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Sep. 30th, 2004 11:55 amSo I have another project horse, and it's not Whimsy. One minute I was talking on the phone and the next I was apparently saying yes to the question "So, you'll start her, then?" Hell. I suck. A lot. I don't even particularly like this horse. Okay, she's built like a brick and she's got a kind eye and she's both pleasant AND fairly laid back about life, but I don't like her. Maybe there's something in me that does not like sensible, kind horses. Maybe I just go for the fruitcakes. (Neither Meatly nor Nick started out as a sensible, kind horse with patience and an easygoing nature.)
The project horse is Thyme, a Stoney baby like RedEye and Ceres. Stoney (Stonebrook Richard) is a thirty-year-old Morgan stallion in the classic old style. He's a cutie and damn near everything he throws is built like a brick with a leg at each corner. (This is a good thing, for the non-horsey audience.) Thyme is a solid red bay (much redder than Nick) with a round star on her forehead, no other markings. She's built better than Nick and she's probably a couple of inches taller, too. I've no idea how old she is, but she's at least four, well along in 'time to be a riding horse' age. I'll get a picture here directly so everyone can follow along.
Today I caught her, haltered her, led her out of the field (she has no idea how to work a gate, but she will when I get done with her because that's a nice feature on a horse), worked her over with a curry and brush while feeding her half a can of grain, taught her to circle out of a lead rope (which she did with little fuss or fanfare and clear thinking) to both sides, taught her to hide-her-hiney, taught her to circle left and right and reverse direction, taught her to back up when I shook the lead rope. I also picked up her front feet and sacked her out with my coat (soft, no noises -- we'll try a feed sack next time). I asked her to give to pressure, left and right and back and head-down. She took all of this unsurprisingly well. We ended on a good note after about an hour and I put her back in the field.
It was *boring*. The whole thing was boring. Dull, dull, dull. She is much more pleasant and willing to work with me than Nick and Meatly were when I started with them. She's wired differently -- far less irritable/spooky/nervous. I rather think Thyme is going to take a lot less ... time than either of those. I also think she's going to wind up *safer* than either of them. And still... I like my guys. I'm not rushing to trade either one of them in for a 'real' horse.
Now, let me be the first to admit that these skills aren't rock-solid yet. They're very green and basic skills, but they're in place and I think she's gotten on board with the 'you can stop the cue earlier by responding earlier' thing. We're going to be doing these skills (and more) again tomorrow and tomorrow and ever on tomorrow, or at least until it gets too cold for this crap, but they're in place as a start. More things tomorrow. There are cones I can play with. There are sheets of tin. Her 'driving' isn't as good as it could be. There's a trailer, too. There are lots of activities we can do and she'll probably go along with all of them in a reasonably pleasant, laid-back way. She's going to make someone an excellent horse. Compared to what I like/ride, she's a solid citizen already.
The project horse is Thyme, a Stoney baby like RedEye and Ceres. Stoney (Stonebrook Richard) is a thirty-year-old Morgan stallion in the classic old style. He's a cutie and damn near everything he throws is built like a brick with a leg at each corner. (This is a good thing, for the non-horsey audience.) Thyme is a solid red bay (much redder than Nick) with a round star on her forehead, no other markings. She's built better than Nick and she's probably a couple of inches taller, too. I've no idea how old she is, but she's at least four, well along in 'time to be a riding horse' age. I'll get a picture here directly so everyone can follow along.
Today I caught her, haltered her, led her out of the field (she has no idea how to work a gate, but she will when I get done with her because that's a nice feature on a horse), worked her over with a curry and brush while feeding her half a can of grain, taught her to circle out of a lead rope (which she did with little fuss or fanfare and clear thinking) to both sides, taught her to hide-her-hiney, taught her to circle left and right and reverse direction, taught her to back up when I shook the lead rope. I also picked up her front feet and sacked her out with my coat (soft, no noises -- we'll try a feed sack next time). I asked her to give to pressure, left and right and back and head-down. She took all of this unsurprisingly well. We ended on a good note after about an hour and I put her back in the field.
It was *boring*. The whole thing was boring. Dull, dull, dull. She is much more pleasant and willing to work with me than Nick and Meatly were when I started with them. She's wired differently -- far less irritable/spooky/nervous. I rather think Thyme is going to take a lot less ... time than either of those. I also think she's going to wind up *safer* than either of them. And still... I like my guys. I'm not rushing to trade either one of them in for a 'real' horse.
Now, let me be the first to admit that these skills aren't rock-solid yet. They're very green and basic skills, but they're in place and I think she's gotten on board with the 'you can stop the cue earlier by responding earlier' thing. We're going to be doing these skills (and more) again tomorrow and tomorrow and ever on tomorrow, or at least until it gets too cold for this crap, but they're in place as a start. More things tomorrow. There are cones I can play with. There are sheets of tin. Her 'driving' isn't as good as it could be. There's a trailer, too. There are lots of activities we can do and she'll probably go along with all of them in a reasonably pleasant, laid-back way. She's going to make someone an excellent horse. Compared to what I like/ride, she's a solid citizen already.
