Busy days and Horse Politics

After the highs and lows of the past few months, I seem to have been welcomed into a lovely peaceful space inside myself again. I am so grateful for all the challenges and lessons life brings each day as they offer the greatest opportunity for seeking that eternal peace present inside and outside of us.

It has been many months now since we have had any decent rain here. The ground is hard and the grass is brown and now non existent in many areas of the property. My landlord has asked that I rearrange the horses to include rehoming some of them. I have been asked to only have 4 horses on the property and until the other day there were 8 here.

So the herd got an unwelcome shake up as horses were moved to different paddocks and one so far rehomed. The oldest mare left for her new home today where she will play nursemaid to weanlings on a 190 acre property. Arnie, the gelding that thinks he is a stallion, has returned next door to my landlords property much to the disgust of all the mares :) He really is a very popular fella.

Sienna and Kiowa have been placed up the mountain and as I type I can hear their occassional distant whinny echoing down to my little caravan to tug gently at my heart strings. I recently acquired 2 purebred arabians who will soon be looking for loving homes. Although I have only had them for 6 weeks, already I have grown extremely fond of them both. They are inseperable and despite always placing their feed buckets side by side they still often insist on both eating out of the same bucket. The oldest of the pair is 2 years old and he is a sweet, soft and loving soul. He really has the most outstanding nature and is a delight to behold. He loves people and follows me around begging for some attention. He already stands at 15hh high and captivates me with his grace in movement. His little brother is very similar however perhaps a little cheekier. He came as a colt and was gelded Friday. He got terribly swollen yesterday so he had to go under again today and be reopened and have more surgery. The poor little guy is a mess at the moment and must be in a lot of pain. This has made me very pleased that I mainly have mares as I am not certain I would ever want to put a horse through this process again. Despite all the needles and poking, prodding and spraying, little Bobbie is still as sweet as can be.

These lovely boys are now looking for a long term home, preferably together. I will be taking some pictures tomorrow and will add them to a post here for their imminent sale.

They are currently in a paddock with Scout and Lacey. Scout tells them in no uncertain terms that they are not welcome to near her. Lacey on the other hand decided that it would be a nice idea to eat dinner with them tonight. The boys both welcomed her and the three of them quietly ate with not even a raised lip or pinned ears at any time. As you can see from this picture little Bobbie has to gain some weight and coat condition. I have both boys on 3 feeds a day and they have really improved and Bob has even grown considerably in height in the last 2 weeks.

I am hoping that once all these changes are settled, then I can get back to spending some more time with Scout and Lacey. Lacey is as delightful as ever. Today I was quite exhausted after a big day in the hot sun doing various jobs on the property including fence repair and walking the 40 acre fenceline which is not as easy as it sounds as this whole property is on the side of a small mountain. It was most enjoyable and I can almost feel the excess winter kilos dropping off me! In the late afternoon, as the sun was setting I layed down in the front paddock and Lacey trotted over nickering to me then proceeded to enthusiastically lick my face and arms for a lengthy period. I am unsure if she has been told that she is actually a horse. What a delightful filly she is. She is certainly growing fast.

Can it really be this easy??

On an impulse, I decided to do some more work with Scout today. She did all I asked of the groundwork with ease although little enthusiasm. We started doing some sidepassing which she picked up straight away as well. Then I hopped up on her again. She was a perfect angel. I lifted the rope into the air and tilted my pelvis asking her for backup. She turned her head to look at me. I stayed in this position whilst she thought about what I was asking. I find she prefers me to just wait whilst she works something out. If I up the pressure at this point she will get annoyed and brace. I did up the pressure slightly and she then turned around and bit the air near my foot - I took her point and I continued to ask politely. She took a small backward step and I dropped the rope and relaxed. I sat there for a short while and then asked again. She immediately backed up a couple of steps. Again I relaxed and gave her a rub. I then asked her to walk forward which she did happily. I passed the rope over her head and asked her to walk forward to the right this time. Again she did this perfectly. We then did another 2 steps of backup and she sighed deeply at which point I jumped off and gave her a good scratch (her favourite thing!) and took the halter off.

She is such a different horse to work with. I have no thought or feeling at all that she will react with a buck or rear. She is all business not only in this sort of training but in how she handles herself in everyday life. She will not exert any more energy than is absolutely necessary and it appears this also extends to my training with her. My flatmates daughter was there while I was riding Scout and she was shocked when I told her this was only the second time she has ever had me on her back. What an incredible mare and it seems Lacey is taking after her in her unbelievably laid back temperament. I have still not seen anything that makes Scout or Lacey jump and flee in fright like you expect from most horses. In fact if something seems strange to them it is customary for them to march right up to it and check it out.

Whilst we were training Lacey decided that she needed to have both our attention and started running full pelt around the yard jumping a fallen tree on each circuit around. She was running at a flat gallop and clearing the log with ease. Lets hope she doesn't decide to try that on the fences when she gets taller! She gets herself so excited when she is running that fast and having that much fun that she makes little grunting noises and squeals and whinnies with delight.

What a pure privelege it is to have these two extraordinary horses in my life.

Scouts First Ride

Today I woke up with a distinct feeling that I should finally start training with Scout. The past few days she has been calling out to me whenever she sees me and she is following me around more. I like to trust these instinctive feelings when it comes to Scout. She is a strong and very independent mare who knows full well that she does not need people in this world to survive. She is not a horse that seeks affection (unlike Lacey who thrives on it). She shows her bond and trust is much subtler ways. She will allow me to do whatever I need to with Lacey and often she will actually leave Lacey with me and wander off for a moments peace without her. She respectfully shifts her hindquarters away from me when I walk past her at feed time and she will not touch the feed until I give her the ok.

I started her on a different homeopathic last week and have seen some very significant changes in her. She has softened slightly and seems brighter and more willing.

So this morning I got up walked out to the yard and went to put the halter on. She kept walking forward and positioning her tail to me for a scratch. I stayed at her shoulder and she then turned and put her head in the halter. She walked quietly beside me and when I asked her to walk in a circle around me each direction she quietly complied. I have noticed with Scout that if you ask her to do something like the circle work to much she will stop and look at me as if to say 'what on earth is the point of this!'. She nicely yielded her hindquarters and forequarters, she backed up softly and then I stood on the milk crate and clicked my fingers. She stepped forward and I laid on her. She moved a little so I slid off and we went back to the milk crate. This time she stood nicely and I got on her and gave her withers a scratch. She had a look at my shoes and then stood quietly completely unperturbed. She eventually walked around a little with me on her and I slightly tipped my pelvis and she stopped straight away. I got off and gave her a good tail scratch and hopped up from the other side. She stood still again unfazed and I called it quits after that.

It is hard for me to adequately describe the feelings I get when I am around Scout. She is a very wise, old soul and her intelligence astounds me. I feel that she is craving stimulation at the moment and I am so looking forward to her release from quarantine so we can go out walking each day. I think she will love being out on the trails. Her personality is so different to Lacey's. Lacey is very extroverted and wants to be a part of everything I am doing. She is bold and loves affection. She is healing very well from her injury.

Tumultuous Times

Life has been a bit hectic of late to say the least. Many changes are in the air yet again. Scout was tested a couple of weeks ago for CEM which would then allow her final quarantine release. I got a phone call from AQIS a week later saying the test was transported in the wrong medium and despite the negative result Scout needed to be retested when she was in season again. I was very frustrated at this news as this whole process has taken over 12 months now and still Scout cannot run in a herd or leave the yard she is in. My partner and I were due to move that weekend up to our new house up North. All our stuff was already up there as well as 3 of the horses so we were keen to get up there. I had a whole truck booked to move Scout and Lacey but all that had to be postponed. Then a couple of days following poor Lacey fractured her nose. I think she was kicked by Sienna. She was extremely sore and that afternoon the vet came out to x-ray her which confirmed it was a break. A few hours later that evening I was sat with Lacey as she lay with her head in my lap. She was really struggling to breath so the vet came back out to give her a steroid injection. Whilst that was happening I was holding on to Scout and she was extremely agitated. This is not normal behaviour for her. She is more than happy to let people handle Lacey and will keep a eye on her from a distance. She was pulling me all over the place and would not cooperate at all. Then just as the vets were about to leave Scout dropped and coliced. So she was tubed with parrafin and I decided to put a mattress in the tray of my ute so I could sleep beside them and keep and eye on them. Despite how stressed I was, it was a truly beautiful night laying with my dog beside me and my horses layed down on the other side. I will remember that night always and the feeling of wholeness I felt at being so close to the 3 of them. It was during that night that my dream of living a truly simple life walking with my horses was rekindled. I thought what more could I possibly want other than this.

The next few days also saw me separating from Rich. I have decided to stay where I am now and therefore it means moving everything I own back to Brisbane again for the fourth time in 12 months. The word simplify seems to keep being repeated in my mind often!!! I fondly imagine what it will be like just living with the bare necessities when I finally am able to live a nomadic life with my horses.

In amongst the emotional upheaval of my personal life at present a gift has emerged in the form of Lacey. I can honestly say I have never experienced any horse quite like her. Our bond was instant from the time she was born. She follows me everywhere and likes to sleep beside me when we lay down in the afternoon sun. She is a gentle yet outgoing little soul. She has bounced back remarkably well from the trauma of late and within days was running around being her normal self again. It is hard to put into words what I feel when I am around her. I was told that the bond you can form with a Spanish Mustang is a deep, unique and very special one but nothing could have prepared me for Lacey! She is pure joy and I watch her often when she is unaware of my presence. She will spend along time watching a bird sitting on the rail near her. I also watched her staring for a long time at some tibetan prayer flags that were blowing in the wind nearby her. She has a serene and gentle way about her when she is in those places. Just quietly watching the beauty and wonder that is apparent in the world all the time, if only we just stopped long enough to notice.....

Lacey has found her feet!!!

Lacey is just such a little character. She boldly marches up to me and licks my face and arms. She is very gentle and sweet and just loves to be scratched. Scout has eased up on protecting her so much now and is happy to let her do her own thing now.

Here is some video I took yesterday of a play session:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_tqxWuhcSo

I couldn't be happier with this little filly

Welcome Scout's Honour to the World

In the early hours of the morning, Indian Scout had a beautiful Spanish Mustang filly. I have called her Scouts Honour and her paddock name is Lacey. It was a dramatic entry into the world for little Lacey. I heard Scout whinnying about 3:30am and didn't think much of it as she often calls out to check where Sienna is at night. It went on for awhile so I got up and went out to check her. She was absolutely frantic when I got up to the yard. I went in to try to calm her down and noticed Sienna was standing nearby. I then looked down to see the placenta on the ground and so I to started to panic. I searched around the yard but no foal. I was very puzzled so I ran and woke Carmen up to come and help me. We both puzzled over what could have happened and why there was no foal to be seen but clearly Scout had given birth and was distressed. We searched farther afield and were shocked to find the foal leaning on the fence just before the dam some 50 metres away from the yard. It was q uite the struggle to get the foal up to the yard as she was a big, strong girl. Eventually we got Scout and Lacey reunited and they got to the task of bonding.

Scout is a very good mother although quite a tough one. It is fascinating to watch her teach Lacey the ways of the world. She can be a little rough on her at times for example if Lacey is to rough on the teat she will give her a nip or if she isn't listening to Scout she will promptly put her back into place. Scout is very protective of her and has changed in personality dramtically since Lacey arrived.

I am amazed at how tough and sensible this breed are. Lacey is an absolute delight and I cannot wait to get her and Scout settled into our new home. We should be able to move within 3 weeks all going well.












Here is a link to some video I took of Lacey's first few hours with us:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmR9Y9zfUIM

Busy Times

I have been very busy again of late. I am now packing up house again and Rich will be moving into our new place on Friday which is 3 hours North of where we are now just outside a place called Gympie. I will move up in a month once Scout has foaled and can travel.

We are so looking forward to setting the property up for the horses. I have somehow managed to get my horse herd up to 5 mares with 2 foals on the way. I was not thrilled at the idea of having Scout's foal raised without a playmate so I went out and bought a thoroughbred mare in foal to the arabian stallion Al Maheeb. She is due on the 9th October although her belly looks much larger than Scout's! She is a very sweet mare with a 'been there, done that' temperament. She has been ridden and cared for by a 10 year old girl so that will give you an idea of her nature. I will post some pics of her once I have picked her up and have her settled into our new home. Her name is Pride.

Scout is coming closer to foaling now and I am nervous and excited. Her belly is rock hard and I imagine she must be feeling quite uncomfortable - poor darling. I checked her again this morning and she is already starting to develop an udder. She isn't due until the 27th August but I suspect she may go early.

She has been a delight for me lately. At feed time now all I have to do is stand tall with my shoulders square and Scout will position herself very politely 2 metres back behind me and wait very patiently for her food. She learnt this cue very soon after arriving here with me but she would still be to close in my space when it came to feeding time. She is now moving out of my space when I assert my energy more much like my more sensitive horses do. I am shocked at how quickly she learns. You show her something once and she remembers.

I have watched how Sienna has to sometimes escalate her dominance with Scout to a point where she was more assertive than I have ever seen her with another horse. The two have formed a very tight bond now but Sienna will often have to put Scout back into her place.

I am very much looking forward to seeing the politics that will emerge when I reunite my herd together again. I went to see Kiowa at my friends place the other day and I am so excited about her coming home soon. She has so much character that she leaves me laughing and gazing at her in disbelief. My friend told me that she thought Kiowa was bored there now. Soon after she made that comment Kiowa decided it would be fun to chase the dog's all over the paddock (needless to say, the dog's weren't real thrilled at the idea) . During the chase Kiowa would squeal with delight and buck and snort. Once the dog's had gotten out her way then she continued to leap up and down on the spot squealing and kicking. She has such a childish exuberance about her and before I even met Scout I suspected that Kiowa and her would bond strongly. I am hoping that my prediction is correct and they can entertain one another. I think Kiowa will enjoy having the foals around to play with also. Her games remind me of the glee and delight that foal's tend to show in play. Just that pure joy at being alive and expressing themselves in a way so unique to horses.