Wednesday, July 15
Started out today with Phoenix and Destiny.  I've only seen them in their pen outside the barn and paid little attention to them, along with most of the horses here.  Mona said in the video that they have over 30 horses and are set up to have 20 something. So many and so little time.

So the plan is that Sharon and I will try to groom and massage them with oils.  Sharon is already in with them and asks if I'm coming in.  "Um, sure" I say, feeling tentative.  I know nothing about these two but have a bigger sense of wild.  Sharon tells me to stand behind her and near the pen fence.  Phoenix can tend to turn fast and prefers to kick while Destiny can be nippy . . . oh, and Destiny thinks it's all about Destiny.   Okay, will do.

I'm watching as Sharon approaches them.  Destiny side-steps, whirls away and keeps away despite repeated attempts to connect.  This is, after all, about gentling them so that they can interact better with the human world that has invaded and violated their horse world.

Of the two, Phoenix is more amenable.  I let them smell my hands.  Sharon has Frankincense and Peppermint oils.  Frankincense is good for soothing and calming, kind of an aromatherapy treat.  "Rub a few drops on your palms and see if they like it.  They'll move away when they've had enough."  Sharon suggests I get out the peppermint and let them smell that on my hands. They smell the peppermint and like it enough that they're ready to eat the bottle out of my hands. I make a fast exit from the pen when these two animals are crowding me wanting what I'm holding. Sharon tells me the basics in opening the gates -- always inward, toward the horses.  Yep, got it.  Too easy for them to run out and over me.

Outside the pen, Destiny really wants nothing to do with me unless I pick grass for them.  At some point I dare to come back in. Sharon does a little light grooming on Destiny and suggests I stand next to her and just deftly take the brush and slide in like I belong there.  Destiny notices the hand-off and moves away.  So much for deftly. We try it again with the same result so I decide not to push her.

I try brushing Phoenix while massaging her spine.  She seems to tolerate me and my touch so I begin to soften my body, trying not to be tense, knowing she could suddenly not like something I'm doing.  I'd guess she's close to 16 hands, chestnut, with bony hips still needing some weight.  I brush her gently, happy that I now know the difference between a curry comb and the other accoutrements.  Mona has a clear preference for the soft rubbery, non-metal combs.  I'm going to skip the brush for mane and tail because they can be rougher and I'm told the sound of it brushing through their hair can bother them.  I just use the softer brush and hold each section like I would my own curly hair so it won't pull.  I stop and massage her spine from between her ears, the poll, and along her neck and back to her rump.  I don't find out until I'm writing this post that, in fact, her spine doesn't run along the top of her neck but actually runs down the side of her neck. Go figure.

 

We were both relaxing a bit when Destiny dares to come close and shoves her nose between me and Phoenix.  I'll have whatever she's having.  I played the game of ignoring her enough that I'm suddenly feeling like the cool kid on the block -- but not too cool.  She could still bite, kick, run me over, push me into the fence, etc.  But I talk to her like I had talked to Phoenix and am allowed to rub her neck.  Before I know it, I'm brushing her.   Destiny stays.  So, I keep brushing, talking softly and brushing lightly.  I try a massage on her and she seems okay with what I'm doing.  I don't do an extensive grooming because I have no desire to try to pick up her feet or to mess with her mane.  Just keep doing what she seems to like.  She gets to the point where she lets her neck hang low and puts weight on three legs, a sure sign of relaxation and ease.  Once in a while she'll stamp her hoof to shake the flies.

Sharon is videoing me grooming Destiny and shows Mona later.  They are impressed and later I ask Sharon why, curious for any morsel of "good job."  According to Sharon, Destiny is possibly one of the wildest horses they have.  Few volunteers work with her.  And the fact that she didn't react to me flipping a piece of her mane was impressive, too. . . so glad I didn't try to comb it.  So, I come away from that experience feeling that I've connected well with Destiny.

We hear Mona call us asking if we're ready to start working with the therapy horses and reminding us to drink water.  The therapy horses are old or lame and, after grooming, need to be walked in the ring and led through obstacles so they'll lift their legs and keep the muscles and ligaments moving.  We're working with DJ and Drifter.  Thirty year old DJ is a registered Quarter Horse who used to be in shows and did kids lessons, one of the few non-mustangs.  "Now he's old and sometimes grumpy and people let him get away with things and you shouldn't."  Oh, and he may kick.  Then there's Drifter who tends to both bite and kick.   Sharon asks who I want to work with.  "Neither," I say.   "Let's let them choose" she says.  The communicator throws the question out there and in a few seconds, DJ walks over to me.

Hmm, so how do I do keep DJ from being grumpy?  And he's one of the bigger horses. Mona tells me if he starts backing up or moving around when I'm trying to groom him that I should walk him out a few steps and back to the approximate X where he should be standing.  DJ and I dance for quite a bit but eventually he decides to stay put while I groom him.  Cleaning his hooves is a different story.  He keeps making the start of a kicking action so Mona helps me with him. If grooming feels good to them, why is it a challenge to get them to stand still for it?

Then it's time for his actual therapy, walking and easy obstacles.  He's "heavy" to lead unlike the feather we look for so Mona changes his halter to a thinner rope halter that he can feel better and mostly it makes a difference in his response to me.  I walk him on the higher side of the raised bar so he'll have to pick up his feet a little higher -- more bang for his therapy buck.

And me, I'm supposed to be learning to walk with my head up and looking ahead to where I want us to go.  Walk like you have every expectation that you know where you're going and your horse is coming with you.  Don't get ahead of your horse.  Walk next to their head and hold the lead about 6 or so inches from the halter.  Sometimes it feels right. Often I'm ahead in my effort to feel confident.    Mona is off to some other chores . . . and she may just be giving me space so I might find my own confidence. 

Meanwhile, Sharon has her hands full with Drifter.  He's trying to turn and bite her when she does his hooves and he's going for broke with kicks as well.  Emotion is not supposed to enter our interactions.  That's hard.  How can you keep fear and frustration at bay?  Eventually, Lydia comes out to help and between the two of them they get his hooves cleaned.

The thinking, as I understand it, is that Sharon needs to work with this horse again tomorrow and says "I don't want to be afraid of him."  She needs to be successful in getting this task done.  Same thing with the horses when they are asked to accomplish the obstacle course or other ground work.  They need to feel that they have succeeded in what they've been asked to do.  If there have been numerous tries, it may not be perfection but the closest they next come to success is a win for the day and they are praised heartily and the session ends.  Everyone needs to come out of the deal feeling safe and well.  Trust and respect.

Early on, Sharon told me that she used to be afraid of horses though now I can't recall what brought her to the Rescue. I'm reminded of the fear she has overcome whenever I see her working with various horses in their moments of resistance or fear, handling them with confidence, determination, knowing, care and love for them, especially for Cheyenne.

We break for lunch in the crammed little shed that once was the office but over the years of expansion, now serves many functions.  With the new barn, there will be a proper office with all things in their places, a proper intake area to assess new horses and administer to all the horses, and classrooms for vet students, a new partnership to begin this fall.  Mona says they hope to have the barn ready by November because the oldest existing section likely won't make it through the winter. Donate if you can!

After lunch we decide to play with Cheyenne and Tenaya again.  I hold open the arena gate while Sharon leads Cheyenne who walks easily through the gate and into the arena - totally unexpected.  Sharon unclips Cheyenne and she and Tenaya are loose for a while.  Mona thought it a smart idea to get Tenaya penned before trying to catch Cheyenne again.  Sharon had to chase Cheyenne down and eventually she allowed herself to be caught.

It was time to groom and massage them, continually keeping them accustomed to being handled gently.  Apparently it's customary to groom a horse before riding.  Tenaya was trained for riding by her previous owner who gave her up to the Rescue.


I was feeling at ease with Tenaya because she relaxed visibly as I talked to her and massaged her.  I picked her front hooves but waited for Mona to show up rather than try her hind hooves and tail by myself.  I think Mona was hoping I would have.

Then Mona says it's time to clean their "private parts."  Really?  Apparently their udders and teats can have some of the same problems as the male sheaths. Mona felt around on Tenaya first and then asked Sharon if she thought Cheyenne would let her try.  Only one way to find out.  Then Mona asked me to feel up there on Tenaya.  With or without a glove?  Well, no glove 'cause we aren't
really going inside anywhere.  So, there I was feeling around on her very soft udder and two teats and yep, there were clumps of dirt and whatever stuck there.  "Don't try to dislodge anything until we put this solution on to help dissolve it." Okie Dokie.  They both took our administrations with nary a shudder!

Oh, and here is a picture of Cheyenne's very cool striped tail!

Now it's time to walk them around the arena and through obstacles.  Tenaya responds really well including the half halt,  something Mona explains but I forget now.  She says several times that you need to be able to do ground work well before getting on a horse.  You wouldn't drive a car without knowing where the pedals are and what they do. I'm supposed to get her to walk over a wooden bridge and there's an art to making that happen that I never manage.  Any horse that I take over it might put one or even two feet on it but mostly side step it.  It's about exuding confidence and them trusting that you won't ask them to go anywhere harmful . . .  I fail miserably.

But, Tenaya walks the pipes well and I lead her through the hanging ropes that brush their faces to get them used to being out on a trail with hanging branches or leaves. She's a trooper. But I confuse her when I'm trying to get her to turn her hindquarters or ask for her shoulder so she'll move in a particular direction. I'm not real clear on the front part and feel like I'm confusing her.  Poor thing.  I don't have a clear understanding of the concept and leave that experience feeling deflated.

Time to take off their halters, open the gate and they charge through to their home pen.  It's still a thrill to watch them move.

In the few free moments I find, I check out things hanging in the barn including the poster that depicts the Freeze branding code.  Freeze branding is the alternative to branding with a red hot iron.  While there may be some discomfort, I assume there is no comparison to burning hair and skin with a hot iron.  Freeze branding has angle codes used by the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) to decypher the information about where and when a horse was captured, their age, and lots of descriptive details of a horse.

Time for a few chores before Mona cuts out for a meeting.  Sharon and I try talking over essential oils again that they need to order while waiting for Lydia to arrive to close up the barn.  We water and feed and she throws down hay bales from above that we schlep to the hay room.  Tomorrow Chris the trainer is scheduled.