Ginger Lee in the barn

After the day I closed Ginger Lee in the barn with my 3 other horses, she had been leary of going into the barn with me at the back of the barn, where the big door it. She was afraid I would "trap" her again. I understood this of course & tried to erase that stress from her life over the last few days. She would go in part way if I stood or sat in the barn, but not if I was outside that back door. So, I thought about that & decided I would just hang out with her at the back of the barn, offering her her feed & grain outside the barn, while the others were inside. That was going pretty good, I could sit on the ground & be about 2 ft away while she ate hay or grain, but you could tell she really preferred to be in the company of the others in the barn. I was her "barrier" to the barn it seemed now. Today I held a flake of hay outside & would not put it down for her, she came very close but would not bite at the hay in my hand. She was getting frustrated, not getting her share of hay & having me persist with the flake, following her & stopping when she turned towards me. Well, she decided she would get peace in the barn, so she suddenly walked straight into the barn & settled at a hay pile with the others. I walked up to the back door & she looked at me & thought kinda about getting out, but I moved a couple times to block her. She didn't push the issue, stopped & I tossed her her hay & turned & left. She stayed in the barn & put her head down to eat.
I guess I had make it more uncomfortable to be "outside" the barn, without really putting pressure, but just not allowing her to eat. She took the path of less resistance, persistance into the barn & looked at me as much to say " well, this is where I belong...with my friends"...and that suited me perfectly.

I hope this continues & I will put a tape gate across the barn door (instead of bringing the noisy metal overhead door down) and I hope to be able to eventually just walk around the barn, hanging out, sitting with them all while they eat. No pressure. Eventually I want to casually be able to rub her & walk away, hand feed her & brush her again. This time on her terms. Then slowly introduce a short string I will start moving over her withers & then rub her with...and will continue from there to introduce ropes & a halter eventually. No time table, just building trust, being together, doing little things and hoping she can day by day forget the pain, worry and fears she had come to know as human handling. Some day I will hug her neck, and you can bet you will hear about that in capitals:) Barb

Free Hoof & Horse Care booklet

This is a website about natural hoof care and they have a booklet on horse management that is good. It doesn't go in to detail but just outlines the important points. I thought you might like to have a look. I hope you enjoy it. If you do, you might want to share it with your friends. It's a pdf free download.
http://www.australianhooftrimmers.com/thebarefacts.htm

Just a reminder, my next Hoof Health 2 day clinic will be held Sept 12/13 at Second Chance Stables, St. Andrews, MB.  I also hope to host clinics in Portage & Brandon in mid to late October. Email or call to register.  barb@barbfenwick.com  466-2776
www.barbfenwick.com

Happy trails,
Barb Fenwick

Gone are the dreadlocks

My 3 horses are tied in the barn to get their daily mineral/feed suppliment. I have been putting a tub on the barn floor with feed for Ginger for the last week & she is slowly getting used to being further in the barn to feed. Yesterday at their supper feeding time I had a plan to get her comfortable with being closed in the barn. In part because I thought a smaller area where all the horses are together would be a good setting to do further contact work with her. Well, the plan went well & I was able to close the door before she had time to scoot out of the barn. She settled in ok, so I moved further into my plan. I got one of my training wands and wrapped a soft sponge around the end of it. Its about 5 ft, similar to a carrot stick (PNH). My goal was to be able to touch her & rub her at the withers, which is the usual first point of grooming contact between 2 horses. She was pretty worried at first, trying to hide behind the horses. They were not impressed with her in their space & made that uncomfortable for her to barge into their stall space. Soon she realized that she could settle beside Spirit & felt protected & calmer there. I allowed her to relax & settle there. Then I approaced & was able to start rubbing her at the withers with the wand. She was tense certainly, but accepted it & didn't move. Only when I tried to go too close to her head did she need to move her feet. Over about 20 minutes I was able to rub both sides of her with the wand & then progressed to being able to use my hand, then a brush. The range she allowed touch was from her back to mid neck & eventually front of neck & chest a bit. That area made her quiver at first because of course its the area that predators go for to immobilize a horse & puncture their main arteries. Then I got my sizzors & was able to cut off the worst of the dreadlocks masses in her mane & brush her mane a bit.
Man...what a great feeling to touch her coat & let her know I wasn't going to hurt her. I hated to stress her to be able to do that, but I felt it was time to progress to this next step & make some physical contact.
Tonight she was a bit sceptical at feeding time, which I expected & I won't be "trapping" her in the barn for some time until she relaxs again.
Instead I am now working on being close to her while feeding. I put her feed tub at the doorway & sat there beside it on the floor with my side to her. At one point I had my hand on the tub & she would still eat. So that is a bit more progress.
She looks SO much better without the scraggly mane, and in time it will grow out long & beautiful again. So, another step, another inch...maybe a foot this time...and who know what tomorrow will bring.

The BF Hoofhealth clinic July 4/5

I presented a 2 day Hoof Health clinic on Sat/Sun, July 4/5.  I had 5 students for this one, a nice small group to work with. Everyone enjoyed the extra time I had for more one on one during the 2nd day of the class where everyone is "hands on".   I had some guests at our ranch who were staying for a few days on their travel/move from BC to PEI with 3 horses.  Ironically, the fellow - Chris is a barefoot farrier!  He is apprenticing and practicing the Jamie Jackson methods or as the group that are his mentors is called "Libertated Horsemanship".   He was a big help during the clinic, working with one student in particular that was having difficulties with his horse.  We also had another farrier, this time a well practiced fellow - Chad, who has been practicing "regular" farrier work for over 15 years.  His sister Charlene convinced him to come, tho I understand it took some time to convince him!   Once here, he came to realize that it was just "good science & sense" being presented & he felt all farriers could benefit from the wealth of information.  He left with a thought of possibly getting other farriers together in his area & having me come up & present a seminar for them & local horse people.  So that is real progress for the industry & hope for the horses!
The next 2 day clinic will be held in Winnipeg, again at Second Chance Stables, St. Andrews. Sept 12 & 13th.  Pass the word!  I plan to keep the group to 10 or less & have 3 or 4 signed up already, so tell your friends not to wait to long to sign up. 
In the picture above you will see a tool laying on the floor.  Its my BRAND NEW mini grinder tool which I am experimenting in using for trimming or finishing the hooves after removing excess with nippers or file.  Its sure working slick & so easy to handle.  If you picked it up every week to use on your horse instead of waiting 4 weeks...it would be like polishing your nails that often...done in a few minutes!  Its available from www.minicrafttools.com & retails for approx 141.00 US & you will need a few disks at around 4-6 a piece.  Sure will be a back saver for me & its relatively quiet as well.  
Enjoy the weekend & get those feet done so your horse can take you anywhere in comfort!