Becoming tame

Tonight I found myself reading a volume of horse story classics, particularly My Friend Flicka. The way the boy hopes to tame a sorrel mare with a "flying pink mane and tail" instantly reminded me of my little mare, her flaxen mane and tail a favorite feature of mine. I related with Kenny and his longing of taming a young filly, who was impervious to his affection at first.

Flicka wanted to run, to be wild and free. No one had taken the time to show her what it meant to be loved, or even more peculiar, the feeling of being wanted. 

But the boy was patient and gentle. He fell in love with her.

He brought her oats each morning and taught her what it felt like to be selflessly cared for. She gained interest... 

Soon, Flicka too was entranced with the boy. She began coming toward him as he walked to her. She nickered when he was at the gate, and whinnied when he was not. 

Walks at sunset.

I have felt a similar, whimsical feeling with Honey. I was reluctant to shifting to something that seemed foreign to me- a tiny quarter horse. Since a young age, I was used to Arab's, Saddlebreds, Thoroughbreds, and Warmbloods. The quarter horse's I met seemed unattached and distant with people. I was scared that especially with Honey's past of not understanding human attachment, I was not going to get the satisfaction I wanted emotionally. A good friend helped me understand how solid of horses they are, and I sure am glad she did. 

She stood still even when I walked away.

Not even a month into our partnership together, I am completely happy with the progress we have made together as a pair. I am 100% satisfied emotionally. I trust her, and I see the amount of work she has put into our relationship thus far. I am still amazed at seeing how willing this little horse is when I bring a concept to her and approach it in a respectful manner. She has gotten to the point where she doesn't mind being sprayed with the hose on the front of her body, but she shies at the back being sprayed. Tonight, I had to hose down her back hock because of swelling but wasn't sure how I would centralize the spray where it needed to be. We worked on it without anything too scary happening, but finally I saw we wouldn't get any further with spraying then taking a break. She wasn't being bad, but I could tell it was too overwhelming mentally. I remembered the mounting block project and thought of a way to change my approach to this. I found a sponge, let her smell it, then began spraying it down with warm water. I then went to the back of her and squeezed the sponge on her hock, petting her gently all around the area. We repeated this over and over and she continued to stand still. I then took the hose and re-soaked the sponge. Instead of setting the hose back down, I left it on as I sponged her hock. I repeated again, this time spraying her hoof as I sponged her hock. Gradually, step by step, we moved further up her leg until we reached a point where I was spraying her hock fully for long enough that it could hopefully have a chance at relieving some of the swelling. She stood there quiet as ever, again teaching me that it is on me to find an approach that works for her.

After bath time, we took selfies and ate treats. It might not seem significant, but a few of our shots together showed her approaching me from behind and slowly smelling me all over, showing more confidence. Another bonus from this evening was sneaking two kisses on her forehead- from a head-shy horse!