Girls, girls, girls

Worked the fillies in the roundpen yesterday. Even Helens warmblood. They are sooooo different in both appearance and disposition.

Molly, who as a weanling showed some nerves but a ton of athletisism, is about as cool a custumer as you´ll find. Nothing seems to bother her. She just does what you want and then ask - was that all? It´s one of those deals where you show her something once and she gets it.

Cat is a bit stubborn, but you can still reason with her. She moves really pretty and well, albeit a bit high. You also have to take things a bit slower with her as she is liable to blow when she doesn´t understand what you want. Had to rope her to get her attention in the roundpen yesterday. When I can get to her with a bump of the rope she relaxes and starts to pay attention.

Helens mare Diva is just that, a DIVA. She knows she´s pretty and of more "noble" breeding then our scrawny quarterhorses, and it shows. She dances and prances around the pen saying look at me, why don´t ya! Still does what you ask, more or less, even if she needs alittle more repitition than the QH fillies.

Gator report:
Been giving Polly some paste to help her with a bit of diarrea. The foals get it when the mare gets in foalheat, usually 9 days after delivery. Halter breaking her and breaking her to lead at the same time. Our set up here requires us to handle the foals maybe more than most. We have to bring em in and out of the stall as it´s a bit to cold and wet on the ground still. I also like to get them used to us handling them and their bodyparts on a regular basis. You never know if and when they might get hurt and you absolutely have to handle them or haul them somewhere. Soon we´ll take Peppy to be bred again too and that means trailer, new stall, new people leading and handling them while at the clinic.

We used to imprint train em before. We´ve kind of gotten away from that alittle though over the years. I really think it dulls them in negative ways as well as all the possitives you get from desensitizing them to different things. It´s been my experience the horses respond in a more "natural" way when you start working them if you havn´t handled them too much. I like a certain fear and flight factor in them when you start them. That way they pay a whole lot more attention to you and what you´re asking. The release you give as a reward also has more meaning to them.

Back to Polly. As I´ve mentioned before, she´s a fighter, but also a thinker. You can really see her grey cells working in there when you apply preasure on the leadrope. She tries it a little, tries it a LOT, and then steps to the preassure and voila-release! She´s now a paint horse by the way. When I was giving her the paste for the diarea this morning she decided against it and started rearing and bucking in my grasp. The result? A beautiful little paint filly is now walking around with her mama in the pasture! There´s white paste everywhere.