We finally completed a second grass pasture on the new farm today and Aura started to slowly ease back onto grass (only 20 minutes for today). I'm pretty sure this is her first time on grass since she left Oregon. It's also her first experience with electric fencing, and she did great!
With Aura being our most cautious horse, we make a good effort not to tip toe around her. The more she sees and hears, the more she can learn to relax and be okay with scary sounds and sights. Eventually, she'll be just as brave and solid as the others 💜 she's getting there!
Aura is my most cautious horse. She has to thoroughly think through everything before she takes the leap. Today, we finished the top rail on the arena/foaling pen fence, and I wanted to give the mustangs the first open run in there. Aura literally stood inside the mustang pen, staring out the open gate for a solid 15 minutes, watching Silvio the wild mustang from South Steens run back and forth a couple dozen or more times, and even after that, I had to go in and coax her out. This is a clip of when she finally decided to come out of her safety zone. She's a big fan of stability and consistency, the safety of her pen. Whereas, Silvio is pretty bold and went flying out there the instant I opened the gate, to investigate and explore the new space.
OMG Aura! You're too cute 💜 over the last week of working with these 2 at liberty together, 4 short 15 minute sessions in total, they went from squealing and biting at each other because they both wanted all of my attention (like two toddlers fighting over a toy), to learning a little patience and to wait for their turn. They aren't perfect with it yet, but, this is waaaay better behavior than I had a week ago. Aura is proving to be such a sweetheart! And, she really wants to do more!
The video is incredibly dark. But, I had to share. I went out to the barn for a midnight check on the horses. Aura was laying down resting and was totally comfortable with me approaching in the dark and sitting there petting her. If a horse doesn't trust you, they'll get up as soon as they see you coming near. It feels good to know that she trusts me and feels safe in my presence 💜
Mustangs have such remarkable personalities in comparison to the hundreds of horses I've handled that were born in domestication. They are so curious and always interested in what I'm doing, always wanting to be a part of it. Here I'm just walking around their pen a few times to show how they just want to follow me everywhere. They've also been arguing with each other a little bit when I work with them at liberty together. That's something we are currently working on! They both want to do what I'm asking, so they bicker like two 4yr old kids fighting over who gets to play with the toy first.
Facebook only allows me to upload one video in the post so I'll put the other 2 that I took tonight in the comments.
This video also shows Silvio the wild mustang from South Steens who was previously with her in the wild.
Caught Aura taking a nap this morning, with Silvio keeping watch 💜
Either Aura is cycling, or Silvio just wants to romp and play. Either way... Aura doesn't want to play today!
