Your story has deeply moved me, the lyrics of the song wonderful.
I have recently lost my special horse Luther after 27 years, he died of cancer it was horrible, 8 months later lost another horse Tucker to arthritis then my little dog to vet error.
depression, not nice.
Your story is so uplifting, you and your mare have saved each other, what is her name?
I will think of you when I see the empty stables and feel better.
Great picture she certainly looks like she knows her job.
I bought my currently 7 y/o buckskin Quarter Horse gelding as a 2 y/o. He was spunky and green, but none the less I loved him anyways. Every so often, I didnt feel like riding, so lunging became part of his exercise.
One of the other boarders at my barn had a preganant mare. She foaled on May 5th and had a gorgeous little piebald colt named Cinco.
Mare and foal spent most of their days in the round pen to be separated from the others(foals aren't a regular thing around here).
One day I took Sandy(my gelding) out to be lunged. Little Cinco was calmy suckling from his mother. He notice me leading andy out to the big arena and perked up.
I started Sandy out nice and slow because I didnt know how he would react to Cinco near by. At first he didn really care. Then Cinco started galloping around the roundpen, his mother just grazing in the middle. After awhile of him doing this, Sandy started to get in the playful mood, I let him canter really fast on the lunge line. His tail went up and his neck arched and the two of them were just galloping in circles like idiots. Eventually the dust in the round pen got too bad so I slowed Sandy back down, I didnt want Cinco to get hurt.
That was a very funny memory, seeing a grown horse and a colt he never met become fuzzy tornados, just showed one of Sandy's many characteristics!
Really nice to see you cantering on Sandy bareback in a halter, sort of friendly and free just enjoying horse.
What a day when you did the lunging with Cinco, a tad hairy but spectacular to watch, you describe it so well I can just see it. ... the whizzing round, the play, the dust..... mad fun.
I adopted "Bentheredunthat3169" from the BLM Internet adoption in October of 06. Over the months Ben and I developed a (trusting)? relationship. Reading the body langue of the attached photo where I am picking up Ben's feet is best described as "Oh, the temptation"!
Wow Natalie,
what an amazing picture, you were lucky to get that one. what on earth was happening? could it be he was yawning and because he's a mustang thought he'd better look fierce about it.
I had taken a series of pictures while Ben was sleeping, he woke up, turned his head, and captured the moment in the middle of his yawn.
He really is something special. It has been interesting interacting with him. I have an older mare that has been instrumental in the gentling process. My mare is as sweet as can be, a gentle soul, solid as a rock. When I first brought Ben home, if something concerned him (like the first time he seen our Mastiff), he would look at her to see her reaction. He turned toward the dog ready to take flight, look at my mare as if to say,” what are we going to do, run now”?? She would put her head down to graze. He would continue for minutes looking at the dog then to her for direction. Watching how she controlled his emotions by herself keeping calm showed me the importance of mirroring her.
A few weeks after that observation I was in his small pasture after dark. Something at the back of the fence caught his attention, head up, nostrils flared taking in the smell, and he took a few steps towards the object of his attention. I followed his gaze and stepped in front of him. We continued to play “leap frog” till we were a few feet from the fence, Ben would go no further. I wanted to display my “bravery” I went to the end of the fence and seen his cause for concern, a big fat possum. I picked up a stick and chased it away. You would have thought it was a cougar in Ben’s eyes and I was the hero of the day. As I walked passed him he turned and followed me,"yep, I'm with her" look on his face. I think that was when he began to trust me as he did my mare.
the attached picture was taken moments before the yawn. You can see he is winding up for it!
Just come to look at the jude too stories and to my amazement can't find my reply to this really interesting post of yours ... gasp! ...., looks like I had finger trouble or and did something daft with the computer and didn't post the reply. I thought I had, it so interested me.... oooo dear sorry.
So nice that you have become Ben's hero, it can't be easy with an afraid mustang and shows just how important taking the time to observe their goings on is. What a marvelous feeling to have him follow you .... "yep! I'm with her" .... great.
I'd love you to keep us updated on your progress with him. I used to have a Yard (that's the word we English use for your Barn) where I trained horses and often got real screwed up individuals, so I truely am fascinated with what happens with you and Ben.
Can't believe i didn't reply to this post please accept my apologies.