journal entries
Day 1: (267 words)
Today I got a wild mustang from my uncle to train all by myself. It seems like she's a pretty horse but it's kinda difficult to tell with all the crusty mud on her flanks. I haven't come up with a name yet, I want to see her personality first. So for our first training session I know I'm going to have to earn her trust. I started by holding some oats flat in the palm of my hands. Unfortunately this did not tempt her at all; she stood at the other side of the corral scuffing her hooves. I decided to change the oats to a carrot, maybe she couldn't see it? This got her attention...a little too much. In short she charged at me and I had to roll under the gate to get away. I was then covered in mud much like her. While I was outside the corral she took the carrot now laying on the ground. I laughed out loud at the sight of us. When I laughed she kinda perked her ears up pointing them in my direction. From that point on I stayed outside the corral. After a few tries of holding up the carrots for her to see. She charged again but instead of moving back I stayed put. She was confused by this I think because she just stared at me. Hesitantly she took the carrot. It was about 6pm when we finally stopped the session, after she finally let me pet her. The poor thing started shaking at my touch as if my hands were hot irons.
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Day 2: (276 words)
Now that I can touch my mare, when she wants me too that is, I can start taming. Today I foolishly tried to put a saddle on her despite my families warnings. From the moment it touched her back she began to buck and kick like a bull. I had to wait for her to settle down to take it off. I think it was a little hard on her since she laid down and refused to get up. That is until I got out the oats and carrots again. She seems to be highly food motivated. Slowly I put a smooth rope around her like a halter, I pet her and told her how good she was being which helped u think. I tried to lead her around with the rope but this stubborn girl wouldn't budge. Even food wouldn't work this time! So I took off my scarf and wrapped it over her eyes like my dad always taught me. And what do you know she started to follow me. I was feeling pretty proud of myself at this point. Once I was confident she would follow my lead without the scarf I removed it and tried again. To my disdain she once again refused to move. That is until she saw the scarf in my back pocket; she reached for it. I realized what she was trying to do and walked forward, she followed. No rope needed. I can't tell yet if she likes it or wants to destroy it so I didn't let her get it. She is a very strange horse, I've never met one to act the way she does.
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Day 3: (455 words)
Today I decided to give my mare a break from training. Instead I brought her to the pasture, leading with my scarf of course. I watched as she grazed and drank from the lake. I tried to run beside her for awhile but that scared her and honestly I was scared too. I noticed she would look over the fence to the other side of our pasture. At first I wasn't sure why but then I saw one of our fillies with it's mom. My mustang looked longingly after them. Despite how young she is I think she may have had a foal of her own at some point. I walked over to her petting her. She seemed so sad and afraid. I showed her the scarf in attempts to lead her away but for the first time it didn't work. I felt like we were taking a step backwards so I immediately put the rope back on her which had been hiding in my bag. Surprisingly she seemed to understand what it meant and followed. I brought her to our little apple tree. The horses all loved this tree. I tried the rope loosely around the trunk then proceeded to climb to the top and grab an apple. The mare staring at me the whole time. As I jumped to the ground she moved to avoid a collision. I presented to her the biggest red apple I could find. She sniffed at it uninterested. I couldn't understand why. Maybe she was catching a cold? Instead I took a bite. The crunch was crisp and caught her attention. I showed it to her once again, "it's the same thing I tried to give you a moment a go". I said aloud. She must have smelled the juices this time since she greedily ate it up. I laughed. Once she had finished she pushed her dirty muzzle into my arm looking for more. I readily climbed the tree and began dropping apples from the tree. Down below she tried to catch them. Once I had picked enough I climbed back down. I picked up the last apple and showed it to her. She looked at it, for the first time I could see what I thought to be happiness in her eyes. Playfully I started to run with the apple in my hands. The mare gave chase and we ran for several minutes. I think we started to bond. Once it started getting dark I reluctantly put the rope around her again and lead her back to her corral. She was starting to understand I mean her no harm. At this point I could pet her without her shaking like she did the first day.
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Day 4: (206)
This morning when I walked to the mares corral I noticed she was unusually calm. Wanting to take advantage of the moment I quickly grabbed a blanket. As soon as I got inside the corral with her she walked right up to me and let me pet her still muddy hair. After a little while I set the blanket on her back, looking from her to the blanket several times. The mustang didn't seem to mind. So I put the rope on like a halter once again and stood back. She looked so pretty. After I had taken her to the pasture again and let her roam a little I attempted to get on her back. At first she was reluctant but after a few moments and some encouraging words I successfully was able to. I don't want to try and teach her how to respond to the reign motions so I let her walk around of her own free will. The process has been slow but I think we are moving towards something great. I honestly don't think she's be very good at races but rather agility or shows. After all she is a beautiful horse. I've finally thought of a name for her: shanara.
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Finished ^-^
