Monday August 24th, 2009

The Carrot or Handy stick

I have been trying to introduce something new to Wonder on a daily basis. Simultaneously, I try to randomly repeat exercises and concepts that I have already introduced hoping that it will help him develop into the type of horse we all want: safe, confident, respectful, reliable and happy in any situation.

Wonder would prefer that I had more time so I could work with him more than once a day. He loves the attention and there is no doubt that two or three short spurts would suit him just fine. I also would love it, of course, if I had more time to work with him, and my own horses, more frequently. A benefactor would be nice, so would winning the lottery, but in the interim, I am determined to do as much as I can as often as I can and hope for the best. So far he continues to exceed my expectations grasping new information easily as though he has done it all before. Whatever the Lucky Horse Volunteers did with him certainly made a lasting impression. All foal owners should be so lucky.

Today, I began massaging Wonder with the stick. An extension of my arm, this tool helps me establish trust and desensitize him to being touched all over his body. Later in his training, it will offer me another way to communicate with him more effectively and help establish the difference between my space and his—a concept that is slightly foreign to him at the moment. Right now, it's great because if he gets "goosey" being touched in any spot, my body is a safe distance away. I can continue to calmly and confidently rub the area until he is comfortable without personally invading his space or putting myself at risk.

In truth, this exercise not only helps Wonder learn to trust me with or without equipment, but it helps me learn to trust him too. By watching his reactions as I rub him all over with the stick, I get to identify the areas where he enjoys being touched as well as those where he doesn't. It affords me the opportunity to notice small gestures I might otherwise miss if I were too close or bending down. Because I train by myself, this is very important since it means fewer surprises when I am handling him and a more successful session for both of us.