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Signed in as:
filler@godaddy.com
As we are approaching the end of our first two weeks, it has been a ball of mixed emotions for
Athena and myself. The day Athena arrived was the start of our partnership together. After a horse arrives at C Dale Ranch I always like to observe their behavior in order to see which methods I would use, and which angle I would approach from.
As the days went by and Athena started to come out of her shell, I got to see a more vulnerable horse standing in front of me. A horse no longer just tolerating. But trusting. I often had to remind myself that she spent the last eight years trying to fight for her survival in the wild. Fighting to keep her baby alive not only against the harsh environment but from us humans as well. With all the controversy surrounding the culling of the brumbies, it makes me appreciate the little mare the more I work with her.
These past two weeks have been challenging for the both of us, Athena has had to learn, grow and develop new skills not only psychically but mentally as well. For myself as a young trainer I’m often doubting and questioning my ability. I have mentally had to prepare myself to go as slow as Athena needed, which is interesting, as in my experience everything is slow up until you make that break through with the horse. From then, everything seems to fall into place. This little mare has been exceeding my expectations and I am eager to see how the next two weeks will play out for both Athena and myself.
Before I begin our first update I would like to say a big Thankyou to VBA for accepting my application and giving me the wonderful opportunity to work with a wild brumby.
On Friday afternoon 22/7 our brumbies Pirate and Dawn arrived safely thanks to Breeze brumby transport. They settled quite quickly-both eating, drinking and found comfort in being together. For the next two days they chose to keep as much distance as possible between them and us and were very wary of everything going on around them. By Sunday afternoon Pirate was approaching me to take grass from my hand, he was quick to take a mouthful and step away but I was pleased that he has shown me he is food orientated. Pirate soon decided that chaff was tasty stuff too and I used a bucket full to coax him into a smaller yard where I was able to gently stroke him with a carrot stick.
Soon he became confident coming into and out of the smaller yard but occasionally he would bite at the stick, strike out or rear. I didn’t make a big deal of these defensive behaviors, I’d just continue with the stick rubbing an area where he seemed more comfortable and constantly talking calmly to him. The next day I attached a halter to the stick and he allowed me to drape the halter around his neck and face, so I used a second stick to help me fasten the halter. The halter process ended up taking two hours and at times it was frustrating, slow and steady work for me but I understand how awkward it would have felt for Pirate, this was all so new for him. I attached a drag rope to the halter and let him finish his chaff in peace. Catching Pirate’s drag rope became easier every time but for the next few days I handled him on the other side of the panel fence for my own self-preservation. He was quick to pin his ears and try to bite or fast to throw a front leg at me. From the ‘safe’ side of the fence I could keep him facing me and turn his front end left or right as he was starting to give to pressure from the halter. Pirate is slowly accepting of me standing next to him in his yard, touching him and letting him touch me. I had to trust him a little so he would trust me, really reading his body language to keep myself safe.
The undesirable reactions and behavior are simply what he has learned being a herd animal to protect himself, they are all he knows and how he has survived. Now they are thankfully becoming less frequent each time I work with him, trusting me and learning that I won’t hurt him. He is happy to lead and is walking more beside me than following which I encourage and loves to head out for a pick of grass and meet our other horses. Our biggest achievement so far is definitely Pirates change in attitude, his eye has become softer and he is more willing to be with me.
Tango has been one of the quietest unhandled horses I’ve dealt with. Tango has been a very fast learner. Although he is still a bit unsure at times, he has shown no dirt whatsoever.
Everything I have asked of him, he has accepted very well. I have used pressure and release with Tango. Our first session was roughly 45 minutes. Within this time, I had haltered him, patted him down both sides of his body, and was swinging a lead rope around. Unfortunately, due to 40km winds over the last week, I haven’t been able to do much with him. But I have had Tango walking over trot poles, over a tarp comfortably, leading off another horse, put a rug on him, he has adjusted well to his daily hard feeds, had my pet lamb running around, my four dogs, and a flag, and introduced him to new people. Also, his has become accustomed to cars driving past his yards.
Overall, I am super proud of my gorgeous little Brumby, and I can’t wait to see him flourish.
On Sunday 24th I made the trip over to Victoria to pick up VBA Nightstar. She travelled really well all the way home and unloaded so calmly. For the next few days I didn’t do much with her just to allow her to settle in and get use to her surroundings. I then started off just hanging around while she ate her hay letting her get use to my presence, which quickly progressed to her eating out of my hand while I was sitting down – she does tend to get nervous to approach when I’m standing but I’m glad to say we are slowly overcoming this fear! Unfortunately, I ended up getting quick sick in the second week and needed to take a few days’ break while I recovered which has put us behind more then I would’ve liked. We then started working on changing directions and facing up to me which she picked up very quickly and willingly. She can be a sensitive little mare at times with high flight or fight response - however after working I have quickly come to realise she picks fight before flight so my main goal throughout this whole process is trying to ensure she doesn’t feel the need to react and make her as comfortable as possible by really watching and understanding her cues to me. We are still working on her allowing touch, she is getting more curious by each day and slowly learning that my touch isn’t a bad thing, she try’s so hard and really wants to interact with me.
Overall, I believe she is going well and we are going at the pace that suits her. Hopefully by next week we can start progressing more, however I never like to have any expectations whilst working with horses.
I am super excited to be taking part in the Australian Brumby Challenge, Thankyou to VBA for selecting me for the mentorship program. I couldn’t wait to meet my gorgeous chestnut filly VBA Dawn and definitely needed Friday 22nd off school to see her arrive.
The Brumbies seemed to settle well but Dawn was a bit more nervous than Pirate, probably because it was Dawns first ever trailer ride. After 2 days of trying to get Dawn to approach me she finally decided to take a mouthful of grass from my hand, this was the first time I had touched her. Soon after I coaxed her into a smaller yard and quietly shut the gate behind her. She was fairly frantic at first when she realized she was in a smaller yard, now next door to Pirate so we left her alone to settle. The halter process was tricky but Mum helped me and I could touch her neck and face gently with a stick at first, then my outstretched arm. I was impressed that although Dawn was very scared with big wide eyes, she had not tried to hurt me or been nasty. Dawn accepted the halter being rubbed all over her face so Mum helped me fasten it, this took 40mins and I was really happy with how brave she had been.
Ever since we haltered her I have been able to catch her on my own, I move around her quietly at first, talking to her and always give her time to think if she is feeling nervous. Dawn is learning to lead and follows me well, she is allowing me to touch her legs and I can pick up her front feet. I am extremely happy with Dawns efforts so far and very much enjoy working with her.
VBA Jasmine – Jazzy as we call her, Arrived in the early hours of Monday morning! After a huge trip from Victoria all the way up into QLD I was super excited to start playing with her and seeing what sort of personality and nature she has!
Day 1 was spent getting to know each other, We had our first touches only hours after unloading of the transport. I kept our sessions short and sweet, giving lot of time in between each movement to allow Jazzy to understand what was being asked of her. On day 1 we did 3 x 10 minute sessions. By the end of the third session, she was following me around the round yard and allowing me to pat all over her face.
Day 2 We started our first session off going over what we did the day before, making sure Jazzy
understood what I was asking of her. Jazzy is super smart and willing and tries her very hardest to do anything asked of her. Our Second session we put a halter on her with minimal fuss. She accepted the halter and lead well and we started brushing her. She loves the brushes! We got all the knots out of her mane and most of the dry dirt off her body.
Day 3 Jazzy decided that today she was not being caught! She must have been feeling good and she ran around her yard with her tail up saying “no way” So I let her blow off some energy then asked her to face up again, To remember what we learn in the previous days. It only took a few minutes before Jazzy decided that she was finished having fun and was ready to go back to work! Once haltered we worked on leading and softness through her body. Day three was a huge one for me, at the end of Jazzy's session I stayed and hung around down the yards. Jazzy kept checking in on me coming back over and touching me with her nose, Then out of no where she laid down right in front of me and had the biggest roll. This really proved to that Jazzy is comfortable around me and feel safe to lay down and be in a vulnerable position!
Day 4 saw Jazzy picking up all four feet, Having her tail brushed- which is now one of her favorite things to have done! Wear A Rug for the first time. All of which she accepted and took onboard with no issues! Jazzy also started to pick at the Hard feed today! Which was great to see!
Day 5 we ventured out into the paddock! I was sure Jazzy has had enough of being in the yards and would love a green pick outside! So off we went into the paddock, Jazzy Was soft and supple on her halter. I was away at a clinic over the weekend, so I was super excited to see how Jazzy was going to go with me coming back and not doing anything with her for those two days. Well I was super pleased to see Jazzy neighed at me as she seen me coming down to the yards and meet me at the gate for snuggles and kisses! She's such a beautiful little mare!
Day 9 Jazzy has accepted everything I have asked of her with little to no fuss, today we put a saddle pad on and a lunge roller. We went for a walk out into the paddock, I let Jazzy have a pick while we were out there, She followed on behind me with the lead rope over her neck. When we finished our session I let Jazzy out into a 3-5 acre paddock to have a pick with another horse, A good test to see how she's caught again at the end of the day. Jazzy was out for approx 5 hours, I walked down to the gate with the feed bucket and she came right over! Let me halter her straight away and came back in, Got her night rug on dinner and bed.
Day 10 saw Jazzy wear a bit for the first time today! It took me a few minutes to get her to accept it into her mouth but once she did, she mouthed it for a few minutes then went back to following me around the yard to see what was next! I left her be for a while to get used to it. After she was happy with the bit we worked on some flexion and moving her hind quarter and front quarters.
In conclusion the last 10 days with Jazzy have been a huge success. She is Very Smart and Willing ,
she tries her very hardest to excel in everything I ask of her, She remains soft on the lead even when she is unsure of something. She Looks to me for reassurance, and once I offer that to her, she works out what we are doing and completes the task with no fuss at all!
My Brumby is called Yindi meaning Sun in an Indigenous language. She arrived in the dark On a special trailer built for Brumbies, driven by
a woman that specializes in transporting Brumbies!! Bree was her name.
The final hour spent on the rattling steel trailer, After 10 hours travelling with mates , was most likely the first time In Yindi’s 6 years of life she has spent alone. I had a kind horse with one eye waiting to greet her.
30 years ago I spent some very memorable hours With a very special man called Tom Dorrance. One of the things he told me while we were working with the Mustang colts in California was ‘Let them touch you first.’ As I went in to introduce myself to Yindi the next day I remembered Tom’s words. It’s Day 9 today and Yindi has touched me both physically, spiritually and emotionally! We are both different from our experience in this Brumby Challenge and it’s only been a week!
I’ve listened and I’ve seen her grief. There’s a sadness there. She misses her mob, her herd. Her baby.
I just sit sometimes and be. Other times I do my work around her. Some days I get her to join in and give her some jobs to do.
I saw a surrender from her yesterday. She saw acceptance in me.
Acceptance for where we both are today. We don’t Know where we will be in 130 days, we just have today. Now. Being present with Yindi a 13.1 hand liver chestnut pony from the wild is an honor . She feels big. She feels powerful. Yindi is a warrior and so am I.
VBA Primrose showed very quickly that she’s an inquisitive mare but from a distance. Upon pick up, I found that she was always watching what everyone was doing, but she would do so from the back of
her pen. She showed that she was very alert in comparison to the other brumbies, many brumbies in the yards ignored us walking by, whereas she always kept one eye us. When arriving home Prim
demonstrated these same behaviours after quickly exiting the trailer to stand at the opposite side of the yard, high headed and alert. Early days started with bribery of lucerne hay. I would sit on a crate in the middle of the round yard doing dental reports with lucerne hay scattered around me. Initially it took some time before she
would ventured over to have a nibble, but she learnt quickly that the food lady isn’t a threat. This lead to lucerne hay being nibbled out of my hands. The next steps of getting “inside her bubble” was much easier said than done. Primrose is a smart
little mare, but would only allow me in on her terms. She would sniff me but from a distance. To venture past this we worked on the principles of you can move that’s okay, but if want to stand that has to be with me. This took a lot of time and patience, however, she did improve dramatically, allowing me to walk into her bubble and then she began to start walking up to me but would never allow me to touch her. The next couple of days were only 5 to 10 minute sessions in the dark, due to a few big days of dental appointments! But I was able to rest my face against hers and give her a kiss, even though she
wouldn’t allow me to pat her I still felt that this was a step in the right direction. This morning (Friday the 5th) we were able to spend a couple of hours working together. She was lunging around the round yard, nice and relaxed trotting under a rope allowing it to run along the top of her body. Leading to me being able to stroke her with the rope along her face and then progressing over her ears to her body. Once she was comfortable with this, I used my hand to stroke her along her back. The first time she’s truly accepted touch from my hands. Big win in my eyes!
Summer arrived to our Burilda Park during a confidence boosting clinic that I was teaching. She was transported by Breez Brumby Transport and was put into her secure yard on the side of the arena watching the last day of the clinic. Who knows what she was thinking as she saw horses going over obstacles and through gates. Imagine coming from the National Park and then seeing these aliens on other horses’ backs! She was blowing ‘stay away’ breaths and was extremely defensive.
On day two, I started to get to know her. Slowly feeding her and having her realise my presence meant good things. We then created a yard inside the arena and encouraged her in. It was here that I began handling her. First by putting a rope around her and then moving this to what I call a ‘Cowboy Halter’ where the rope is tied like a halter.
I repeated this for the week until she allowed me to halter her. This was a huge moment for us both. It was the moment our rapport had a foundation. I started getting her accustomed to moving away from me and toward me using gentle pressure and started flicking my stick and string over her. We soon moved to leading because I wanted her to integrate into the stables and be looked after like the other horses with grooming, rugs and regular washing.
She was reluctant to go from her ‘safe space’ initially but with some encouragement she followed me to the stables.
Once she was comfortable in the stables, she had her first wash with Equinade shampoo and had her first domestic horse meal of Prydes biomare cubes. She LOVED the food and was surprisingly calm to be washed.
We had a journalist from our local paper come out this week to do a story on her and as he went to leave, he tried bid farewell and touch her nose. She snorted and jumped backwards.
It was then that I could quantify what I was calling a ‘rapport’ and as she welcomed me to stroke her face I could call it for what it was.
A bond. She was bonding to me in a very real way.
That afternoon I stood at sunset with Summer in the middle of an open paddock, just a rope loose on the ground and between us, and she stood with me; watching the farm. And that afternoon I realised what I was in for, and the gravity of standing in silence with a
Kosciuszko brumby- the pillar of the high country folklore.
Oh my goodness what a first 2 weeks we have had! So much has happened I'm not sure where to begin…
I got VBA Bullet, a 5yr old mare from Long Plains Kosciuszko NP. She was delivered to me by Breez Brumby Transport but I drove up to the brumby sanctuary to meet Colleen and see my brumby in the yards prior to any of the days excitement starting, and Oh what a stunning mare she was!
Bullet was delivered late morning Friday 22nd July and I just left her alone for the day and most of the following to settle in. The first couple of days was a lot of short sessions just working on facing up to me and not turning her bum towards me. She was a very nervous girl with a very strong flight reflex so I was working at a distance that didn’t terrify her too much.
By the end of day 3 (not counting pick up day) I decided to start a bit of a journal.
Day 3- VBA Bullet (now known as Flicka) is a very flighty nervous girl so todays progress is huge! She will comfortably let me approach and stand in front of her, she has reached out touched me but I haven’t tried to touch her yet. Although I can move my hands in a rubbing motion a few inches away. My main objective this week is to build her trust in me.
Day 4- omg I can touch her! She will let me rub her neck and even her cheek. I cried happy tears today
Day 5- Today I managed to get a halter on Flicka and we did some more face up work which let into her first few steps of learning to lead.
Day 6- Today was a huge day for Flicka. She is now leading half a dozen steps around the round yard. My place is a bit of a circus with our cats constantly under foot or playing in her hay, our dogs chasing each other in one paddock, horses tearing around another paddock and a family of magpies fighting in a tree over head. Its all very overwhelming for a brumby who was untouched only a few days ago.
Day 7- Wow! What an amazing girl she is! Today has her leading around the yard, brushing her body, touching her legs, flapping a towel and even a scary quad bike moving sheep next door. So very proud of her and how far she has come already.
Day 10- Fairly quiet weekend as I had a bit on and it was also gale force winds here, so we only had a few sessions
where we worked on just approaching her and rubbing more of her body.
Today however we had our first walk outside the round yard and enjoyed a pick of grass.
Day 11- Today was our second time out of the round yard and she was a lot more relaxed. Flicka has also discovered that touch can feel great! She really loves a good scratch. We can also calmly have the halter put on and off and are learning to have a rope thrown all over her body.
Day 12- What a fantastic clever girl she is! Had a lovely calm walk around the paddock and around the house with all the scary things like a veggie garden, cars, and even her reflection in the window of the house! Then tonight she learned to have a rug put on and off a few times, even though she was scared, she looked to me for comfort and reassurance and accepted it so well.
Day 13- Today we went for more walks and a bit of exploring more scary things, we even met the other horses. One of which is my 11yr old daughters very own Kosciuszko brumby gelding named Blaze who has been with us almost 2 years now.
Day 14- Today Flicka graduated out of the round yard and into her own small paddock! It really is amazing to think that less than 2 weeks ago she was a totally wild horse. Once you gain their trust, they are the most willing creatures with so much try and love. I would like to thank Warrnambool Equine and Black Horse for sponsoring me a bucket of InsideOut. This will really
benefit her literally both inside and out.
Flynn has shown to have a lovely, sweet nature from his first day here. I have approached him slowly for several short sessions per day with food, over each passing day he has become accustomed to
me touching his neck and back. On Saturday July 30th, I locked Flynn in a small section of his yard he had become accustomed to feeding in and patted/ brushed him with the halter as much as his comfort would allow. We repeated this in the afternoon and Sunday morning before he seemed calm enough to have the halter on Sunday afternoon. Flynn is adapting nicely to a slow, considerate approach. If I seem too forward to him, he has pinned his ears back and threatened to bite a couple of times. I choose not to correct this behaviour as he is showing me he is being pushed a little too far out of his comfort zone and is still frightened of the smallest sudden movement from me. I redirect his behaviour with a little space, times to reflect and restart …over the last two days, he has not shown any defensive behaviour and I can hold him on a short rope I made ( short for his safety but easier for me to get him accustomed to being held) and lead him with feed. He seems quite happy for me to rub the off side of his face and ears today but still very shy on the near side. This is the side of his old eye injury which may or may not be a factor as the eye seems clear (for vision). It could
even be a case of post trauma memory. I am however, considerate to his trepidation and continue to pat him where he's comfortable and introduce him to new things slowly and steadily, ever aware
of his current limits. I have left halters, a saddle blanket and a rug in and near his yard for him to investigate in his own time. He is eating well and often, from what I can observe his teeth, (at least one I can see clearly) might be quite sharp and he does struggle to eat pellets, he is getting used to eating dampened food and his teeth will be a priority as soon as he is ready.
What an exciting week! Teddy arrived here at Pineview Equestrian last Tuesday night in the dark so I left him until the morning to settle. Wednesday I limited our contact besides feeding him hay to
allow him to get used to his new surroundings. By Thursday Teddy was fairly relaxed so I did plenty of short sessions with him through the day. Sessions included sitting in his yard reading to myself to help him relax in my presence, approaching and retreating and eventually feeding him hay by hand. Teddy seemed very reserved and almost ‘shut down’ so on Friday I spent more time just sitting with him and not asking anything of him. I wanted Teddy to be relaxed and confident to engage with me and tried a few different things over the weekend to encourage him to come out of his shell. I continued with approaching him and retreating, desensitising with the carrot stick, matching steps
and lots of sitting and standing with him. By Monday Teddy was letting me approach him and scratch his shoulder, he would turn in and face
me and follow me around as I cleaned his yard. He had also started whinnying at me as I approached the yards.
On Tuesday I introduced Teddy to the halter and lead rope, I rubbed him all over with the halter until he was happy and then progressed to placing the rope over his neck and asking for flexion with a tiny bit of pressure. He is such a fast learner and picked up on the pressure and release almost immediately!
On Wednesday I was able to walk up to Teddy, put the halter on and calmly walk him around the yard. We did a second session later that day but this time we left the yard and went for a short walk about 100m from the yard and back again. He gained so much confidence from this exercise and was really looking to me for reassurance which was an amazing feeling! Teddy has been so accepting and trainable so far and it is only the beginning I’m looking forward to getting to know him more and continuing our journey together!
I welcomed VBA Shelley home last Monday, she stepped off the trailer little, chestnut and spicy! I now call her Ginger Spice We’ve had some set-backs in the first week – the weather was terrible
and it rained and rained. It has also taken most of the first week for Spice to get her bearings, she was initially very unsettled, ate very little and drank even less. I was quite concerned and on serious colic watch for the first 3-4 days, but was extremely relieved that by Friday she seemed calmer and had regained her appetite – so much so that she is now eating a small hard feed morning and night along with loads of grass hay. As Spice was so stressed initially, I didn’t really do much ‘training’ in the first week as I didn’t want to overload her when she was already struggling in herself. Now that she’s settled in, this last week
we’ve just been getting used to each other and keeping everything very low-key. My training goal for this Challenge is to avoid pushing her over the emotional threshold that she can cope with during our sessions, which is a bit tricky at the moment as even going into her yard can push her over threshold. Spice has been fairly hesitant about letting me into her space, and is not at all interested in being touched. We’ve been practicing facing up and drawing in and I’ve found that she is much more confident to approach me rather than have me approach her. I’ve been using food as a motivator (now that she’s got her taste for lucerne hay back) which seems to working well and giving her the
idea that there is something in this whole ‘people’ thing for her. She is quite a reactive mare, and is also very expressive with what she’s feeling – she’s given a couple of ripper stink-eyes’ when I’ve not met her expectations! She is not going to be a horse to be taken
for granted – she has Short-Pony-Syndrome in spades! I’m finding Spice to be extremely intelligent, she has shown she can think her way to a solution as long as she is given the time and space. I feel like she’s going to teach me some more valuable lessons about patience and expectations. I’m excited to see where the next weeks’ lead us, my goal is to teach her to be caught and haltered in the large-ish yard she is in rather than contain her is a smaller space or rope her just to ‘get it
done’. I’m hopeful that I can bring my B-Game (B for Brumby!) and convince Spice that I am worthy of her trust.
So The Queen travelled beautifully home on the 5 and a half hour drive from the brumby sanctuary. Once Queen unloaded she was quick to settle down with some lucerne and hay. I left her alone on the Saturday afternoon to let her relax into her new environment. On Sunday morning feeding she let me kneel beside her head while eating. I didn’t try anything else as I was happy with her just letting me be there in her space.
On Monday it was a lot the same although if she wanted to walk we walked. This really built her
curiosity as she would often stop in her tracks and just look at me. Eventually she would reach out to want a smell and I would retreat. This stayed the same until I could see she had relaxed some more with me being there in the yard and her reach out had some confidence about it. I met her nose with the back of my hand and when she gave it a really good old sniff I then withdrew my hand and left the yard.
On Tuesday her curiosity faded fairly quickly so I opted to use a coil of rope to generate some energy and this helped bring her focus back to me. My goal was for her to just face up but instead what she did was much cooler. So her mind would slowly move away from me and I would rattle the rope and she would walk a 3 meter circle around me then go back and stand in the same place. Her mind would wander off again and I would rattle the rope and she would do another circle around me but this time around 2 meters, then go back and stand in the same place. This went on and on until her circle was half a meter off me and then eventually she half faced up but close enough so I could engage. When she reached out she let me stroke the side of her cheek with my fingers. As the day went on I was able to rub down her neck and she even found herself going to rub her head against me but would get a fright and think better of it. Throughout that day we had numerous sessions with breaks in between and by the end I managed to get the halter on. She was so soft from the start and keeping it calm I would walk a
half circle around her and she would follow the feel of the lead. That was enough so I took the halter off and just pat her for a while.
On Wednesday it didn’t take long to get the halter back on her and I was really keen to get her out of the yard for a pick of grass for a while before going back to the yard. We did this throughout the day and something clicked. I learned this day that she was very vocal with her worry. When I introduced the saddle blanket to her she would do a low whinny so I would toss it away and she would walk up and smell it. I would then pick it up again and go over the same process until she would let me put it on her back. With brushing, Queen wasn’t so vocal. She would bare her teeth if I hit a spot she didn’t like and I would listen. Our communication is in sync.
VBA Lilac “LILA” is a little chestnut mare with plenty of character.
Day 2, (photo provided) was our first touch caught on camera. A special moment where Lila approached me unexpectedly. I was able to get a lot closer to her and she would start showing interest in me. I focus on making sure that I end the sessions early enough as not to overwhelm her.
Over the next few days I focused on desensitizing her to me and my movements. Getting her used to me holding the carrot stick and patting her over the shoulders and back, as her confidence and patience of me grew. She had a sniff and checked me out all over a couple of times. I encourage curiosity, allowing her to inspect things that are new. This helps with her confidence. I noticed after this little breakthrough she started to eat her hay and drink a lot more of her water.
Day 4, I managed to get more interactions with touching and Lilac was starting to nibble my hand. She follows me around the round yard and began some liberty ground work. Basic Liberty, asking her to go left and right, change directions and come in to me. Lilac is starting to show her personality and showing me her best chestnut mare face.
Day 5, started working on more touching, desensitizing to the halter and lead rope. Visitors and
supporters had come to see her and she was a brave girl. She allowed a few people to pat her and touch her. Everyone gave her some pony mix out of their hands and she had a bunch of good experiences with humans that day.
Day 6, I was able to start touching Lilac with ease and she would walk up to me as I entered the round yard. I made progress with tying the halter around her neck and she didn't seem to mind that it was attached to her. I took it on and off a few times without any issues.
Day 7 and 8, halter went on and off a few times. Lilac is still very funny about her head being touched and she did not like the feeling off pressure. In the afternoon she allowed me to put the halter back on and since she really hated any sort of pressure on her, I used another horse to show here how to lead. Using another horse helps her with confidence and also helps her want to follow. Within 5 minutes she was leading. Some small setback with weather and having the round yard rained out.
Day 9 for Lila was exciting as she got to have a second lead lesson but this time it was to move her to a dry paddock. So proud of her she had to walk past some floats, buildings and gates to get there. I walked her with a buddy and we took it slow as we had gale force winds helping the situation. Lilac did amazing and she showed me that she already trusts me.
On the 25th July I waited with anticipation for the arrival of Courage only seeing a photo I was excited
to meet him in person. From the moment he was delivered I knew there was something special , he
had a kind eye and took everything in his stride . On this day he was given hay and water and we left
him to settle into his new surroundings .
Day 2 Courage was eating and drinking well I walked into the roundyard where he held eye contact was obviously weary of me but stood and watched and slowly walked within arms reach and allowed me to pat him , I didn’t ask of much just walked around him slowly allowing him to gain confidence that I wasn’t to be feared and we ended the day of Courage allowing me to pat him .
Day 3 Courage seemed a little off I was unsure of what may be happening he was showing signs of colic, I quickly got in touch with my vet and she reassured me that he should be ok to take feed off him and just offer water we also gave him some electrolytes incase he was suffering from dehydration , he was on watch for 24 hours and thankfully he bounced back . We were unsure of what was wrong but think maybe it was brought on from stress after a long travel and change of surroundings .
Day 4 We decided to leave Courage because of him becoming unwell, today he was eating and drinking well and not showing any signs of being unwell
Day 5 Again leaving Courage for these further two days to ensure his health was 100 percent
Day 7 Slowly starting again with Courage, he is definitely showing the signs of being the Brumby I was expecting , whilst walking in the yard , he would spin and run away , kicking into the air. I was so happy to see this as I knew he was on the mend . Today I just worked on my catching exercise asking for him to keep eye
contact , walking around the yard with him holding eye contact the whole time , waiting for his feet
to stop moving then I would reward him with a pat. I then would approach him slowly whilst holding
my halter , not to try and put it on but to show him it wasn’t to be feared , every time I was to pat
him I would pat him with the hand that was holding the head stall . I was happy with Day 7
Day 8 Today I used the same steps I used on Day 7 just asking Courage to hold eye contact with me , if he
would run off , I would ask him to work a little harder ( eg free lunge in the roundyard ) I would then
change direction with hand gestures and stepping to the side , I would do this until he would stop
face me and walk into me in the centre . I would then approach him with my hand and halter . Courage
was allowing this but would move just enough that I couldn’t complete the transition to headstall
Day 9 Courage was happy to walk up to me , let me pat and rub him . I again had the halter in my hands
, he wasn’t fearful of it , he was rather being dominant and showing signs of being cheeky , just not
allowing me to complete the halter , he was only allowing me to put it on half way and then would
casually stroll off . I placed the rope over his neck and asked for more forward movement in a lunge ,
changing direction adding a little more pressure on the rope each time , this was to also teach him to
lead in time , after 5 minutes he would face me and allow me to pop the halter on . Today I also
started to desensitise him with the lead rope and the carrot stick working all over his body to see
where we may see a reaction , eg striking kicking out etc . But surprisingly he handled this very well
his only reaction was to move his feet around in anticipation, I would continue with the method of
applying pressure with the carrot stick and when his feet stopped I would stop , that was his reward
and to show him if he stops moving then I will stop .
Day10 I can walk into the yard and pop the halter on directly , he is lunging freely and softly in hand . Today I am working on same methods as day 9 but slowly adding a little more each day . Today I lead Courage out of the roundyard and took him for a walk around his new surroundings and moved him to a larger yard. Day 11 Courage is happy for me to catch him in the yard, can walk in pop his headstall on, walking him to the arena he is a little hesitant but with reassurance he is very willing . Today I also started working on desensitising
with a tarp in preparation of getting Courage to accept a rug . Within 5 minutes he accepted the tarp . I
have also started to teach him to disengage His hindquarters on ground and move his shoulders this
is methods I use to prepare him for his transition to being under saddle . Overall I am amazed at how intelligent this Brumby is , he has shown me so far that I only have to show him something once and
then he has picked it up . I have had a question recently asked on How did I find training a brumby in
comparison to a domesticated horse ? My answer is going off this Brumby they are more willing than
most domesticated horses I have worked with .
VBA Elsie arrived to us just when our family were in the middle of Covid (there are 7 of us in my house) and a wintery cold snap was about to descend. It definitely made the first week challenging. I worked around the weather and my family as best I could. In between rain and wind I'd venture outside rugged up from head to toe you could barely see my face and I would do some basic round pen work. The vast amounts of rain flooded parts of my round pen and made most of my paddocks very muddy. Even with 20m of extra sand we brought in only a week before the round pen was still like porridge after the heavy downpours. So for safety reasons most of our work during week 1 was walking, me doing chores such as cleaning up her paddock, bringing food, doing waters all to get her used to me being in her space and around her. I spent an hour just sitting in a camp chair in the round pen letting her watch me, walk around me and feel relaxed with me around. I looked for what training I could do with the restrictions I had. We can't control the weather or Covid.
As the yards and paddock dried up and the sun shone through making the days far more pleasant I was able to do more. We achieved walk, trot and canter calmly around the round pen. We have nice smooth inside turns and she faces up to me relaxed and calm. Elsie has moved off the fence off the round pen and will trot or walk in a small circle around me allowing me to drive her hind quarters away giving her body that nice banana shape. There is something truly magic when you have those breakthrough moments that come with trust and understanding from both parties of what the goal is. She follows me with her nose and is learning her name. She has learnt very early on that facing up to me is rest time and I allowed her to let me closer each day in her own time. I tied a flag to the side of the round pen on week 2 and added 3 trot poles just to
add something different. At first Elsie was convinced the flag was going to eat her, but as a day or two passed and no claws emerged from this thing that flapped around she realised it was ok. The trot pole she took in her stride from the first time they were introduced. Something I often do when I am training horses is have music playing. I do this not only for myself but for the horse. During my daughters rodeo days years ago we had music playing as they trained so the horses were used to it when they came to compete. Music also helps me not to get bored, it helps the time pass and helps keep me calm. Elsie was introduced to my love of classical music this week. Having a classical musician for a daughter and a background in classical singing and bassoon has actually helped me teach my horses speed control. A horse’s trot can be a 2/4 or 4/4 beat, but a canter is a 3/4 or 6/8. Its great fun and a wonderful learning opportunity to aim to get your horse to trot or canter to the beat of the music. Elsie did a beautiful controlled trot in 4/4 timing to a piece by Tchaikovsky on Monday, I have informed her she is now part of a family of major classical music nerds so she must get used to hearing the great composers. It was a really special moment when I first touched her nose and the sound of the oboe was playing calmly in the background. I've not yet haltered her yet, but she is allowing me to touch her slowly. I made the choice to let her come to me and allow me to handle her when she is comfortable. Among flags, trot poles, classical music, the daily train that goes past our farm, Elsie has discovered many new things. For starters the humans here are all sizes. The small ones like to look at her and talk to her. One brings her food with me each day and to my surprise she walked right up to my son and sniffed him out of the blue. He was very excited about it. Elsie has also met something called chickens. These brown small things covered in feathers always get involved in feed time and like to jump in her bucket of food which she
has made clear to them she does not approve of. They also love to gather in numbers of 4 or 5 at her back end when she does a pooh, once that tail lifts chickens all come running from all sorts of places to await the
steaming hot food that will fall from above. Poor Elsie was horrified the first time this happened. She has made friends with the old mare in the next door paddock pepper who watches intently every training session. Conversations from afar with our other horses have been heard as they introduce themselves. She met our
criminal mastermind, the small fluffy and loud miniature pony. I am sure Pepper informed her this little guy was not cute. If he could find a way into her paddock and eat all her food, he will. He gets through fences, pushes open gates and is convinced he is at death's door staving and must eat now. This little ball of fluff
and fat can chase even the largest and bossiest horse away from its food. Elise was very curious about this small horse who was very vocal and trying to get his head through the bars of her yard to eat her hay.
Domestic life is vastly different from life in the mountains or the sanctuary she knew. New sounds, new smells, new humans, new animals, new foods to taste and new horses to meet. The wonderful things about horses is they don't judge us. We can pour our hearts out to them, we can speak about our joys, our pain, our dreams, our mistakes and fears. They don't remind us of all the things we are not proud of. They forgive us again and again for the mistake we make. Every day is a new day. They ask so little yet give us so much. One of the first things I did when Elsie arrived was I spoke to her. I told her I was not perfect. I told her I
would probably make some mistakes in this. I told her she wasn’t getting a trainer with a vast array of belt buckles or ribbons to her name, it was just me. I had no idea what we would achieve or how far we would go, but I would do my best to listen to her and help her learn as best I could. I will have days where I will
doubt myself, I will find it hard to get motivated to train, but I was committed to doing my best. I want this to be fun and to develop a great bond with this horse. But most of all, I want my whole family to enjoy this experience. We are a team and we support each other through the good and the bad no matter what. My 14
year old son James is watching and learning all he can through this challenge. He loves to go out and see her in between his school lessons. The joy this mare has given him will make all the hard work well worth it.
Day 1: My brumby arrived late last night and we’ve been spending the day letting her settle in. I've started some connection at liberty with her, approach and retreat just at the Walk. She has a big star on her forehead so she looks like a little black beauty.
Day 2: Today I’ve managed to get her to eat hay from my hand 4 times today
Day 3: Today we turned a corner and made some nice progress with Black beauty feeling able to sniff the lunge whip. I use this as an extension of my arm - its not as threatening as my actual arm if used correctly. She is pretty wary but once I’ve got her trust I think we will really get things happening
Day 4: Today I was able to rub little black beauty with the lunge whip. Yay! We are making slow but steady progress
Day 5:Today my little brumby was able to sniff my hand and repeatedly take hay from my hand.
Day 6: Today we progressed a little further with Black Beauty feeling just confident enough to sniff my hand many times over quiet a few short sessions throughout the day. She is still very snorty which you can see in the video on my Facebook page Backwater Ranch
Day 7: Today we made more baby steps progress - Black Beauty will let my touch her nose but not her face, I’ve been doing some liberty work with her and she is following me now too.
Day 8: I've decided we are going to take things back to the beginning with my approach and retreat and reading her thresholds because she still won’t let me touch her, her eyes are still very “hard” and she’s very snorty.
Day 9: I think I’m on the right track with Little Black Beauty now as I’m listening even more closely to her need for space and her eye is softening. Previously she has been allowing me to get so far but no further but I feel by doing less pressure and more awareness of her tolerance to pressing into her
space bubble she is slowly considering that I may be allowed to touch her.
Day 10: I have re introduced the lunge whip as an extension of my arm and getting her to bump it with her nose at which point I’m retreating. This seems to be working and slowly over the coming days I’m moving my hand further up the lunge whip so getting her used to the approach of my hand while she is gaining confidence in bumping the lunge whip and rubbing her forehead with it.
I’ve decided due to the fact my brumby is very fearful, id rather take the slow and steady approach with her. I normally use a gentle version of traditional Natural Horsemanship pressure/release approach as well as positive re enforcement as that has worked well for me in the past but this brumby due to her hi fear/freeze tendency I'm trying a different way at least initially to get past this fear and her tendency to freeze and go internal - and ill be thoroughly establishing a deep trust and acknowledgement of her boundaries before I weave in the methods that I usually would use with a horse that already has more experience with our domesticated world.
I was balloted the beautiful VBA Rumba, a dark brown Bogong High Plain mare she is approx. 14hh, believed to be 5-6 years old and is known to have had 1 foal. We work together 4 to 6 times a day with short 5-15 min sessions.
Day 1 The day we pick her up I left her to settle in for most of the day after her traumatic morning but I couldn’t resist doing a short session with her later in the afternoon. She presented as a calm confident horse and open to thinking things through. My aim was to get her to offer a strong thought in my direction without any pressure. She came through really well.
Day 2 I continued working on towards establishing a stronger thought connection. Early afternoon we had a break through with her offering up a touch and I was able to build on this during the next couple of sessions that day. We finished off the day being able to lightly stroke her whiskers (nose).
Day 3 We worked on touch. Encouraging her to reach out to touch my hand, and building on her thought connection. I introduced the idea for her to turn into me instead of just offering me her thought.
Day 4 I worked on building on connecting her thought to motion, encouraging her to approach me instead of me approaching her. I decided to add some lucerne hay into our session to help her feel there was more reason to feel comfortable with me. I held the biscuit under my arm and she happily ate it
from there. It worked well. She started walking up to me.
Day 5 and 6 I started moving my hand towards her face/nose to initiate touch. By the end of day 5 I was able to stroke her nose on the front of her face, however only when I had lucerne on offer. She is comfortable eating from my hand both hay and chaff.
Day 7 Petting her is progressing and I can rub my hand/fingers gently down the front of her nose without her leaving. She is starting to follow me around a little bit. We finished the day with her letting me pat each side of her nose.
Day 8 Rumba is allowing me to pat her with a little more confidence.
I messed up today! I tried to touch her neck while she was eating and she didn’t like it, she turned on me with a threat to kick. Thankfully I realised my mistake and re-assessed my approach.
Day 9 Rest Day
Day 10 Rumba happily enjoying petting on her face and following me around. I decided to introduce petting above her eyes, she took to this really well so I worked towards her neck. Both of these were eagerly accepted throughout the day. Really happy with today’s sessions.
Day 11 Worked on building stronger acceptance of touch above eyes, along neck and down her face. Happily following and choosing to connect with me even with my dog distractions.
Day 12 I worked on rubbing further down her body. Rumba comfortable with me standing up by her neck rubbing her shoulder, front of whither and all along her neck. Able to scratch through her mane.
My philosophy is to work with horse’s thoughts before attempting any physical expectations. I’m really happy with how Rumba is confidently moving around the pen with me and accepting my company and guidance within her own comfort zone. I look forward to our next step into halter and leading.
Victorian Brumby Association
Brumby Junction Sanctuary, Glenlogie, Victoria AU
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