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Post by cardicorgi on Feb 16, 2007 18:18:09 GMT -5
R51, I think it was just the two of them, I don't think Hannah travels with a tech normally. Jaybird and I will try to get some pics of Whiskey when we take her to Full Circle.
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Post by schwung on Feb 16, 2007 18:36:50 GMT -5
It was just the two of us but I did snap a few photos, thanks for reminding me. Hang on and I will get them uploaded (oh and Hannah does sometimes have a helper, that would be "Clearlybluebreeze"'s daughter Chelsea. She was in school during Whiskey's appointment though.)
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Post by cardicorgi on Feb 16, 2007 18:59:40 GMT -5
See what happens when I asssume...? [Hey that's nifty clearlybluebreeze! You got yourself a horse-crazy daughter, fantastic!!]
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Post by schwung on Feb 16, 2007 19:31:38 GMT -5
OK, here is Whiskey not exactly looking her best...muddy and drugged up! Just after getting drugged: I took a picture of the tips of her ears as they are an interesting color. Hannah thought maybe frostbite, but I think it is just part of her coloring as they are gold, not white: All done! Starting to look a little perkier:
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rodeo51
Full BB Member
Katey
Posts: 203
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Post by rodeo51 on Feb 16, 2007 20:06:47 GMT -5
I am glad her teeth were able to be done, maybe that will help her gain more weight I am also glad she didn't hurt you...but ya just got to love that mare with all of her spunk and after what she has been through I think she is going to shine after her training. Thanks for the pictures...:-)
modified for bad typing skills...lol
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Post by clearlybluebreeze on Feb 16, 2007 20:53:09 GMT -5
Kelsey does travel with Hannah whenever possible - and plans to work with Hannah on a more full time basis this summer. She will be graduating High School in June and plans to either go on to Vet Tech School or to an Equine Massage School. The opportunity to work with Hannah has been great for her! How cool for a horse crazy girl to get to spend her days hanging out with the vet......learning and having fun! The funny part is that Kelsey got me involved with horses......I never rode as a kid and embarassed enough to say - have only ridden twice as an adult......and one of those times I dont think I can call it riding - since I was on the ground more than on the horse! If someone would have told me ten years ago that we would have a horse crazy kid, a barn and horses (let alone rescue horse) - I would have laughed.......all the way to the salon to get my manicure. (Which by the way doesnt happen anymore either)
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Post by schwung on Feb 16, 2007 21:04:41 GMT -5
Doh!...Kelsey, not Chelsea! I knew that didn't look right!
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Buena
SAFE Volunteer
No horse will ever teach you as much as your first horse.
Posts: 1,929
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Post by Buena on Feb 16, 2007 21:29:01 GMT -5
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Post by schwung on Feb 17, 2007 15:21:00 GMT -5
Whiskey's on her way! Bonnie and Jenny picked her up this morning, so she will be in Idaho by this evening.
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Post by schwung on Feb 18, 2007 21:35:20 GMT -5
I will let Bonnie and Jenny post the full report, but just wanted to say that Whiskey made it safely to Idaho and is doing great. Jenny and Bonnie got a chance to watch Bill work with Whiskey in the round pen this morning and she was very responsive to him.
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Post by jaybird on Feb 19, 2007 16:18:46 GMT -5
yes indeedy, it was a wonderful weekend for Whiskey. She is now in Idaho with Bill and Angie Basham, and we see great things in store for her. She made the trip like a pro, no problems in the trailer, and she accepted carrots and an apple through the trailer window at our various rest stops.
We arrived just before dark, and Bill unloaded her and brought her in to their roundpen in their covered arena. She spent the night in there, and when morning came she was quiet and rested, having eaten all her hay and drank two buckets of water and passed a bunch of nice manure and all that good stuff. She seemed bright eyed and curious about the activity she could see around her.
Bill did her first session after breakfast. He started working with her by riding into the round pen on his horse Grits. Using Grits' position to drive her and stop her and turn her, he moved her around the round pen. She kept one ear trained on them at all times, but didn't want to look at them. Once she did finally stop and look at them, he immediately turned Grits away and let up on the "pressure" they were putting on her (from at least 20 feet away, always) to reward her for making the right choice. After a few more small successes like this, he took Grits out of the pen, and began to work with her from the ground.
He used a few different "tools" with her -- his own body, a flag on a stick, a halter and rope, and a longer rope that he could toss at her -- at different times. He was only asking her for the tiniest things in each of the different exercises -- for example, with the halter on and the lead rope in hand, he asked her to move herself laterally in a circle. She stepped side to side with her hind legs as she moved away from him, and he wanted her to cross her left hind leg in front of the other instead. The second she did it correctly, he stopped asking her to move, turned himself away from her and let her rest and think about what had just happened. She would stand behind him, licking & chewing and looking at him as if to say, "That's ALL you wanted??!!" He asked her to move out on a circle, to change from walk to trot and back down, to do lateral movement, to stand quietly while he touched her with the flag, the rope, his hand. Each part of the session was short, sweet and as gentle as possible.
She made it clear to Bill when she arrived that she was a mare who would fight rather than flee, and she showed her initial assessment of him by head-butting him several times as he removed her halter. During their session, she did a couple things to try to establish her dominance - she attempted to blow through him a few times while moving out on the circle, and when submitting to being touched, she squealed and struck on two different occasions. Each misbehavior was met with a sudden, firm reaction of putting her straight back to work, whether it was moving out on the circle with a thump on the arse with the rope, in the case of the attempt to run him over, or suddenly being made to back up several steps, as in the case of the squealing/striking. Punishment was fast, clear, and over in seconds, and then work continued with no hard feelings. Her attempts to misbehave got reactions that were unpleasant, and she quickly figured out that it was preferable to try to come up with the right answer was when asked a question. She showed a lot of tension and resistance at times, but as she began to catch on, and realize that Bill was consistent and fair, she definitely began to soften. When that happened, she almost seemed to become more beautiful. By the end of the session, she was allowing Bill to scratch her throat, which she loved. She also began to follw him around without a lead rope, and continued to do so even after he left the round pen and walked around outside it.
All in all, it was a surprisingly positive session, and while Bill can't make any promises, the outlook for Whiskey has greatly improved.
We have a few photos to share, but the session was in an indoor and it was a bit too dark for pics so we didn't get too many. Hang on...
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Post by Sara on Feb 19, 2007 17:18:20 GMT -5
wahoo! that is great news. Sounds like he is exaclty the right guy for the job!
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Post by cardicorgi on Feb 19, 2007 20:53:11 GMT -5
Jayb, great summation. The only thing I'd add is that the wind was blowing like crazy (they're on the top of a ridge) and the sounds, oy vey! Whiskey didn't give a hoot! Here is Bill riding Grits in the large round pen, moving Whiskey's feet: Walking around just before getting her to step under herself: The precursor to a squeal and attempt at kicking (the blue around her eyes was my attempt to fix red-eye) I call this one: "Here it comes..." Here she is walking nicely to the left: And... soft-eyed Whiskey:
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Post by kahluacowgirl on Feb 20, 2007 12:20:08 GMT -5
What a pretty girl... looks like she is in good hands looking forward to her updates
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Buena
SAFE Volunteer
No horse will ever teach you as much as your first horse.
Posts: 1,929
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Post by Buena on Feb 20, 2007 20:25:11 GMT -5
Bill has done and will continue to do wonders for this mare.
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