The Wild Bunch - Day 1

What an interesting week.  I started 7 horses this past week. For all intents and purposes they were wild.  2 of the six year olds had a little halter work, but that's another story. The other one and the 4 three year olds hadn't been touched and they all were running in a large herd on an Indian reserve at Pemberton. The horses were herded in to a trailer and hauled to my place to begin their education.

Task # 1, name them, so when I write down each day what they've worked on I know which one I'm talking about.  I ended up with Red, Snip, Cocoa as the older ones and  the younger ones who are pintos are Blue, Oreo, Burr and Sampson.

Cocoa, Blue, Snip, Red, Sampson

Task #2, assess and get to know them.  Thank goodness for round-pens. Actually I've got a really neat pen arrangement for sorting and working these guys until I can halter and lead them all.  The first thing I do is herd the group from their night pen in to the riding area so they can have a good look around.  While they're exploring I begin moving panels to shrink it into a round pen.  They are very curious and brave. After a while I herd them in to their day pen to look around there and then I herd one of them back in to the round pen to begin working. I'm pleased with how quietly they're willing to be moved.

The first day everyone learned how to give me an inside turn. They were all focused on me which was great. Often horses are busy looking for their friends and not really paying attention.  Everyone showed me respect and all showed submission by dropping or bowing their heads, except Red, one of the two who had already been worked with by someone else, interesting...

Red, Day 1

The next thing I wanted was for them to give their hip to my body pressure and face up to me.  Until they are willing to face me they're not going to follow me and if I can't walk up to them I need them to walk up to me.
The first day everyone learned how to give their hips but Oreo was the stickiest.  I called him Oreo because two of them were brown and white but he was Chocolate on both sides and Vanilla down the middle like the cookie.  I would step around to the side of Oreo, facing his hip and he would face me with his head, big bend in his neck and stare at me, or his own hip for minutes at a time, then he would leave.  He finally figured out he only had to move his hip away and I would back off and release any pressure.

Oreo, Day 1

The only horse to show a little aggression was Cocoa.  He lightly struck the ground a couple of times while I was pushing him but nothing major.  

Cocoa, Day 1

Snip was the other one who had, we were told, been worked with a bit.  I was able to touch him, Red and Cocoa.  

Snip, Day 1

Burr let me touch him with the whip and eventually work my way up the whip and barely touch his shoulder.  When he first came in his tail showed suspicion and fear but only for the first few minutes.

Burr, Day 1

Blue was the same. I could touch him with the whip and barely with my hand. 

Blue, Day 1

Sampson and Oreo were harder. With them I only got as far as touching with the whip.  I was working in a 40' round pen which allowed me to repeatedly, lightly lay the whip across their back.  If they stopped I took it off. If they ran away I pushed them forward then worked at laying it across them again.  They caught on that it was easier to stand and be stroked with the whip than it was to move. They are very smart.

Sampson, Day 1

I discovered lots of things about these guys the first day and about myself. Apparently I'm not in as good a shape as I thought I was. 5-7 hours a day in the round pen is hard on the body, mostly back and hips.  Oreo was really cute, he wouldn't let me near him and yet twice as I bent over and hung upside down stretching my back he came and had a sniff.  These guys got worked 4 or 5 times this past week.  Stay tuned for more updates as time allows.