Wild to Willing

Dec 6

            Took all the Icys out and tied them along the rail while their stalls were cleaned. It was good for them to stand and learn to stay put. I brushed each one. Trick and Treat hadn’t been brushed before, so it was new for them. They all did well. No one tried to pull away hard. I think this is an excellent exercise for them to learn to stand tied and to let me move them around and groom them. They are settling in very well.

Dec 7

            Groomed all the Icys again today. I picked up their front feet to clean them. Everyone allowed me to pick the feet except Treat. I just had him pick them up and  then put them down. Not sure how they trimmed these guys, but it wasn’t by just picking up their feet. Everyone stood pretty well. I’ll continue with this same exercise for a while. It’s good for them to stand tied.

Dec 9

            Everyone was on edge today except Bleu. He doesn’t seem to get too excited about things. I expect he is younger than the others. Big News! I got Sam to take 2 treats today. I’m pumped. I need to get him hooked like the rest of them. I like to reward with cookies and it has been hard not to be able to get him to accept the treat. Shiloh was the stinker of the bunch today. He just didn’t think he should have to pick up his front feet when I asked. I used the lunge whip to desensitize him to the feel of something rubbing over him because he was all over the place and over reacting to every move I made. He finally settled down and accepted the feel and then he was pretty good with his feet. He is passive-aggressive sometimes when he is asked to do what he doesn’t want to. Treat was a very good boy. Still hesitant to go in and out of his stall. Not sure why except for the step up and down.

            Watching them as a group is interesting. They love to mutually groom each other. Probably why many of their manes are short. They also seem to hang out according to color. The bays stay together and the chestnuts hang together and Sam moves between them according to his own mood. I can catch all of them now without having to run them. I am still putting halters on Trick and Treat until I know they will let me walk up and put my arms around their necks. They don’t have them on in the stalls anymore.