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Date Posted: 18:01:07 01/12/02 Sat
Author: Kath
Subject: *Smile.*
In reply to: Jenn 's message, "Re: *Hesitation.*" on 16:49:02 01/12/02 Sat

No, he hasn't been broken or anything, just to the halter and grooming. *They reach the round pen.* If you just sit there, *points to a seat set up by the ring* you'll be able to see everything that goes on. *Puts the light saddle she had been carrying outside the pen and put the bridle and a lunge line with it. Takes a line in with her.* Okay, I'm going to talk to him in his language. First I'm going to press him away, like I'm the dominant female in his herd. *Unclips the line and looks the colt right in the eye. Adrenalin levels in the colt shoot up and he shys away to the fence and starts to canter around the fenceline. Kath keeps the pressure on using the line flicking behind him to keep him going, but not touching him.* He's going to give me signs, signs that will let me know that he knows he's done wrong and wants to be let back into the group, because out in the wild, it's dangerous for a horse to be alone out of the herd. The first sign is he'll turn his inside ear towards me and lock it onto me. *Before the words were out of her mouth the chestnut ear settled on her.* That's giving me respect. *Kath continues to look the colt in the eye and encouraging him with the line.* The next sign is he'll lick and chew. His tongue will come out through the lips and he'll visibly be chewing. *Pauses for a moment until the colt starts to lick and chew. Keeps him going for a few more laps and then speaks again.* That's telling me that he's a herbivore and is no danger to me whatsoever, so he's wondering what's going on. The last sign is he'll drop his head and run along with it a few inches off the ground. That's also giving me respect and saying he knows I'm the more dominant one here. I'll turn him around now. *Kath flicks the line in front of the colt and he spins on a dime towards her and starts to canter the other way. The ear settled on Kath and then the tongue appeared. A few seconds after that, the colt dropped his head and ran along like that for a few metres.* I'm going to keep him going for a few more laps, then I'm going to 'go passive'. I'm going to drop my eye from his and I'm going to turn my body 45º in front of his. This is going to invite him into me, saying that I forgive him and he's allowed back into the herd. *As soon as she finished saying this, she dropped eye contact and turned her body 45º in front of his action. The colt suddenly stopped. He looked at Kath, then slowly, dropping his head a few times, approached her back. Tentatively, he stretched out his nose and whuffed her shoulder. Kath turned around slowly and with her eyes still averted downwards, gave him a rub between his eyes.* And that's join-up. It's wonderful, when a horse trusts a human being. We're just going to do a few circles now. *Walks in a circle to the right and Wild Fire followed, his nose to her shoulder. Then Kath walked in a left hand circle and the same thing happened. Kath stopped and rubbed Fire between the eyes then started rubbing his neck.* He now trusts me and he needs to let me into his vulnerable areas, the areas where predators would jump up and grab him. Thats the muzzle, crest, underside of the neck, withers, flanks and belly. *As she listed the areas, she rubbed them with her hands. She then picked up his feet.* This is a big test of trust, he's allowing me to pick up his feet, his form of transport you might say. While I have a foot in his hand, he can't get away, but that's ok, because he trusts me. *Leaves the colt in the pen and came out to get the saddle, bridle and line. She put them in the centre of the pen and stood to the side near Jenn.* This is another test of trust. That equipment is strange, and he doesn't know that it won't hurt him. Let's just hope he comes to me for support, I'm his 'safety zone'. *Sure enough, the colt trotted over to Kath. She gave him a rub between the eyes, then led him over to the equipment. Rubbing the colt's back again, she lifted up the saddle cloth and laid it on his back. Fire stood firm, yet his heart was racing. Kath picked up the saddle and laid it on his back. Gently doing up the girth, she turns to Jenn.* His first saddle, and he's taking it pretty well. I'm going to send him around again now, just a few laps. *Kath squared up to the colt and looked him in the eye and Fire jumped, then cantered around the pen again. After a few strides, he started to buck. Kath just kept pushing him away with her eyes and the line. He bucked for a whole lap, then settled down and paid attention to what Kath was doing. The inside ear settled on her, then the tongue appeared. A few seconds later the head dropped briefly, but was quickly raised. Kath put her body in front of his action and he was soon by her side again.* That was a normal performance. Bridle time now. *Picks up the simple snaffle bridle from the middle of the pen and puts it on Fire's head. He stands there champing the bit while Kath fixed the reins onto the saddle. She then picked up an old stirrup leather and fed it through the stirrups. She buckled it on the other side through the other stirrup. Getting a long line, she laid it over the saddle then picked up the other one. Putting that one through the stirrup, she clipped it to the bit. Does the same on the other side.* Now I'm going to long line him a bit, to make sure he understands what the pressure on his mouth means. Clicks to him and the colt starts trotting around the outside of the pen, still champing at the bit. After about 4 laps, Kath pulled on the outside line and turned the colt so that his hindquarters faced her.* A couple of backing up steps, *does that* then we're off again in the other direction. *Repeats what she had just done. Stops the colt and takes off the lines and the stirrup leather from under his belly.* Okay, it's mounting time. *Put her foot in the stirrup and laid herself over his back, not sitting up. She turned the colt's head both ways so that he could see her there. Kath then put weight in the stirrup and swung her other leg over. Gathered the reins and clicked to the colt. He picked up a trot and they trotted around the outside of the pen for a few laps, then Kath slowed him and stopped him. She untacked him and put the equipment back outside the pen. Sending the colt away again, it took only a few seconds before he was right by her side again. Kath rubbed his forehead and clipped the rope to his halter. Looked over to Jenn.* Well, what did you think of that? *Leads the colt over to the gate and takes him out.* Could you grab the tack there? Thanks. *Smiles and leads the colt back to his stall.*

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