Mom, Moseying, and Mondays

My mom is so sweet. She always photocopies the Parelli column from Horse Illustrated Magazine and sends it to me. The latest one was called The Art of Moseying and it was somewhat applicable to my horse's recent anti-catching attitude (which, by the way, was also also an issue on Sunday. He ran and ran this time, like he did last weekend. I eventually got the halter on him, when he gave up.)
In summary, the article suggested that with horses, it's about being in the moment, but with humans, it's all about our agenda of what we want to accomplish with our horse, and we almost approach the horse in a rushed state, which feels predatory to horses. For example, My Boy's pasture could be considered his "home." When I enter his home, I need to be aware of how he is receiving me. I would not enter the home of a person who appeared threatening, nor would I have a good time in the home of someone who didn't acknowledge me and turned and walked away as I started up towards the front door. Is My Boy looking at me, with ears forward, with interest? Is he turning at or walking towards me? If he does turn from me, I need to get his attention and curiosity. I might make an unusual sounds, turn away from him and jog the opposite direction, something to catch him off guard and think, hey, what is she up to? The goal is to get him to face me and give me permission to approach. I will quote Linda Parelli from the column: "Everything starts from the moment my horse sees me, not when I catch him." I believe this is true. I am sure I am bringing my anxiety about catching him into the pasture with me. Goodness, but I probably can't change that, not without medication!

This is how My Boy looked every time he stopped running from me in his pasture on Sunday. He would not face up to me. He was very defiant, turned his head towards the fence, and would not look at me. What does this mean? It appeared to be defensive, yet not aggressive. Luckily, he did not turn his hind end toward me. I could even approach his shoulder and then lead him from under his chin (away from the fence and hot wire strand.) I am going to go back to the groundwork basics in the arena this weekend, getting him to face up. I need to get him moving his feet, thinking, and seeing me as his leader again.

I think it is important to approach the horse with respect, demanding the same from him. And to not be in a rush. That is the whole moseying concept. Once I have him haltered, instead of quickly leaving the pasture, I can lead him out slowly, wandered the fence line, pick up and toss out a few rocks, stop at the water trough.....make it leisurely, relaxed journey out. Most likely, we will both expend a little emotional anxiety and just relax. Luckily we have a leisurely stroll to get to the grooming area. After his pasture romp on Sunday, My Boy was quite warm and to cool him down, I took him him on a stroll around the neighborhood. It was like walking a dog, except I had a big sweaty one at the end of my line. We both needed some time to walk out, breathe, and let the adrenaline settle. Because despite the fact that it was a warm afternoon and all of his running, I know that sweat was what Chuck Kraft would call "emotional sweat." If I'd worked My Boy like that in the arena, he would not have gotten that worked up.

I do think that someone commented the other day that I am undoing 14 years of a bad habit. I do not know where in My Boy's life this developed or how many years he'd been troubling his handlers off and on in this department. I know that it was a deal breaker for one of his previous owners, who advertised him for sale, then couldn't even catch him to show him to a prospective buyer. I do not expect this problem to go away overnight, at this point I consider it to be more of a chronic disease that just goes into remission, only to occasionally flare up and need treatment. So for now, we are in treatment mode. This too, shall pass.

Now onto my newest charge this week, the Border Collie. I walked this dog a couple of times a week when he was a puppy several years ago, but have not stayed with him. He has a lot of personality and Border Collie-sms, as I am sure many of you that own a dog of this breed know. As I write, he is whining and panting at my side, after a round of barking at his food bowl full of food, and attempting to herd up the cats (which are nowhere to be seen, but he thinks he will find them and is trying to tell them to show up for dinner.) You see, he gets to lick their plates clean, and no cats means no cat dinners which means no plate licking!

Today was a tough Monday morning for me, for some reason. Luckily, it all got better after a vanilla latte and a little sunshine!