26th August ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Banjos first saddling and as uneventful as it should be. Before this he’d only had the roller on 3 times. I won’t ramble about this one too much, I’ll let the video do the talking.
I didn’t run Banjo around beforehand and make him tired, didn’t make him sweat, and didn’t ask for something he wasn’t ready for. No tears from either of us, some reassurance and a pause when he asks for it and a calm and willing horse.
Wild boy making this whole experience so surreal 🩵
Part two.. 2/8 -9/8
I’ve started leading Banjo over a few obstacles and around trees and over logs in the paddock. I do this with all my young horses because without realising you’ve already started moving their shoulders, hips, ribs, and neck and poll separately and getting their feet and mind moving independently too.
We play to Banjos strengths and he loves the scratches so introducing a brush to his body was easy! He allows me to moves easily around him and stands settled without the halter or any ropes.
I’ve started handling his legs, occasionally asking him to lift them up but not taking them away from him. When we pick up their feet, essentially we are taking away their ability to flee, and taking away that instinct without a lot of trust usually ends in creating more distrust. I’m not super concerned about his feet at the moment, he’s doing a great job of trimming them himself on rocks so we’ll continue to build our relationship without creating a potential fight if he was to object to me holding them from him.
He’s also done a few short stints of tying up. I use a few strands of a piece bailing twine for the first couple of times, nothing too fancy and enough for the horse to feel the pressure at the end of the rope and move back towards it, but if they get really panicked it’s only a few strands and can easily break it. As time goes on and they stand more settled, happy for me to be moving around the yard, I don’t like to use feed to keep them there because there won’t always be feed!
Thank you @copricefeeds and @equitanaaustralia. Less than 100 days left of the @australianbrumbychallenge 🩵🩵
On the 26/7 we let Banjo out into the paddock.. after 5 weeks of moving between all sorts of pop up yards trying to escape the mud it was time. The relationship and trust we had built was strong enough that he would feel safe to come back to the yards easily and willingly.
Watching him finally stretch his legs and move around in open space was pretty spectacular. Even more so to have him then settle so easily and walk back to me for a scratch.
His paddock mates, a family of three Kosciusko Brumbies, were understandably very cautious but have been very welcoming to the new comer.
Thank you @copricefeeds for making Banjo so happy to come back for his feed 🩵
@australianbrumbychallenge
@equitanaaustralia
