[sprig]

Username: iStarz
Name: Mindless Minx / Minx
Gender: Mare
Eye Color: Purple
Dam:
Sire:

1. First encounter - Complete!
2. Adjusting to the new home - Complete!
3. Introduction of the halter - Complete!
4. Meeting a friend - Complete!
5. Gaining your horse's trust - Complete!
6. First time with saddle - Complete!
7. Ground work - Complete!
8. First ride - Complete!
9. Free spot

[iStarz & Everly]

::The First Encounter::

The girl is very close to the filly, moving quietly, her father had just weaned the young horse and put her in a wooden fenced round pen. She feels sorry for this filly to be treated this way so quickly. Though she knows that this is supposed to happen. Even the filly's mother would wean her on her own eventually. She opens the gate, looking at the young tolter. The filly lets out a sad whinny and lowers her head as the girl moves closer to her. When they are within ten feet of each other, the filly wickers and lifts her head a little. The girl speaks to her softly, moving closer to her, she lifts her hand and the filly quiets, tilting her ears forward to listen to the girl. She moves even closer to the young horse, knowing she is in complete danger if this filly were to spook. She sets her hand on her forehead, and she wickers again. The girl feels the fur under her hand and the soft forelock on her fingertips and she smiles at its softness. "Hello Minx." The girl speaks, smiling softly to herself.

She's a free spirit that cannot be tamed.

[iStarz & Everly]

::Adjusting::

The young filly had always lived here, but the girl was still interested to see that she was anxious and nervous no matter where she was. The only relief the filly got from her nervous ways was when she was out in the pasture. The girl made sure frequent visits were made for the little filly to help her stress level. The girl was sure she could see define improvement because the filly would no longer pace in the round pen or have her head hanging so slow. When the filly was in the pasture it was magic at how she changed. She was free there. The girl spent lots of her time with the filly, touching her, sitting next to her or on the fence of the pasture, or outside the stall. The filly became very comfortable around the girl and very attached as well. The horse waited for the girl to come home from school every afternoon and waited for her in the morning when she woke. Life was beginning to become very normal again.

[iStarz & Everly]

::Haltering::

Even though the filly had worn a halter early in her life and knew what it was, it didn't stop the girl from being hesitant and cautious with the halter. Right now she wore a neck collar which the girl felt was safer for her filly. The girl had taken the halter off her filly right before she was weaned, but now at 8 months old she needed a halter again. If she was to be able to ride her horse, the girl would have to eventually put a bridle on. The girl started by enticing the filly with a treat. The girl pet the filly's face and cheek and allowed her horse to look and touch the halter to become comfortable with it again. Then giving her filly another treat, she slipped the halter over the filly's face and strapped it on her face. The girl pet her filly all over, rewarding her with another treat and kind words..

i know i know it's a bridle not a halter...

[iStarz & Everly]

::Making Friends::

About a week after reintroducing her filly to the halter, the filly was released into a pasture with other weaned colts and fillies to play with. The girl soon noticed that her filly took an attraction to a young colt. The filly became very bold and playful around the colt and began chasing him around the pasture, nipping at his tail. The girl enjoyed watching her filly chase the colt around and then the colt would turn around and chase her instead. The girl decided that these two Yearlings were ment to be friends and we're always put in the same pasture to play. This gave the filly something to do while the girl went to school and had other things to do before returning to the barn for her filly. The filly's anxiety seemed to vanish over the course of the next four months as she played and grew and grew some more. She shed her baby coat for her adult one and started to settle down and get more of a mare attitude. Eventually the colts were separated from the fillies by a fence. At now two years old some of the colts were being gelded, others left as breeding stallions for the farm. The herd of fillies she had been living with out at pasture for the past year was now shrinking in size. Some were being sold to new homes, even some of the gelded colts were leaving too. But her friend stayed, they would often see each other over the fence and they would touch noses. She didn't chase him anymore and he didn't chase her either. They were perfectly happy just being near each other.

Minx and her little colt friend and now mate Matrix His Manchado is a pain in the butt, but he's so gorgeous.

[iStarz & Everly]

::Re-Gaining Trust::

Re-gaining her filly's trust wasnt a hard thing to do for the girl. All the two year olds had some halter and lead training before they had Ben sent out to pasture for a year. They had all been caught and brought in front of the vet at least twice in their year at pasture. Now going to catch her filly from pasture the girl once again saw the colt and her filly side by side. She smiled, see had come to know the colt well as time went on. She had frequently visited her filly bringing treats and petting her softly. While the other fillies sometimes ran away, her filly perked up her ears and trotted over knowing she was getting treats and loving attention. Even the colt got used to the girl and started nosing for treats when the girl came to visit. This day was no different only the filly was being brought back to the barn for a join up and training. The girl started as normal giving treats and petting her filly, rubbing her neck like the young horse liked it. Eventually she re-introduced the halter. This was nothing new for the filly and she sniffed it over before head butting the girl's shoulder. The girl laughed and put her halter on the filly, opening her hand with another peppermint treat for her filly. Clipping the lead on the filly's halterror the girl led the filly to the gate. Her horse following behind her slowly. Now for the join up.

[iStarz & Everly]

::The Join Up::

The girl was up early this morning. She had been working with her filly for six months teaching her the bridle, picking her feet, brushing her and even introducing her to the hose. Her filly really enjoyed a nice bath after her stresfull training sessions. Today would be different, setting all the new stuff aside, she would need to work her with a join up to be able to saddle and being able to ride her. Her filly trusted her, but not enough to be able to mount up even if she cou k d get a saddle on. She let her filly out into the round pen. Before releasing the filly off her lead. The girl walked to the center of the pen, and started to swing the soft end of the lead in front of herself, scaring her filly to the rails and sending her off galloping in a wide circle. The girl continued to work her filly, pushing her horse to give more speed to wear her down. Her filly soon wanted to slow down, but the girl pushed her on until she noticed the horse moving her ears to listen to her. The girl continued to push her filly around the pen another five or six times. By then, her filly began tilting her head, listening for cues form the girl. Now she changed directions, sending her filly the other way around the pen. Quickly the filly dropped her head, offering some submission to the girl. The girl switched directions once again, once around the pen and her filly had started chewing this is when she started to slow her filly. Eventually letting the horse stop and rest. The girl looked away from her horse and waited. A few moments later she felt a soft nose on her shoulder and the girl smiled, but she wasn't done yet. She began to walk around the pen, her filly following close behind her. The girl stopped and turned around slowly. She pet her filly now. And he horse moved her head down into the girl's arms. The girl kissed her horse's face and presses her face against the creamy fur of the horse's cheek, looking at her eye to eye. They were joined up.

The picture is called Eye to Eye. Thinking about just having the picture and adding the story later...hmm...

[iStarz & Everly]

::The Saddle::

"Minx, come here, please." Kthe girl looked at her horse, "its okay, I promise." The filly just looked at her and let out a loud snort, she was sad and frightened, but Minx came closer to the girl and she lowered her head and nuzzled the girl. Her bridle's reins hung down to the ground. The girl grabbed them as she pet her mare's face, her fingertips in the black and cream forelock. The girl sighed, "I promise it will be okay." Whispering softly to her filly, the girl dropped the rein and picked up the saddle again. She lifted it high and set it on the mares back, moving it to her withers. Minx turned her head to watch the girl. This was her third attempt at putting the saddle on the filly just today. The filly had been very trusting of the girl after the join up, but the saddle frightened her. The girl smiled and scratched the filly's side, "good girl, Minx." She moved around to her front and slowly pulled the chest strap around to her other side and strapped it to the saddle. She scratched her chest and neck and she wickered in happiness at her reward. She moved back to the filly's side rubbing the horse's belly and talking softly to her. Taking the cinch strap, the girl pulled it up to the mare's belly. The mare rocked backwards but the girl spoke to her softly and when the horse relaxed again, she then tightened it around her belly. The girl backed away from the mare and grinned at her handiwork. "Your such a good girl, i'm so proud of you." she told her. Now the test was to get the mare to walk. Taking the reins, the girl encouraged her filly to walk on. The horse complied, walking towards the girl, slightly awkwardly from the new thing on her back.

[iStarz & Everly]

::Ground Work::

Minx is now almost three and it has been intense the past couple weeks working on saddled ground work. The girl had lunged her filly, taught her simple vocal commands, put partial weight on her fillies back every day, and worked her stopping and starting commands as well. Today the girl has brought out lots of scary objects for her filly to see. From balls to tarps and training polls, even short jumps. The girl began by rolling the balls at he filly'filly's legs, the filly backed up at first but soon got used to it. The girl then led her over the tarp. This spooked her filly, so she moved away from the tarp and walked her filly over the training polls which was a piece of cake for her filly. The girl moved back to the balls, rolling them under her filly and at her legs again. When she got no response from her filly she rewarded her with a Peppermint. The girl then moved back to the tarp, encouraging her filly to walk all the way over it. This time her filly put her head up but walked quickly over the tarp. The girl then walked he filly over the training polls again and back over the tarp. The filly's reaction relaxed each time they went over the tarp. When the filly gave no reaction to the tarp, the girl again rewarded her with Peppermint. Now the girl walked her filly over the tarp, stopping her on it and dropping the lead, giving her the command to stand. The filly waited patiently until the girl returned to her filly giving her another peppermint. The girl then started using a flag on a stick and rubbing it all over her filly, desensitizing her. Going over her belly and down her legs then moving to a different spot when her filly reacted to the flag. The girl then moved to the filly's other side and repeated with the flag till her horse was completely desensitized to the flag. Rewarding her filly with treats the girl finished her training session on a good note. She would continue ground work for another couple weeks before riding her filly in the arena for the first time.

[iStarz & Everly]

::Taking a Ride::

The girl was excited for today. This was the day that she would finally ride Minx for the first time. The girl began her daily routine with her filly, first feeding her then grooming her completely before putting her saddle and bridle on.The girl then brought her filly to the indoor arena where there were no distractions for her horse. The girl started by pulling herself up then dropping back down as she always did. But then, pulling herself up a second time, she lied over her filly's back a little bit longer. Then dropping down again seeing no reaction she pulled herself up into the saddle and sat there for a moment, waiting. When no reaction came, the girl rubbed her filly's neck, giving praise to her filly. The girl them asked her filly to walk on and the horse complied, walking forward, following the girl's commands. This would be all they would do today, just walk around the arena, learning to neck rein and to stop whIle in saddle. The girl couldn't help but smile. She had successfully tamed her tolter.

A girl in her horse. Nothing like that bond. Does this picture count as a ride?