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.

My Greatest Teacher

Scout is a very unique horse in so many ways and I am still feeling my way with her. She is going to teach me so much about how to be a better horse person. I have been puzzling over how to manage her of late. She has been a little pushy and has not been wanting to be with me so much. I am so used to working with very sensitive horses as they tend to match with my personality better. Scout is different in that she is bold and grounded. In the past I would have labelled a horse like her dull but I learnt a valuable lesson with her that this is certainly not the case.

I have noticed in the work I do with her that if you ask her with anything but softness she will indeed immediately brace and become dull. She is teaching me to be softer and more polite than ever before. She is truly a wonderful mare and when I ask her with absolute softness she will immediately try to work out what I want of her. She also has a need to understand why she has to do something. This is a trait that is also making me have to rethink my training so she sees a purpose in what I am asking of her.

She is the bravest horse I have ever come across. When the dogs all rush to the fence to bark at her and Sienna, Sienna runs away whilst Scout bravely saunters over to them to watch them. The cars don't worry her at all and in fact anything that in the past I have had to take time to introduce slowly to other horses, Scout just boldly marches forth to investigate.

She is now heavily pregnant and it should only be about a month till she foals. This foal is going to be something very special. Renegade Shadow, the sire, is maturing into one of the most exceptional Spanish Mustangs I have seen. I am also very excited about finally being able to have Scout tested and released from quarantine once the foal is born.

Rich and I have decided we will move out west and start up a horse retraining and sale business. This is a dream I have had for sometime now and I am pleased that soon it will become a reality. We have some big ideas in the pipeline for this business and for setting up Australia's first Spanish Mustang stud.

Deeper Experiences

I have been quite remiss in my blogging of late. The past month has been full of changes in my life for which I am forever grateful. I attended a 5 rhythms dance weekend retreat with Deva Nanden. It was a truly transformative experience for me and I also met a wonderful man named Rich down there who has taught me so much already and introduced a profound amount of love and enjoyment to my life.

The retreat opened up my heart to a level I have never experienced before. This has been very helpful for me in my finding a new way with my horses. Rich is also teaching me a great deal about what the horses crave and what they respond to. He has no horse experience at all however as I suspected he connects very well with them and they enjoy being in his company. He has a quality that I have rarely seen before in that he seems to walk through life with his heart wide open. The animals sense this and are drawn to him.

We had a wonderful experience the other day. We spent a long time mutual grooming the horses in the morning sun. I noticed Sienna walk over to Rich and drop her head. She half closed her eyes and went into a space where I felt her energy change. Rich and I sat down beside her and closed our eyes. It wasn't long until Sienna layed down beside us. I have often done this in the past with my horses. I enjoy napping in the morning sun with them. This time felt a little different. The energy was more intense and I could see something deeper was happening. Scout had also come to join us and soon after she layed down groaning under the weight of her very large belly. I watched as Sienna ears went from pinning straight back then flicking forward, her nose crinkled up and she grabbed the ground with her teeth and bit down hard gripping the earth like this for sometime. I turned to watch Rich whilst this was happening and he was sat in a meditative space, eyes closed with tears rolling down his cheeks. This soon passed for both of them and they went into a more peaceful space. I laid back listening to Scouts heavy breathing and looked up into the sky. I noticed a beautiful wedgetail eagle gliding in a circle directly above us.

I spoke to Rich about the experience soon after and he said he felt Sienna was releasing alot of grief. It was a truly beautiful moment.

More on Scout in my next entry!

The Meeting of Two Strong Minds

I finally got the yard at my place approved for quarantine and Scout came home. I was unsure about how she would go float loading as she had been through so much to get to Australia. I need not have worried though. I led her up to the float and she said no once to going on. I stood with her comforting her, centered myself and then walked on and she followed without hesitation. She travelled beautifully for the short trip home.

I unloaded her and put her in her new yard. She was fine whilst I was with her but when I would leave she would panic, call out and canter around the pen (which says alot about her stress level as she rarely expends this much energy unless absolutely necessary). It was a restless night for both her and I. I could hear her throughout the night and my heart went out to her.

I contacted AQIS - quarantine services and asked for permission to put another horse in with her. A few emails later and permission for my brumby mare to join her was granted. Sienna, a brumby mare I rescued a couple of years ago, is a sensitive horse with people however she is a lead mare and she can be very expressive in her dominance at times. She is an extremely special horse that holds a strong place in my heart. She would be who I would turn Scout out with eventually anyway so I decided that she may also be the best one to help her calm down.

Here is a video of the introduction

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSWDJQ6M2x4

As you may notice in the video Scout has developed a skin reaction. This area of Queensland is terrible for Queensland itch and I thought that she may have developed it already despite the fact that it is not really the right time of year for the biting insects to be bothering horses. I sat with this for awhile and looking at the hives appearing on her body I decided to contact my homeopath. I would consider my homeopath to be one of the best. She is an incredible woman with a wonderful gift. I wrote her a three page story on Scout's symptoms, emotional issues and journey so far and she is now receiving a remedy to help. I am already seeing improvements in her wellbeing. She is also scratching less and her skin seems a little better also.

I am so thrilled to have these two incredible mares right here with me. Scout is really settling in now and I am starting to see different sides to her personality as she continues to relax more due to having Sienna around and getting routinely fed 3 times per day. Whenever she sees me walk out of the house, I am greeted with a very enthusiastic neigh. She is far more affectionate now and I tend to have her and Sienna attached to my hip when I go into the yard with them.

Yesterday morning when I woke up, I wandered out to the yard and stood with the girls. The mist was still clinging to the nearby mountains and the air was crisp and clean. Sienna greeted me in her lovely way, sharing warm breath with me then placing her cheek against mine and sharing a loving gesture. Scout nickered to me and came over standing close and looking into me with those incredible eyes of hers that express so much. Time ceases to exist in these special moments. The simple joy at exchanging unconditional love through connection with these horses feel's like the most wonderful gift I could ever have dreamt of.

Learning to Communicate

After many ups and downs of late I am finally on a more comfortable path with Scout. The path we are on also seems to appeal to Scout. Although I am still reading a lot of materials such as Mark Rashid, Linda Kahonov and Carolyn Resnick, I have chosen to take aspects that appeal to me and move forward with my horses in my own style. This will be a style that allows me to feel pleased with whatever has happened when I leave the paddock each day. It is in no way conventional and I will be forever learning but I will be able to sleep soundly at night knowing I have in no way pushed my horses where they don't want to go.

All this came about after a long conversation with a long term friend of mine who also happens to be one of the best dog trainers in this country in my opinion. She has renewed my confidence enough to get started and so that's what I have been doing.

So on Wednesday I went to the paddock to see Scout and decided to work on asking her to pick up her hooves. She does not respond comfortably to the pressure/release way of training so I decided to use treats to train with. I have many years of previous conditioning with horses to unlearn and I found myself put my hand on her leg and when this did not elicit a response, I lightly squeezed her chestnut slowly adding more pressure to absolutely no avail. I stepped back and reassessed. One point in my personality that I am thankful for is that I have A LOT of patience when it comes to animals and at the moment I have a lot of time. I put these two points together and moved ahead with this in mind. I approached Scout again, this time lightly placing my hand on her leg and I waited. We stood like this for a little time until she started thinking and trying to work out what I was doing. Eventually she lifted her foot and I immediately rewarded her verbally and by giving her a treat. From then on things seemed to flow easily for a while. She knew what I was asking and as I was asking politely she was happy to oblige. Once she was comfortable with this then she started testing to see how lenient I would be when it came to earning the treat. I was asking for her offside front hoof which she gave me and then promptly started pulling away and pawing at the air. I stood back allowing the behaviour however not rewarding it. Next time round she stood nicely and gave me her hoof therefore earning her treat. I left that session there and intended to do the same the next day.

On arriving at the paddock the following day, I thought to myself that I was still a bit uncomfortable with having a halter on her to do this training. It is a strong desire in me that my horses have free will to make a choice as to whether they feel like training or not. So I have decided to proceed for the time being at liberty. That way Scout chooses if and when she wants to be with me for training.

I approached her and asked for her leg which she gave me nicely. I had not yet worked on the hinds and I progressed to asking for this. She was not overly thrilled with the idea and walked away. I turned my back to her and allowed her to leave. Within seconds she was back again asking for a tail scratch. I again asked for her hind foot which she lifted and I rewarded her with the rub she had asked for.

There have been times during these sessions over the past few days where Scout would push on me at which I would respond by simply walking away and leaving her alone. I went for a walk around her paddock with her watching me very intently when I turned around to head back over to her she let out a little whinny and came to stand beside me.

We are also working on a cue where I raise my hand and she comes to it. My brumby has learnt this and I find it a wonderful way of asking my horses to come to me particularly at a distance. The difference in training this way with Scout as opposed to the way I trained my brumby Sienna, which would be considered by most to still be very gentle however she didn't have the absolute freedom of speech that I am allowing Scout. If Sienna decided she didn't want to do what I was asking, I would allow her to leave and circle me in the roundyard until she decided that what I was asking was the better option. This took away her free will and freedom of expression. I no longer feel comfortable with this method of training. I sometimes see the resentment that Sienna now has if I politely ask her to do something. I can only put this down to the fact that I have not been sensitive enough in our past training and I intend to attempt to change this with her also. I have a strong bond with Sienna but I know life could be even more comfortable for her.

Here is a link to a video my friends daughter kindly recorded for me yesterday. It was going to be a video of what we are doing training wise but a sudden unexpected rain shower came through. It shows some snippets of what we are doing anyway.

My goal is for Scout and I to create our own language which is comfortable for both of us to live by. I feel we are on our way.