Thursday 30 May 2013

Tayenne

Fina and Lucie had settled well together, but in April I upset everything when Lucie went to stay on a farm with a herd of Camargues where there is a Camargue stallion, and I brought home one of their mares on loan to keep Fina company, and to play with and provide a bit of experience for.  I first met Tayenne in the winter and had thought of buying her, but then the possibility to have Seraphina arose. Tayenne was very unsettled the first few days, it was the first time she'd been away from the security of the herd so it was very traumatic for her, and she and Fina didn't get on. Fina missed Lucie, and Tayenne didn't see Fina as a friendly  companion and didn't have any reason to stick around in the strange surroundings, especially as Fina didn't exacty make her feel welcome, and on three occasions, put her under so much pressure she broke through the electric fencing. Eventually things settled down and Fina and Tayenne get along okay now they know each other better, although Fina still herds Tayenne around, moving her from behind, if she gets the chance. Tayenne now seems to put herself in Fina's way, or in a corner knowing she will be chased but is faster than Fina so it has become almost a game for her. She doesn't appear to really respect Fina; she moves out of her way but with attitude. She challenges before yielding; there is a lot of making faces at each other. Not at all the same as with Lucie and Fina. When Lucie tells Fina to move, she moves. Lucie puts Fina in the foal position, and Fina accepts, staying a couple of paces behind Lucie unless I invite her forward. Fina moves Tayenne out of her way, chases her from behind, herds her round the field; it's more territorial.

When Tayenne first arrived, it was clear she hadn't been handled as much as I'd believed, or rather, not had not learned to be light in hand, not to push, she didn't respect space, she leans onto you & into you, expecting scratches without asking, and above all she pushes through pressure. The first thing she needed to know for everyone's safety was to yield to pressure. She didn't know she could learn things from humans and had no idea of respecting them; she didn't think that humans could be interesting; that to listen to their ideas and do things and be given responsibilities was more fun than than just lazing in the field. That hands could do more than just scratch your head. But that you didn't push people around.

At first she was too stressed to be able to think and just being asked to walk through a gate (and being expected to do so without pushing into me) would have her head high and her muscles tense, or head on the floor, pawing and grabbing mouthfuls of earth. Even so, she wanted to be with people and would hide behind me when Fina was being bossy (before she learned not to fear Fina, and to stand up to her). As she became familiar with her surroundings and routine, and could think of other than her safety, I was able to start to teach her to yield to touch and pressure; initially her reaction was resistance to doing anything asked of her, like a spoilt child, but very quickly she discovered that responding was more rewarding; she soon understood fore and hind quarter yields, porcupine and driving game and started to give me space when walking her around. With respect came lightness and we developed the driving game from different zones when out on walks on line with Fina. On the first walks, Tayenne was a snorting dragon, everything was suspicious, but she is a brave bold little horse, has no difficulty walking ahead; despite the snorting, she is very forward and has a lovely long light stride, and after a while she blows out, her head comes down and she settles. She listens and takes her lead from me, so after an outing where I led Fina from zone 3 (as if I was riding) with Tayenne alongside, I felt ready to ride Fina and lead Tayenne. The first ride and lead went perfectly, proving that prior and proper preparation pays off! Tayenne stayed close to my knee, didn't pull and followed happily. Fina, when not allowed to get behind Tayenne, is perfectly happy with her alongside in zone 4. I have started putting things on her back and leading her from alongside, she doesn't overreact. Whether I will get as far as backing her or how long I will keep her is still undecided.


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