Rachel Nash & BBPG Banjo

Well, we had a wild start… our trailer was considerably higher than the others and Banjo had to make an impressive jump to load. Once he loaded it really hit me how surreal every moment of this experience had been so far and also what we were about to embark on. As we drove down the VBA drive-way it just got more and more surreal and I saw Banjo in my mirrors rearing and hanging his head over the top rail of crate… like I said a pretty wild start! He settled quickly after that and then he travelled like a pro for the next 14 hours home to Hartley. In the morning he was bright and eating and drinking without any signs of stress. A true testament I think to how hardy and tough I think these animals are. 

I planned to have a slow week after the length of our trip home but he’s kept asking for more and giving me more, albeit slow, but we are moving at Banjo’s pace and he’s already dazzling me. His natural cues and body language keep telling me he is curious and interested but still very cautious, and sensible - believe it or not after the attempted crate escape!!

We’ve only had time for 3 sessions as I had to get back to nightshifts but Banjo is now eating grass and hay comfortably from my hand, facing up to me and drawing into the centre of the yard with a little hind quarter yield, and following me around the round yard. This is exactly where I’d like him to be and setting positive foundations to safely haltering him with him being willing and feeling safe in that process. 

I love that he can stand and relax with me in his space, and he is dropping his head nice and low and giving me a good smell all over. It’s hard not to be greedy with what he is able to offer in this first week but my only goal was to have him happily eating and drinking with me around and he’s surpassed that so I’m really happy with where we are. I’ve never met a horse I didn’t love, and Banjo is continuing that feeling easily! 

The last two weeks really has been game of two halves.

I like to develop a relationship first and foremost with my horses regardless of whether they are handled, unhandled, broken or school masters. My biggest love with any of them is getting to know their personalities and using that as my best training tool because I feel like I can play to their strengths. 

By the end of the first and second week, Banjo and I developed a really good relationship where we both felt comfortable and safe where he was very obviously loving touch and scratches all the way from his muzzle, down his neck and to his shoulders and I started introducing a rope halter to rub him and get him comfortable with that too. There were no expectations of where we should be or comparing myself to where anyone else was. 

Famous last words and I am my own worst enemy and I started looking at other peoples posts and thought we should be further than we were. I attempted to throw a rope over his head and roping is definitely not my best skill…although Banjo was never scared and never aggressive he certainly told me he was not ready and his whole body language changed. 

Thankfully, Banjo was more forgiving than I deserved, and we were able to get back that trust end our third week back in the same place we ended the previous. So many lessons learnt this fortnight, and something learnt in everything I do. Even in our set back, Banjo taught me not to rush and trust myself and my methods.  

We’ve come in leaps and bounds for weeks 4 and 5. The difference being I’ve taken a step back from being goal focused on getting the halter on and just really focused on building our relationship and the trust between us and boy it has paid off! 

Approaching Banjos space and touching and scratching with two hands is easy now, at times it’s so hard to remember he’s a genuinely wild horse in these first few minutes I come into his yard. 

Time and patience has definitely worked its magic and he has now comfortably chosen to put nose his in the halter, and I’ve tied it up around his head for walks around the yard and for meals… (he’s finally loving the pellets!) we haven’t connected those two dots completely yet and put the halter on in a traditional sense… but the trust we have developed and the ease at which we move with each other now that final step of haltering will come shortly. We’ve come in leaps and bounds for weeks 4 and 5. The difference being I’ve taken a step back from being goal focused on getting the halter on and just really focused on building our relationship and the trust between us and boy it has paid off! 

These weeks have flown by, the penny has dropped and our boy Banjo feels like a totally different horse. 

Where to start…the halter went on easily because of the preparation and time taken to get it on without stress and without pressure. It felt almost like a non-event and was a very natural progression of our sessions rather than forcing him into it under any pressure. 

We started some leading sessions before the halter went on, so having the halter on was helpful to be able to have little bit more body control and with that body control, we are setting foundations to start lunging by moving his forequarters and hindquarters which he does so softly. We are tackling obstacles, and his second time with the halter on we went for a big walk out of the yard in the open paddock – and he didn’t put a foot wrong. Each time the halter goes on, it comes off. I believe in creating that release and wouldn’t want to cause him any stress leaving it on. 

Banjo definitely loves the scratches so introducing a brush was welcomed with a very wobbly top lip! He allows me to move easily around him and stands settled. I’ve started handling his legs, and given them a good brush too occasionally asking him to lift them up but not taking them away from him. I’m not super concerned about his feet at the moment, he’s doing a fantastic job of trimming them himself and continuing to build our relationship means that he’ll just trust that whole process without creating a potential fight if he was to object to me holding them from him. 

A lot of our sessions are still spent just in each-others company and not asking too much of him.. We also let him out into the big paddock after 5 weeks and every time I drive in he’s first to the gate! Definitely is a very special feeling to see our wild horse trotting down the hill to be first in. 

Many people don’t know I work full time as an Intensive Care nurse 2 hours’ drive away from Banjo and my other horses. My shifts are 12 hours and split between days and nights..in the last 9 weeks I have only had 28 days of contact with Banjo. To be writing this update with that in mind is surreal. 

Banjo has been introduced to a new property, where the most part of his training will now take place with 2 large arenas 300 acres of bush trails and a larger round yard. Leading around the paddocks, over obstacles etc went so well I thought I would walk Banjo there however he has been so willing and so trusting, we decided to float train instead and what a stark difference he was compared to the wild horse we loaded at Brumby Junction.. Banjo followed me straight in and did NOT try to jump out (which if you remember was his first party trick when we brought him home). The next day I hadn’t even caught Banjo yet, but as always he was first down to the yards and cruising around saying good mornings and as I lowered the ramp.. he loaded himself no halter, no direction just walked in!! We drove him over uneventfully and unloaded in the same fashion. Banjo also met our Guy Fawkes Brumby, Tiny, and safe to say they were besties straight away. 

It’s a hive of activity and a whole new environment so I had planned to let him settle, meet my other horses and have some time to decompress.. but Banjo had other plans. He has been so settled and so calm, we did a few sessions day one in the larger round yard and finally out of the mud!! Within minutes of our first time in the round yard Banjo had a saddle blanket and roller rubbed all over him then thrown up onto him, tightened up and was smoothly trotting around the round yard. No fireworks, no theatrics, a willing horse, not scared, not coerced. Repetition and release is key for me with training, and I try to focus on making everything I do “normal” and not react when his energy might heighten, just focus on the task and reassure him if needed.

I am aware that we will still have good weeks and bad weeks but instead of having a horse that requires any element of force which, I believe risks them becoming begrudging and sour, I have a partner that is willing and looks to me for answers and safety because of the relationship and trust we took the time to build. I always knew the first few months would be the most challenging, but having the foundation that we do will make the next part fly. 

My shifts have been pretty good these last few weeks so I’ve managed to have some good stretches of time working with Banjo. As hard as it is to leave him, I do firmly believe in giving young horses short breaks in their training, so they can process everything as well as decompress. In Banjo’s case this is probably even more important because of the radical changes to his life in the last 3 months and how he’s handled everything. Each time I come back to him he gives more and is really smart and more engaged. Banjo’s also getting handled by more people, and has had a great session with my body worker and had his feet done for the first time! 

We’ve done a lot more roundyard work with the roller on and working on getting soft with flexion in the long reins, and steering and stopping. Banjo was so quickly comfortable in the roller, it wasn’t a huge step to having the saddle on. Repetition is a huge part of this step for me, and just making it all normal programming for them by getting used to things being thrown over them, under them, and settling on them. I almost try to make it as messy as I can, I feel like if I tip toe around them and sneak something like a saddle onto their backs, they pick up on that nervous energy and it causes problems in the long run. Again no fireworks, no resistance, no fear when the sadlde went on. First time he wasn’t loving the noises it was making when he started to trot, but again I just slowd things down, did a bit of desensitising with, moving him around making the saddle move on him and make noises, and now he’s comfortable to move at any speed. 

With the help of his new friend my Guy Fawkes Brumby, Tiny, we have been leading Banjo off him, getting him used to not only having me above him but having a lead horse to get him feeling confident getting over different terrain, obstacles, water, bush, you name we go through it, over it, under it. As well as being social and good friend, I like my horses to be independent too, so once Banjo got that confidence, we have gone out a lot alone too and he’s just as calm and willing. 

On the last day of this two week stretch, I stood up and got my whole weight in the saddle on both sides of him. I’m not swinging the leg over yet but this is an important step and one where he was happy and relaxed with me laying over the saddle patting him. 

Awaiting Update

I haven’t seen a lot of Banjo in the last two weeks with my shifts at work being a bit hectic, only managing to get to him for 4 days in total. I did put the brakes on after his dental visit because of the uncertainty around his age and it had definitely changed my goal posts and what I could do with him in the next steps of training, although as per my last update all the preparation had been done and I felt Banjo was ready for his first ride. 

I spoke with the Barmah Brumby Preservation Group for more information his age and date of capture and it does appear he is 4-5 years old at least with the photos of him dating back over 3 years ago now. 

It’s never a hard decision to do what is best for my horses and with the advice of my fantastic vet we picked up where we left off, and she’s continuing to look into more information about possible delayed eruption of wild horse teeth. 

Although we haven’t had many days we have been very busy and we’ve had our first four soft, easy, willing and rewarding rides. Preparation is everything, and first rides shouldn’t be chaotic, difficult, forceful or fearful. If there is any of that, I go back and fix those holes before going forward. 

It's not all work, work, work either, we still spend a lot of time sitting, having scratches and sleeping in the paddock. See our last photo, there was snoring! 

I know I’ve said it before, but these last two weeks have flown by! Banjo is getting regularly ridden now, and truly he improves with every ride and every bit of work we do. Although there is the competition aspect of this whole experience and with time fast disappearing till Equitana, I haven’t ever pushed Banjo passed what he’s ready for. 

I do a lot of work long reining in the roller working on lateral flexion, steering, stopping and getting all those things soft before riding any horse, so these things are already pretty solid for Banjo now I am riding him. I have found Banjo more unbalanced than any other breaker I’ve ridden and needed a lot more adjusting to carrying a passenger, but we have taken it slow, only really working him the trot and he is more and more balanced by the minute. I am not rushed to get him working in the canter just yet because I don’t feel he has that balance, but all the work we are doing at the moment just makes him better prepared for it. My body worker who has been regularly seeing Banjo supports this and says the way he is developing muscle at the moment is great, and thankfully he has no sore spots or areas of concern, we are just continuing to correctly build his muscle to support him being ridden. 

Although we had a bit of a slower road to get to where we are now, Banjo is so incredibly willing and I can only put that down to the trust we built. I have had Banjo at an in house Gymkhana in the mounted games, we have been lead horse on trails, over all sort of obstacles and nothing is a fight and nothing I ask him to do is born from force. I have had people of all ages leading him, catching him, helping brush him, feed him and it’s safe to say he absolutely adores kids, and his fan club just keeps growing and growing. 

I’m sure a lot of the other trainers will be starting their updates this week with “it’s hard to believe this is the last update before Equitana”, and it really is hard to believe. 

My main goal was to create a relationship with Banjo and let that be our guide on what we did and what we were able to achieve. Horsemanship, training ability, riding ability all of the above had to come after we built our relationship and trust. There were times I genuinely thought I’d never get a hand on him, but now as we head into the last 2 weeks of the challenge, Banjo is my willing, happy and confident partner who has been educated as a safe riding horse and, who can also balance on a see saw. 

Whilst the competition final will showcase my skills as a trainer, I haven’t lost sight of what the challenge means for the Australian Brumby and showcasing their diversity and resilience and the ability to rehome the older wild horse. 

The difference in Banjo physically and mentally is overwhelming. For now, we are putting the finishing touches on our Freestyle that emphasise how I have educated him as a horse that anyone could ride, his willingness, and most of all how much we both respect each other. 

I deeply respect Banjo for everything he has given in this challenge and I cannot wait to show that in Melbourne and have fun!