 7-year-old. He was used to being groomed without restraint - and with. If I could suggest something, I'd suggest that since Falki has for some reason gotten into a cycle where he doesn't like to be brushed, then don't groom him for a while - certainly no more than absolutely necessary. I know that will be tough on Michael, the hairdresser, but it won't hurt Falki to go between brushings for a few days - or even longer - if Falki needs a little space to break this cycle. (If Michael has a serious need to brush something - tell him to go work on one of your Yorkies!) When you start riding Falki, sure, he'll NEED to be brushed, at least under the saddle, girth and bridle, but you can address that then. One thing that we always do when we get a new horse is to make sure they get as much "downtime" as they need. To me, "downtime" has a different definition for each horse. For some, it may mean no riding for a while, but others, I've ridden lightly within a week or two of their arrival - it all depended on the reaction of the given horse. For some others, it may mean limited interaction with people as they adjust to herd life - never ignoring them, but giving them as much space and time as they need. I handle all of them as needed during that time, but only in ways they seem to enjoy - barring any medical emergency, that is - and I do it casually. And I just "hang out" with them a LOT, not really doing anything, no goals, but letting them get to know me on their terms, while we get to know them. If they don't like something, or seem worried/nervous about something, I won't do it much (if any) at first, then gradually add in that activity as they become comfortable with it - and with us. Often times, the resistance simply goes away without any "training" as they become used to our routine and our mannerisms. For Tivar, that meant giving him plenty of time to learn that we weren't going to "train" him - at least not in the formal, rigid way he'd come to resent. (In this case, I use "training" in a VERY different sense than "teaching.") For Angie/Cali, it meant not making any sudden moves around her for a while, then gradually escalating our actions back to normal activities. Melnir had gotten out of his pasture and into a fight not long before we got him, and he had to have stitches inside his nose - he was resistant to having his head/nose touched/handled for a while and we respected that, GRADUALLY getting more and more direct about touching that area. I think of it as "choosing our battles", and we've found often that if we don't pick a certain battle, it often resolves itself. (I think I learned that fom having had a human child...LOL) I think that's one of the most overlooked training tools/methods of all - just giving things time to resolve on their own as the level of trust develops. Sometimes I think that the best training is "non-training," meaning very relaxed, neutral interactions where the training is done very passively. Obviously, some things HAVE to be trained more specifically - I can't think of a way to 100% "passively" train a horse to saddle, although that would be nice! Side note: interestingly, it was Cary this time - Cary, who really has never been too interested in "training" - who suggested when it was time to take Cali/Angie out of her semi-quarantine (where she'd been with only Runa), and put her in the pasture with the bigger herd. I think he was right about the timing. She was getting pretty used to our movements, and we'd been handling her daily, not reacting much at all, and his theory is, that at that point, she would pick up a lot from the herd - how they look forward to our visits and will argue about who's going to get the attention - how relaxed and trusting they are with humans. I was pleased to see him developing a sense of what the horse is "saying"...that was a big step forward for him. We spent a minimal amount of time with her for about 6 weeks after she went into the herd of 15, and just recently, we've found her even MORE interested in humans than before...one more case where "no training" proved to be a good training alternative. Karen Thomas, NC
