Over the past few weeks, Flint has settled in and last weekend, he and Jasper went to a 'new' paddock with more space. They kicked up their hooves and cantered around the paddock, then raced side by side to wait for the other horses to join them. When Blue entered the paddock, Flint went over to him and they greeted each other with a nuzzle before grazing together. I stayed around to watch them.
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| In their new paddock but Flint stays close to me at first. |
Flint has done some ground work with me and he is very teachable. He has such a sweet and kind temperament and we have bonded very well. This afternoon I was watching him and all the other horses had gone up the paddock further away. He and Jasper had grazed a bit towards the front but then Flint went over to Koda, the pony who is on his own at the moment. Flint began grazing at the other side of the fence to Koda, facing him. Jasper waited a bit and then meandered up to join the others. As I watched Flint and Koda grazing, I saw Flint put his head/neck over the other side of the fence and Koda reached up as high as he could to Flint and they nuzzled noses before they went back to grazing again. Flint is like the sweet natured kid who hangs back to check up on the lonely child, reassures/comforts them and then heads back to his group of friends. It was lovely to watch!
Lesson 1: Leading
Flint tends to crowd in when he is being led around and he doesn't like being led when the person is on the right side of him. I took him to a paddock on his own, leading him around, applying 'pressure' when he came too close until he walked without crowding. I also stood at the right side of him and we walked for quite a distance without him trying to get to the right side. He learned quickly and he also learned to wait without coming towards me, until I invited him to come.
When he was eating his hard-feed, he would get the bucket of food and toss it so that all the food went everywhere. Horses do this when they are impatient to eat so I gave him a dish that was heavier without handles. I then held a 'plastic tube' and when he came too close to me, I would hold it out (as an extension of my arm) and say, "Space" and he knew he had to move away from me. I'd tip his dinner into the dish, still saying 'space' and when he looked away, I exclaimed, "Yes!" and he knew he could come and eat then. He learned this lesson within 2 times.
Lesson 3: Stand Still
The 2nd time I saddled Flint, he was very fidgety and Lynne and I both had to work with him until I could get on him. Yesterday, it was a windy day with gusts up to 45km per hour, so rather than ride him I decided to tie him to the hitching post. While he stood there, I brushed him and patted him. When a gust of wind blew up, he would move his body right around and I'd apply pressure until he went back to where he should have been and I'd recommence patting/brushing him. Each time the gust of wind came up, we'd go through the process again. A couple of times I was leaning on him and when the gust of wind came up, he stood still while I leaned against him. (I was reassured by that as I know that when I am riding him, he will be mindful of me.) After about 30 minutes or so of this, when a gust of wind occurred, Flint remained standing still. As I led him back to his paddock for his dinner, I knew that Flint wanted to please me and was teachable.
He is such a treasure! I also learned that pink looks good on Flint!
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