Beth & Granna

Fantastic Session with Beth and Granna today!  

 

Granna was a very timid mare when she came to Beth's place in December. When Beth first asked me for help, 3 weeks ago, Granna was difficult to catch, jumped/trembled when she was touched anywhere and Beth could tell that she was nervous about everything.  Having worked with horses for most of her life, Beth had never encountered a horse quite like Granna and she wasn't sure what to do. 

 

During our first session I showed Beth how to approach Granna in the paddock as if she wasn't there to see or catch Granna but instead was there to mosey around the paddock. I asked Beth to look softly out of the corner of her eye to read Granna's body language as Beth approached her. As Granna looked up, I had Beth smile and stop walking to acknowledge Granna's attempted connection. If Granna turned even an ear away from Beth, Beth was to stop and take a step or two back until Granna's ear came forward again. After about 15 minutes Beth was able to make contact with Granna, offer her a "horseman's handshake" and stand by her side until Granna could breath. It felt like forever. Granna stood frozen like a statue (RBI), eyes wide and vacant. Finally Granna took a deep breath and then licked & chewed to show she was releasing tension.  Beth was able to halter Granna and began The Friendly Game using her carrot stick.  The session ended when Granna was able to lick & chew while being rubbed with the carrot stick. We still had somewhat of a statue horse, but much better than when we started.  That first session took an hour and a half!

 

Today was the forth lesson for Granna & Beth, and Beth had been practicing quite a bit between our sessions but she was again having a hard time catching Granna. I observed her first and then helped her to see how even though she wasn't walking directly up to Granna, her energy and focus were directly on Granna and that was too much pressure for Granna to handle. I demonstrated how to "ignore" Granna as I approached her and after a couple of minutes, had Granna taking 2 steps toward me to touch my outstretched hand. Today she was a significantly calmer horse from the start, already licking & chewing as I put on her halter. "The focus today, and every time you play with  her", I told Beth, "is to achieve a connection, and reward Granna for even the slightest try at acting like a partner".  That means; Whenever Granna tries to look at you or turns towards you, walk away and take the pressure off of her. Reward the connection. 

 

We were able to play the friendly game with the Granna's saddle pad and place it on her with no opposition reflex!  That is a big step from jumping in place whenever she was touched.  She even got a little sassy when we played the porcupine game and showed a Left Brain moment of "what if I don't want to move?"  It was great to see her horsenality and spirit starting coming out!

 

I'm looking forward to another session on Wednesday!