Trip to Levin

Wow... what an AWESOME idea it was to go up and meet the ponies!!! To see them just 3 weeks in from the muster was a real education for me, and it was great to see where they were being handled, and to meet Mark and his family. I'm so very grateful to them for collecting me from the airport, looking after me for the time I was there, and delivering me back to Wellington again. We had some wonderful conversations, and it was nice to be accepted into the fold as it were.

I flew up Monday afternoon and arrived around 6pm at their property. It was dark, about to rain, and a gorgeous dinner was being prepared! Very tasty, though interrupted (!!!), then it was out to the yards to check out the ponies! Yay! By then it was raining lightly, and pretty much all that could be seen was white blazes and noses! :-) Past the filly allocated to me and up onto the loading race, down to where my colt was yarded - and what a lot of tension in the air!!! I could feel his fear, hear him snorting and blowing, and listened to him trotting back and forth looking for a way out.

And this is how he has been since he arrived! The others had all settled quite well, but he was not happy at all about his situation. I could imagine being caught in the back of the lions den when the lion came home, and the imagined fear I'd feel gave me an appreciation of what these horses must go through. I just wanted to let him know it would be ok and we'd already eaten!!! :-)

We had a quick look at the youngsters inside in the stables and chatted about their progress while Mark fed hay out, then back to the house for coffee! A long conversation followed which gave me a lot to think about regarding the colt. Do I keep him? Will he settle in a short time or a long time? Can I afford to wait? Would he be a safe long-term prospect for me to ride? If he wasn't showing a lot of sign of settling yet, then perhaps not ... I felt if I lived up there I could take all the time he needed, but being in the South Island has some restrictions, in that the horses must be leadable and safe to handle before being transported. This guy wasn't even happy with us being near him, let alone accept a halter and be led - this was going to be a long term project! I decided I'd wait to see him in the morning and see what I felt from him. hmmmm.... and if I did keep him, what was I going to call him? The names I'd thought would be good just didn't fit him, and I was thinking of him as "The Ranger".

Tuesday morning I was awake in the dark, waiting for daybreak. The house was quiet so I thought perhaps Mark was out feeding out so maybe I'd get up and help. As soon as it was light enough to see, I was up and out the door with my camera! No sign of anyone so I stood over at the yards watching Maggie (the filly) and let her watch me. She seemed ok, and we had met briefly in the dark last night anyway, so I entered her yard quietly and stood to wait for her reaction. Nothing! She was eating her hay with an eye and an ear on me, and not at all stressed by my presence, so out came the camera. Click! Click! Still nothing more from her, so I moved a little closer and took some more. We watched each other for a while, both feeling quite relaxed about each others presence! Excellent start!

I casually moved across to the loading ramp and climbed up, watching for any movement from her, but she kept eating and flicked her ear following me with her eye - totally unconcerned! Yay!

When I stood up on the ramp I saw the other 4 horses that were yarded - and they saw me! One looked ("Ginga"), saw a human, turned his back, and continually peeped at me out of one eye by turning his head back in my direction! Funny! When he saw me looking he looked away so I did too! We must have looked hilarious copying like that!

Another was peeping through the rails quite blatantly out of curiosity ("Nutmeg"), and this one turned out to be really quite sweet; happy to face me with both ears pricked and both eyes big and bright! Wasn't afraid of me being there at all, just like the third one who was openly curious too ("Nugget").

Maybe it was because I entered their space quietly, not making the noise other humans made, or maybe it was just the different energy about me. I was there to observe, not expecting anything from them, and I wasn't entering their yards.

Then to the fourth yard where my colt was. I peeped through the rails at legs, then above that rail to see ears and forelock, then he snorted! LOUDLY! He saw me! I backed off right away, up to the loading ramp again, thinking I could retreat as far as I could, then advance slowly to find a spot where he would be comfortable with me watching.

Over an hour I never found that spot. I think his "bubble" was bigger than the entire property, so I couldn't retreat far enough! I think this is when I saw what a huge project he was going to be. I didn't feel afraid of him; I didn't feel concerned at the amount of time it would take to prove to him he would be ok; I only felt I wanted to help him. And with some sadness I felt I couldn't financially commit to him. If I lived in the North Island and he had already been delivered to me, I would let him take all the time he needed to feel safe and comfortable, and all it would cost me is his feed and my time. I could do that. But not from the South Island! He could take 6 months! He could take more! And given that he had only shown minor improvements since arriving and was still so very nervous, was he going to be the right "personality" for me anyway? So this is what Mark meant last night! and now I had to make the decision...

My tummy rumbled reminding me about breakfast so I started heading back out of the yards, and Mark arrived with bacon and eggs - no just kidding! Inside for a quick breakky then back out to move the filly into the stables for some handling! It was amazing to see how calm and placid she had become, though I was warned her teeth could be quite vicious!!! I was stunned too at the length of the hair on her body, and when brushed out she was like a teddy bear I just wanted to cuddle! Hmmm... not this time perhaps, but something to look forward to! I hadn't expected to be able to even be in the same yard with her, now here I was in the stable with her and scratching her back and neck! Cool!!!! Though, too far up the neck and a warning ear flicked back - time to retreat! lol ...

We left her a while, had lunch, and then went out to see her with the lead rope clipped on. Lizzie and Mark handled while I watched from outside, then Mark went off to feed others and I was inside with Lizzie, then I took the rope! Wow! Cool!!! Lizzie clicked away on the camera, then with Marks guidance, I took Maggie out the stable door, into the breezeway, and walked quietly up and down between the stables, while the others looked on. Teaching her to turn at each end went ok, though once she stepped ahead and the rope went over to the opposite side and lay over her hindquarters! I was thinking ok, she will either kick me in a minute or I can quietly move to her ribs and work out how to get the rope back... lol ... We managed this with Marks help and went back to a nice walk, then back into the stable. Wow! Much more than I expected!!! I thought I'd be looking at her through railings and trying to get a feel for her, and here I was leading her! Wahooo!

I was also introduced to the two mare & foal combos that had arrived and were grazing outside. What? But they looked as comfortable out there as domesticated horses! Bizarre! The little grey foal stole my heart - just so very CUTE!!! - but it was the chestnut I was actually there to see. Chestnut? No way. I'm never having another CHESTNUT!!!! So I thought!

Mark and I discussed options regarding "The Ranger" (as I thought of him) and then this little chap, and I decided and agreed he would be a much better (and safer, and more economic) option for me, so with a silent "I'm sorry" to the other colt, I began looking at this little guy as mine... and his name? After a joint effort over a cuppa we all agreed he was a "Magee" ... it didn't sit quite right with Mark however, but before leaving me at the airport we agreed "Mr Magee" was better!

On the flight home I had an attack of the guilts thinking about the colt and wondering what would become of him, but acknowledged the Trust would look after him and do the best for him, so my focus must go on my little filly and the weanling now. We'd best get that handling yard built since Maggie would be arriving in a couple of weeks!

Handlers' Update!

Phew! More news to blow me away after talking on the phone to Mark (Nth Island handler)

Firstly the colt. He is improving slowly and will come to the hay or hard feed in his yard with someone standing closeby, but not taking anything from a humans hand yet. Time enough ... it's only been 3 weeks!
He is the most nervous of the colts about his new environment so will take a little more time to get confident. And its not just about his changing environment he has to get confident with - like being confident and trusting around humans who ask strange things of him, and having a little self-confidence knowing he can actually cope with all these things happening to him.

And secondly, the filly. She had her first night outside the stables the other night and didn't seem to like it much! It seems she called and called, letting everyone know the humans had forgotten to bring her in! What an attention seeker! lol She seems to be quite a character, and progressing well.
On an interesting note, it appears she may well be in foal. Pretty shocking for a yearling and most unfair. Others brought in were pregnant, but have since aborted, lucky for them! Interestingly, none of the little fillies liked being handled around the hindquarters, but after aborting they were ok.
On one hand it's a lovely bonus to think of having a little foal born later in the year (even though I'm totally unprepared for that eventuality!!!), and on the other hand she will need some extra special care in her feeding regime so that she doesn't get too fat, and that she gets all the minerals and vitamins she needs. And hopefully it will not affect her growth too much. I discussed this with Mark and he said she should catch up later, having had one in a similar situation in the past.
Crikey!!!! So I could end up with 3 not 2 as planned ... aaarrrrgghhhhh! lol

First Photos

My beautiful colt...




Very wary here as he has not long arrived and can't work out why he is trapped in!



And the filly standing side-on, just off the truck and wondering what just happened to life... Gorgeous black with white blaze and 2 hind socks!












That's her on the left with her head down ...

The Muster 2010

On 3rd and 4th of June the helicopters disturbed the peace and quiet of life in the Kaimanawa Ranges as they herded the horses from the places they called home, to the yards where they were sorted and loaded onto trucks. What a frightening experience for them!
From there they arrived at various distribution yards, where they were assigned homes. Many lucky North Islanders collected or took delivery of their new horses; for those of us in the South Island the horses were sent to handlers to be introduced to the basics of domesticity, before we were able to have them sent down here, this being a DoC prerequisite.
And so we wait ...
I figure that after the involved process of applying to purchase and getting a Home Check on the property done, the further wait of 4-6 weeks is merely a time for planning, so am now reasonably patient - something unusual for me! We are in the process of building a handling yard anyway, plus I am still fostering some horses for the SPCA until their court case in early July, and really want to have them rehomed before my Kais arrive.
In the meantime I have spoken with the handler twice for progress reports, and received an email with some photos attached of when they arrived at his yards. Errrr, yes, that was plural - I'm purchasing two!!!
I requested a filly weanling and a yearling colt (to be gelded), and have actually had allocated to me a black filly yearling, and a bay 3-4yo colt.
So far, the filly is coming along nicely and proving to be a quick thinker; the colt rather more challenging, so we decided to try to get some handling into him then decide about gelding him.
Right now, I'm counting the days off on the calender as next Monday I fly up to meet them, and fly home Tuesday night, so will have lots of time to start some bonding and hopefully do some handling as well... or maybe I'll be on mucking out duty!!! :-)