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10/22/2002: "Natural Horse-Manship"
I just can’t express how much I love the trend toward using “Natural” training methods. For instance - Indy has taught me a rather complicated series of movements without using force or even pinning his ears. Only now that I’ve got it down pat do I realize that he’s even been working on a lesson, so subtle were his methods.
Indy LOVES to be scratched, so, he taught me how to scratch exactly where he itches the most. It starts with a general scratch - which he taught me to do right away - then, he bites at the point on his body he wants scratched next, and I scratch there. Then he indicates the next spot, and so on. Now, the uneducated might think he intends to scratch these areas himself - which is what I thought too, at first. That is NOT however, the case. He’s indicating to ME where he wants me to scratch next. I only realized this yesterday as we progressed around his body for almost an hour, with him leading me from one spot to another, and my giving him that “conditioned response” that’s the goal of this training method. Well done, Indy!
Matt was here yesterday morning, and Ami was actually GOOD! Matt pronounced her feet as being good as well :o) He was very pleased at how her white line is normalizing. She hasn’t taken a lame step since she got over those abscesses of last winter. Matt also had lots of comments about Indy’s feet as well. He was even pointing out things about them to his apprentice - like, “Just LOOK at that foot! Wow!” He said Indy had feet like marble. It is my fervent hope that Indy NEVER has nail holes in those perfect feet.
I’ve been letting Ami out all day for a couple of weeks now, and all is going well. Hopefully, I can soon start letting her stay out over night as well. We will be taking Indy to Purdue tomorrow to his follow-up ultrasound exam. My plan is to keep Ami in the large paddock while we’re gone, then let her stay out all night with Indy. We’ll play it by ear from there. Of course, I already KNOW what she thinks. She’s not a bad trainer herself :o)
