Progress Report

This was taken on Shasta's first day at home with us...she's not uncomfortable, she's eating a cookie. Minx. She is a cookie loving baby! LOL! She hunts and searches for cookies on you, but...if you remind her that you really are the boss, she'll give in. She's very affectionate, but still very skittish about some things...such as being touched in her flank region. She was spurred by a previous owner during training. We'll work through it. She'll unlearn the fear of that as we develop our mutual trust.


This gal is no dummy either! She wanted the grass that really was greener on the other side, so she pulled the garden gate open and meandered between the beds, cleaning up the grass. She kept her feet (mostly) outside the beds (so that's what the dog was having a fit about!) and grazed down the grass in the walkways. She didn't eat any of the garden plants at all. And she didn't eat any of the produce either...Willow would have eaten every tomato in sight! LOL! Frankly, Willow is too big to fit comfortably between the beds. Willow feels much bigger than Shasta. We'll have to try to get comparison shots to size them...Hmmm....anyone want to do a photo shoot??

We moved Willow to the north paddock for 2 weeks while Shasta settled in. The girls were able to see one another if they were in the right place, but they couldn't reach each other. I'd never introduced two horses before, so this had the potential of not going well if I got scared. I found a Natural Horsemanship site that had a procedure that made sense to me, and used that as my road-map.

First, I haltered Shasta and took her out of the south paddock, which is our main paddock. I walked her in circles up and down the driveway so Willow could see her. After a few laps, I started working closer and closer to Willow, then walking away, all the while, reassuring Shasta that we weren't going to get hurt...Willow wouldn't be permitted to pick on her... Shasta bears a few scrapes even yet from pasture action at the rescue. As we got really close to Willow, I heard her vocalize for the first time! She started a low pitched kind of nicker, tossing her head and acting like she was telling Shasta just HOW it's GOING to BE!! We walked away again. Took another lap or two, calming both horses, and me too! I had my husband take Shasta's lead, and I went to get Willow on lead. Then, we walked...circles getting closer and closer to where Shasta was grazing. That went well...they grazed near each other peacefully for a few minutes, still on lead....so off to the main paddock to turn them out...after another couple of steps. I took Willow to the paddock first and worked her out for a few minutes...she could smell Shasta in HER space and I could feel her temper rising. She tensed up and was snorting in her "I'm so displeased!" voice. Working a few dozen circles got her mind off being testy, and while she was doing circles both directions, I had Shasta come in the paddock as well. We worked them both in circles on lead, not lunging but walking beside us, 180° apart. They could see each other, and smell each other, and both of them were working in the same zone...successfully without any vocalizing or tenseness.

Okay! Time to turn them both loose. We set up feed for both the girls, quite a ways apart, and removed their halters. We had a few squeals and kicks the first night...a few squeals and kicks for the next 3 days as they worked out their preferences. Willow is "boss" mare, but she lets Shasta think she is. Willow is very determined and WILL have her way, when she sets her mind to it. By the second day of the girls being together, they were nuzzling each other and grooming each other.

The girls are an absolute delight. They have a dance-ritual they do at feeding time...who ever gets their grain first takes a bite, then while the other is getting their first bite, they change places and eat out of the other pan, then trade back for their hay. Goofy girls...they just have to make sure the other isn't getting anything special! Parelli training makes them easy to manage together. They both have some background...Thanks Larry!!...and respond to hand cues. They do love attention and they want to please us. They're just way too much fun! Now...to further our Parelli training so they're safe to ride!