Medina

Not a Kaimanawa, but still deserving of her own post! :-)
Big challenge for her this January as I sent her away to learn how to be a riding horse!  I did a certain amount of research into who to send her to (so many options and opinions out there) and someone came back with a space, so off she went!  I visited once or twice per week to see how things were going and all seemed well, though she did have grazes on her face from the halter/bridle.  Was this a natural part of the process or was this guy a bit rough? I wasn't sure...

She seemed settled enough and really looked SO good under saddle ... and she accepted him riding her, and he didn't seem rough on her when I was there, so decided I was just a worried mum!  :-)
I couldn't wait for the time I would visit and be able to ride her!  He said she had been just fine to start, and was going well, so my turn finally came!  My poor heart was racing and I was so excited ... then on we got... no problem!

Wow!  What a feeling! After all this time to be able to actually ride her around like I did her mum ... just awesome!  The day came when I was able to ride her out down the road too - we had 2 rides out with company (included trotting!), before I brought her home.  The day I had the float there to bring her home didn't dgo so well however. While I was loading my gear into the truck she pulled back from where she was tied up, and was then "taught a lesson" in how thats not what is meant to happen. She went over backwards, downhill, landing on her hip, had bloody grazes in 4 places around her muzzle from the halter, and I was near to tears.  I couldn't wait to get her out of there!  Was this what kind of temper she had been subjected to when I wasn't there?  I didn't know, had no way of knowing, and didn't want to think about it.  I wanted to get her home and get home myself before I fell apart. 

Once back in her own paddocks Medina spent about half an hour making sure everyone knew she was back to regain her position in the herd, which was really comical to watch, then everything returned to normal.  I treated her grazes with cream, and resumed riding her.  I felt she wasn't relaxed however, and she seemed stiff, so had a chiro visit. Her back was so very sore, it was a wonder she didn't buck me off!  Lucky I had read her body language and understood her, rather than forcing her to work through it thinking she was just playing up! She also had a massage therapist visit (twice), and seemed better but it was short-lived. We had a massive "event" when the neighbour pulled a rattley bang crash chook house off his trailer just as we were riding in the paddock!  Medina went 90 degrees to the West, and I went 180 degrees South!  She stood on my leg on the way over me, since I sort of landed underneath her, and it is still healing! That happened on 31st March!  Since then I've had Steve from Savvy Touch visit 3 times and each time she gets a little better and more rounded in her topline. She seems better after this last treatment, and he was able to manipulate her hips more and stretch her legs better.  Between the fall, and the flipping over back in January, she's not had a great start to her riding career - and neither have I!!!!!  I've turned her out now until after the Winter to allow her time to heal more, as I don't want to create a "riding=pain" mindset for her. It is possible that there was an injury present before she went away in January, and the whole process has aggravated it... In Savvy Steves words "possibly the trigger that let off the loaded gun" ... but its really hard to tell and hard to know. She seemed fine, and I'm not aware of any major accidents should could have had ...  Its all been a rather upsetting time, as I had so wanted to get on and go for lots of rides before the Winter set in. Instead, more time passes with no riding ... how I miss the good old days on her Mum ...

And along came Max...

Dear wee Max (short for Maximilian) ... not the ideal start for the little guy with not too much handling, meaning he's been really wary and nervy about everything around him.  He's a little sweetie though, and showing more of his personality the more I work with him.  He came out of the 2010 Muster in-utero and was born on 4th November 2010 - just 3 days after Camdin!!! I hardly touched him for a couple of weeks when he arrived from a Nth Island handler as he seemed so "out of it" and I sensed he had had enough of humans!  I left him to learn my routine and gradually he became curious about me, because I did things different I suppose, in that I didn't try to catch him!

  He learned in 2 days that I would withold his favourite bucket of food until he let me touch him - thats all it took, just 2 days, and he was presenting his shoulder or hindquarters for a quick touch, before moving off.  I was satisfied with that for now!

As the weeks rolled past I lead him down to the laneway, where he was over the fence from Magee and Bailey.  He spent a few days there and on impulse one day I let him through! I had planned to take it slowly, as I was concerned that I might not be able to catch him again, but threw caution to the wind and opened the gateway ... lol ...  The risk paid off as we watched the 3 of them run and play around the track, with Max leading the charge!!!  Interesting!!!  Bailey soon gave up - too much for the old fella - had a roll and left the youngsters to it! 

Today (4th June) we are at the stage of draping a towel over his back, neck, and hindquarters, in preparation for a cover coming on.  I expected him to freak out, but he didn't, and I was just so pleased at his calmness.  He allows me to rub his back legs down to his hocks, and front legs down to the ground and lift for about a second or two before needing it back ... thats ok, for now! And afterwards, he followed me around the track with no lead clipped on, to meet Magee and Bailey on the other side - awesome result!

Mr Magee

My favourite!  He is going to be one very cool riding horse!  He is relaxed, chilled out, pretty much non-spooky, and has just the right (?) amount of inquisitiveness about him!  Although, like Camdin, he is a ratbag when he wants into the next paddock - we just barge through the fence, cos it only bites for a little minute if you run real fast!

He is currently enjoying playing "the catching game" with me, though not for long at a time, because he has to acknowledge I can play it well :-)  Doesn't hurt to try I suppose!  lol

This photo shows his typical look - "what ya doing?" "can I come too?" "Got anything to eat?"

He has progressed well with his wariness about his cover, and I can take it off without haltering him, though still put it on as a safety measure when his cover goes back on.  He can move sideways still away from the cover as I lift it up high - just an area I have to work more with.  He is really open to communicating through playing games, and he is a really fast learner.  If I point at something his nose goes right to it (probably because he thinks it's food!!!) He will pop over a log on the ground, and is currently learning how to walk a figure 8 around 2 drums... almost there!  Nothing dumb about this boy, and I constantly have to keep ahead of him to "stay on top" in the pecking order.   He often challenges Bailey, who is the boss and oldest in the herd, which tells me also that I will need to keep watching my place! When he is in the right frame of mind though and not trying to challenge, he simply accepts new things with minimum of fuss, and manages to look really clever and proud when I tell him "good boy" - like it was his idea in the first place!!!  LOL  (well yes, secretly I DO want him to think that it was his idea - reverse psychology works!!!)

Maggie

Sweet Maggie ... so lovely when life is on her terms!  If you want something she is not ready to give however, she will bite!  Ears back and teeth out... no warnings!!!  I've never known a horse like it! lol ... She is a character thats for sure.  The name "Black Magic" really does suit her, as she can sweet as pie one minute, and the next, the wicked witch of the west!  So ... I have left her alone not expecting anything from her, and been working with others in the herd, and guess what? Yes, she has started coming to me, offering her hindquarters for a scratch, right down to her hocks, along her sides, and up her neck. Sometimes I'm even allowed to scratch her ears now - right INSIDE!!!!!!  She rolls her eyes at that; it must feel so good! lol   She's always been good with her back end, and its always a starting point to work forwards from, and this week we're at the stage where I think we can go back to trying a lead rope on her an see if I can take her for a walk (preferably without being eaten!!!)  Maybe it was her hormones turned upside down with carrying a foal, then being very defensive around Camdin, but for quite some time I was taking my life in my hands approaching her! lol   As a consequence of all this, she has not had her feet picked up or trimmed :-(   She has good hard hooves which break off when they need to, but I hate that they look so untidy!  I'm really anal about feet after Medinas challenges, so my goal for the next 2-3 months is to be able to get a lead rope on Maggie, then work towards picking up those feet, and getting some trimming and filing done, again without being eaten being the best case scenario!!! :-) 

My farrier is prepared to assist as he would like them done too, so will keep you informed of progress!

Camdin

Camdin is now the same height as her mum, Maggie, and just as round!  She has a mischievous nature, very inquisitive, very playful, but sometimes very sweet and enjoys cuddles and pats!  She can be an absolute ratbag when it comes to staying behind fences (the electric bit only bites for a little minute if you run through really fast!!!), and progressing well with having her feet trimmed by the farrier.  Last time, there was only a small protest at the end of the last hoof, so none of the usual struggling and "because I don't want to" attitude!  Quite comical really! :-)

She doesn't much like being told what to do, but as she ages she gets better - just more time to grow through these things needed!  She is of very stocky build, like her mother, and would look good in front of a little cart, but I think she will be ridden, as I can see her hooning around with a look of joy on her face, popping over little jumps and having a blast with life!

12 months on ...

Here we are a year later with no posts on here!  I found it a little time consuming to be honest, and many friends/followers are on Facebook anyway so I've been posting there!  Added to that, life is rather different to how it used to be.  Working takes up a good portion of my day and I cram horses into the rest (before dark!), have dinner and relax for a little while before getting into bed, to do it all again the next day!  The earthquakes continue to rattle us quite frequently and at varying degrees; many people are out of their homes permanently, some still waiting on repairs to be assessed and done, and some largely unaffected people continue with their daily lives as though the earthquakes are a minor and trivial interruption...
For the horses, life continues on also. The earthquakes don't appear to affect them greatly as they continue munching grass during the shakes, as though there is nothing happening to be concerned about! 
There have been changes which will be covered in seperate posts, and another muster has been done now too, though I haven't adopted one from there this year, I do hope to from the next one in 2014.  In the meantime, my hands are full.  :-)