Can you believe that I have had Rio for a year now? I can't. The year went by so fast. And I would have to say it was the toughest, most challenging year with a horse... ever. And we still aren't there yet.
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| Lovely girl. |
Rio has had a really difficult time trusting completely, which has made this whole gentling process quite the challenge. I would have to say she is "gentled", to a certain extent. Oh sure, I can walk up to her and pet her. Heck, I can even brush her. But not without her getting scared by a quick movement and her fleeing from me. She doesn't do that all the time, but at least a couple times per session she will exit from the human presence. I have tried desensitizing her to ropes to get her ready for halter breaking and that did not go well. She swore that rope was going to eat her for dinner. I would take the halter and lead rope and rub it all over her body including her face. She eventually relaxed a little, just a little when I rubbed it on her face. I did get as far as putting her nose in the nose band of the halter, but there was no way I would be able to get the halter all the way on. She can't handle it. I took my handy stick/string and flung that string all over her body, legs, head. I had the best results by doing this then I did with a rope, halter or lead rope. But I still could not get her to accept that a rope, halter or lead rope was a good thing. I increased the pressure on her when round penning with very minimal results. Almost every training method that works with other horses, does not work with Rio. I know not all training methods work for all horses, so I have had to become quite creative with what I do, or don't do.
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| Shoulder scratch! |
Of course I started to doubt my abilities as a horse trainer. I mean, how can one horse have such a difficult time accepting human companionship? I feed her, water her, love on her. What more does she want? Well, for one, she is a wild horse. I never expected it to be easy. Even though my first wild one was about as easy as it gets, but she was just a wee little thing. That certainly helps. For another, not ALL wild horses can be domesticated. They just can't. So it's not necessarily me and my abilities. I just ended up adopting a wild horse that can't "get there" and may never "get there". I don't want it to never "get there". But right now, Rio says she can't do it.... not yet. I really hope she changes her mind.
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| Forehead sniff. |
She can't trust completely. She is very reactive. She can't let go of the wild. So where do I go from here? I contacted Tracey, from Mustang Diaries to see if she could come down and give me her opinion. Maybe she has more ideas that could help. Or maybe I am just stuck with a wild horse that will never become domesticated. Tracey has been busy and out of town a lot, so not sure when or if she will be able to come give me her advice before the really ugly weather hits.
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| Love. |
So for now, I go back to square one. I just brought a wild horse home and want her to get used to my presence, what do I do? I sit. I take my chair, book and a pocket full of carrots and sit with her.... within seconds she approaches. She sniffs my leg. She sniffs my hand. I give her a carrot. She sniffs my head. She inches closer. She is so close her leg is touching the chair. I pet her nose. I give her a carrot. She nudges my arm. I pet higher up on her face, behind her ears. I kiss her nose. I give her a carrot. She moves behind me. I can't see what she is doing. I feel warm breath down the back of my neck. My hair moves. I feel her whiskers tickling my neck. She rubs her nose on my head. She moves back to the front of me. I give her a carrot. I kiss her halfway up her face... for the first time.
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| Kisses. |
She wants to be with me. She does trust me. Just not enough to give me her all. Yet. She has so much potential. I see it. I will not give up. I have fallen for this wild horse like no other, even though I can't halter her and do the things I do with my other horses. Just sitting in that chair and having complete trust in this wild horse approaching me and her trying so hard to give me what I want. But that wild heart of hers can't trust fully.
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| Rio is now legally mine. |
So I continue this emotional roller coaster of a journey with my wild horse..... I love her, I really, really love her.
19 comments:
It takes as long as it takes, and I expect that this will be a life long journey with rewards beyond your wildest dream...and hers as well!
Good Luck!
Have you tried clicker training? It is what zoos use for wild animals--and that is what she is.
I use it with all my domesticated animals with great success. (Even my cat.) It puts them in the learning part of the brain instead of the fear part. I don't think they can be in both at the same time. It just changes the conversation. I had a horse overcome extreme pain to allow me to tend to an injury with clicker, and I was sold after that.
Very few people use it with horses, but those that do find it very helpful.
It is all about the timing. I no longer use a real clicker, but use my tongue because it is too hard to coordinate everything. You can fade the treats away once trust is in place.
There is a lot of information online, and of course, I can help you as much as I can from Ohio.
I just love this post and I think that you and this wild girl are a perfect fit :) She came into your life for a reason (or you into hers)! ;)
It's so hard, sometimes, to accept what an animal can or cannot give us. All of my horses are so entirely different, and while all are trained and ride able they excel at different things... sometimes we just have to accept what they offer and know that they have something to teach us, even if we can never do exactly what we want to do with them...
I love that you're able to give her kisses. :) She's come so far since you first brought her home, and I'm sure she'll continue to improve even if it takes a little longer than you'd hoped. She's a lucky girl!
Is she turned out with the other horses? They might get further with her, teaching trust in humans, than you can by yourself. Just a thought.
I agree with Cindy...it takes as long as it takes. You are describing my Eagle. We've been at it for 2 years in August. We've made TONS of progress!! Seriously, tons...but, we've got a ways to go still. He is an amazing horse, super smart, tons of heart and still that distrust and need to get away. Scary fast!! That's why I haven't ridden him anywhere yet. I've sat on him twice. A couple of friends have ridden him lightly in an arena. I love him so much and will give him the time that he needs. We will get there. I know that in my heart. There's just a lot of "issues" or layers that we still need to get at before we're anywhere near me riding him in the mountains. I've found that when I do less, he does more. I give him all the time he needs to figure out what I'm asking, and when he gets it, I pet him...and walk away from him and let him soak. Sometimes, we end with a grooming session and that's it. Next time, he remembers. Don't give up. Don't throw too much at her when she's not ready for it. Don't confuse her with too many different types of requests, or too many different styles of "training methods". And don't forget to recognize the tiniest effort on her part. You'll get there, and so will she. She's got lots to teach you too! I know you didn't ask for my advice, but I know exactly how you're feeling. They are all different. That's how we learn too. Have fun!!
Emme- No she is not turned out with other horses. With wild mustangs, especially during the gentling process, it is not recommended to have them in with another horse. What happens is they will focus more on the other horse then on the human. It makes it way more difficult to gentle one when they are with another horse. She won't get turned out with another horse until she trusts me completely, is halter broke and easily catchable. That may be awhile, but that's okay!
C-ing Spots Thank you!! I know what you have gone through with Eagle and our situations are very similar! Just having the support of friends and family during this entire process has been very uplifting especially during the down times. From day one I have done everything at Rio's pace and I have her figured out pretty well. I have only recently been able to increase pressure on her without having a setback. I have also figured out that not working with her every day really helps. I always leave a training session on a good note and then if I give her a day or two to think about it, I make more progress the next time. Although the amount of progress is always very, very little. She has come a long way from a year ago, but I never thought she would still not be halter broke. I will continue taking it one day, one week and one month at a time. A lot of people would have given up on Rio and sent her back to the BLM, but I couldn't do that. I guess I fall to hard for these horses and become so attached that I would kick myself a million times for sending her back. Thank you so much for your kind words! I really do appreciate it!
I agree with the above posters, it will take the time it takes, Kudos to you for taking her on and commiting to doing just what needs to be done for her !
Since you are willing to take the time it will take, that means you will get there eventually - but there are no schedules or deadlines. Even a non-wild horse can take a long time to work through whatever issues there are - my Red was like that - very slow to trust and with a lot of baggage that we had to work through, slowly and layer by layer - and sometimes the baggage still shows up again, although now only briefly.
You'll get there - she wants that connection - she just needs to be reassured and made more certain, which will happen day by day over time.
Paint Girl, do you ever watch Guy McLean? He is a horse trainer who can do amazing things with horses. He's from Australia and at the Equine Affaire last year he had one of his horses lay down, he put a blue tarp over her entire body and then he and 4 or 5 of his other horses cantered around the horse under the tarp. She did not move once. He also does a lot of liberty training with his horses. He is an amazing guy. When my friend Bill was training one of his mares to do liberty work, he had a very hard time getting that horse to catch on. Now, she's not wild mustang--nothing like that. But still, months went by and there was no real progress. In fact, it seemed like retrograde motion a few nights in the round pen. What Guy said was that those horses that are the hardest to train in the end turn out to be the hardest working and the most reliable horses. Because they don't do things superficially. When they do something, they do it deeply. When they end up doing something, they mean it. So, maybe this will help you keep on plugging. When it clicks for Rio, it will be bigger and deeper than you ever could imagine.
you have WAY more knowledge, skill and patience than I do! your experience with rio just proves that horses, like people, are individuals....
hope you can find out what makes rio tick before too much longer!
I am reminded of that saying:
If you love something,
Let it go.
If it comes back to you,
It is yours.
If it doesn't,
It never was.
It must be so frustrating and
so disappointing to have worked with Rio this long, and still be at square one.
I hope you will be able to gently break down her solid walls and convince her to trust you and develop into the horse you are hoping for.
But what will you do, if that never happens?
~Lisa
Wow I can't believe it's been a year already!
Rio so reminds me of Faran the way they react to humans. Sadly Faran's lack of trust is from previous abuse before we got him, so he may never trust humans completely. He was terrified of ropes and round pens and is still terrified of whips.
My donkey Led Zeppelin is as close to wild as any equine born in captivity can be. He was never handled from birth. What worked with him is clicker training. When I was working with him consistently I got to where I could pet him and brush him, but if I take a long break (like for winter) he reverts back to his wild state. We will get there though someday because he's not as reactive as Faran since he's never been abused.
Anyway I'm rambling. Just wanted to let you know I feel what you are going through lol. Don't give up on her!
Lisa, Rio has come a long way from when I first brought her home. She still has serious trust issues she needs to overcome. I will not give up on her... I know in my heart she can be domesticated. And if she can't, she has a home with me for life. Since I now have her title, I can sell her, but I won't. An upcoming post will bring a very good update for my wild girl.....
Thank you all for your kind words. I really appreciate it more then you know!!
I would agree with not turning Rio out with others. A barn I use to board at had two boarders that brought in mustangs from the BLM. They were turned out with other horses pretty quickly and both animals remained very difficult to catch and handle.
She is so beautiful. You are describing my world with Chloe. I would definitely recommend clicker training her-I cannot tell you the difference it has made with my herd. Shawna Karrasch is really great-you can find her at www.on-target-training.com and she has tons of free videos. Not a single one of my 6 horses is muggy or rude with treats in case you are worried about that. The first lesson you teach them is to be respectful (trained with treats of course!) If you are interested in more about how it helped in my case feel free to email me! Big hug and she is so lucky that you are so patient :) xoxo
I second Dream Valley Ranch's comment! She is absolutely right!
Now I'm off to check out that link because I love finding new clicker training resources. :)
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