He did graduate from having to wear his halter all the time and is now running around naked and standing nicely for haltering.
In preparation for him possibly getting away from me with the lead rope, I let him drag it around for a while. He thought it was weird but didn't act stupid about it.
Today we worked a little more on driving forward at liberty. He gets pretty spunky about it, and tried sticking in the corners with his head through the fence, but I let him know that wasn't going to work this time. He did better to the left than the right. Every other corner he'd turn around and I'd have to convince him to get going again in the right direction, which he would do under protest, too fast with a lot of head tossing. Baby stuff, baby steps... At least he's getting it and keeping his head.
The grass is growing thanks to the mild fall we've been having, so I found some big enough to pick and took him a hand full. He went crazy over it! He found his purpose in life! It makes me sad to think he's never grazed before. Soon, soon...
Can you please explain about the Mustang Pen? I know from another blog with adopting a Mustang that initially the horse was kept in a smaller pen when it first arrived at it's new home then evdntually graduated to a larger pen. Is keeping them in a smaller pen something that is required or just considered a good idea to help ease them into their new lives? I have no experience when it comes to wild horses other than places to find them when I want to take pictures. :)
ReplyDeleteYou know, I'm not sure whether they would adopt out a horse if all you had was a large area. I think it would be a bad idea. They do require 6 foot high solid fencing and there is a minimum size, but I don't remember if there is a maximum size. I know people who turn them out in a larger area right away tend to have a lot of trouble gentling them, if they manage it at all. Mine is 24 by 24 and just about perfect. If I can't touch them I can still reach them with a pole, and slip a rope on and off their necks if needed. It does sometimes feel a bit crowded if they're moving fast and bucking, but that doesn't happen much.
DeleteHe's cute, cute cute! It's always good to hear about his progress. I understand the holding pen babies react somewhat differently than the wild-caught horses. Have you found this to be the case with him?
ReplyDeleteHe is very different from others I have worked with. Not sure if it's from being in holding, but it probably played a part. All the mustangs I've worked with have differed from each other, so it is also partially personality/gender/age. He is okay with a lot of things other mustangs would take time to get used to, but he also is kind of a spoiled baby who doesn't want to do what he's told. I think some of that is defensive behavior but some part is just that he's not accustomed to politely responding to requests. He's like a kid who flips you off as he reluctantly does what he's been told to do. But usually there is an underlying worry there, and once he realizes it's not scary, that goes away. Bella will help teach him some manners if his herd education was lacking.
DeleteIt seems to me when the gal on the other blog (gun diva, if you're familiar with her) said something about having to set up a smaller pen when she adopted her mare a few months ago and I want to say she had to have it approved by someone, but I wouldn't exactly trust my memory. When her husband adopted a mustang for himself more recently, they already had the smaller pen so it was no problem.
ReplyDeleteI think I must have read Gun Diva's blog years ago. It rings a bell. I'll have to go check it out again.
ReplyDeleteI have heard that in some places they do compliance checks before they approve adopters. It doesn't work that way here. You draw out the layout of your corral, list what it's made of, and include directions to your property, and they approve or not. Then later you might get a visit from someone with the BLM, to make sure you're taking care of the horse. I've been checked up on twice, once long ago when I boarded my first mustang and once when I had Tonka already trained enough to turn out in a bigger area. If I remember he was all over the guy, wanting to say hi. He was such a people lover. They gave me a phone call when I adopted Bella but had to cancel their visit.