Xena’s New Agenda

Xena and I have been at our new barn for 19 days now, and this week she decided to switch back to being uncatchable. I’d really enjoyed the last couple of weeks, walking into the paddock, greeting my horse, and catching her easily. A small paddock, and me being her only familiar face, probably had a lot to do with her new catch-ability, but still it was nice while it lasted!

This week Xena has a new agenda, that of becoming a full-fledged member of her new herd. She’s very focused on them, and has no time for me when I enter her large paddock. My feelings would be hurt, if I wasn’t overjoyed to see her settling in so quickly.

What We Did Today
5:10 to 8:15 p.m. = 3 hours, 5 minutes  Counting the Minutes

I’m considering this as our first training session, because until now I’ve focused on keeping things low key, just spending time together, hand grazing, and walking the property. We’ve played a few of the Seven Games™ here and there, but more out of familiarity than learning new skills.

• Seven Games™
  We played in the indoor arena, mainly because it was empty and we haven’t been in there much — in summer I prefer to be outdoors. We worked on our Sideways, Squeeze (tight squeeze along the wall), Yoyo/Driving (between two trotting poles) and Circling Game™ with obstacles. Our Friendly Game™ consisted of noisy kisses, which seems to be Xena’s new favourite thing, because she moves closer whenever I stop kissing her temple or neck.

• Outdoor Wash Stall
  I’ve decided we’ll play in the wash stall whenever the weather is warm; we actually played in the rain yesterday. This was our third time playing with the hose, and she’ll now allow me to lightly spray her front legs and feet, while she’s standing in the wash stall! This is quite an achievement for my girl! This was followed by a sponge bath, using a bucket of cool water and our car wash mitt.

  I’m using my 12′ rope instead of the cross ties, because I expect she’ll need to move around a bit. Each time she moved forward, I allowed her to step out of the wash stall, but then I immediately asked her to turn around and step back in. She did beautifully, and I didn’t have to move my feet to turn her around — it was a Circling Game℠.

• Hand Grazing
  She grazed for about 15 minutes on a patch of grass near the barn. The ground was sloping and I stood on her higher side, with my arm draped over her back. This was a version of our old Grounded Rider game, but this time I balanced on the uneven ground using only one foot. Each time she moved, I deliberately leaned on her for support. I applied as much of my weight as possible to her back and sides, but she just kept calmly grazing.

Seven Games™ is a trademark, and Sideways, Squeeze, Yoyo, Driving, Circling and Friendly Games℠ are service marks, of Parelli Natural Horsemanship, Inc.